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DelawareSchoolLibraries

MasterPlanQualitySchoolLibraries=HigherStudentAchievement

August2016

Writtenby

BillWilson,HimmelandWilson,LibraryConsultantsChristopherKelly,InstituteforPublicAdministrationKellySherretz,InstituteforPublicAdministration

Withresearchassistancefrom

PublicAdministrationFellowsHeatherBrody,NicholasBrock,AnnieGould,AnnaKeleher,EmmaOdren,andRachelPleet

Withcontributionsfrom

EdFreel,InstituteforPublicAdministration

Preparedbythe

InstituteforPublicAdministrationSchoolofPublicPolicy&AdministrationCollegeofArts&SciencesUniversityofDelaware

Preparedforthe

DelawareSchoolLibrariesCouncil

Fundedbythe

DelawareDepartmentofState,DivisionofLibraries

i|D e l a w a r e S c h o o l L i b r a r i e s M a s t e r P l a n – A u g u s t 2 0 1 6

Preface & Acknowledgments

AstheDirectoroftheInstituteforPublicAdministrationattheUniversityofDelaware,Iampleasedtoprovidethisreport,DelawareSchoolLibrariesMasterPlan:QualitySchoolLibraries=HigherStudentAchievement,totheDelawareSchoolLibrariesCouncil.Inthe2013DelawareSchoolLibrariesAnnualReport,theDelawareSchoolLibrariesCouncilrequestedthedevelopmentofastatewidemasterplanforschoollibraries.Thisreportwascommissionedtofulfillthatrequest.

ThepurposeofthisreportistoserveastheguidingdocumentforDelaware’sschoollibraries.Itidentifiesthecharacteristicsofaqualityschoollibraryandexaminestheimpactthatonecanhaveonstudentlearningoutcomes.ThereportthenincludesananalysisonthecurrentqualityofDelaware’sschoollibrariesandprovidesrecommendationsinfourcategoriesthatwillleadtotheirimprovement.

TheInstituteforPublicAdministration(IPA)isgratefultoSecretaryofStateJeffreyW.BullockandtheDelawareDepartmentofState,DivisionofLibrariesforprovidingfundingsupportforthiswork.IPAisalsoappreciativeoftheguidanceprovidedbytheDelawareSchoolLibrariesCouncil,theDelawareAssociationofSchoolLibrarians,andthemanyinterview,survey,andfocus-groupparticipants.IwouldliketothankbothAnnieNormanandJohnMonahanforthecountlesshourstheyspentsupportingthisproject.IalsothankBillWilson,KellySherretz,ChristopherKelly,EdFreel,HeatherBrody,NicholasBrock,AnnieGould,AnnaKeleher,EmmaOdren,andRachelPleet,fortheirworkonthisreport.AdditionalthanksgotoIPAPolicySpecialistSarahPraggforformattingandeditingthereport.

IPAaddressesthepolicy,planning,andmanagementneedsofitspartnersthroughtheintegrationofappliedresearch,professionaldevelopment,andtheeducationoftomorrow’sleaders.ThisMasterPlanisanimportantpartofthiseffort,asqualityschoollibrariescanleadtoimprovedlearningoutcomesforallstudents,regardlessofraceorsocioeconomicstatus.

JeromeR.Lewis,Ph.D.Director,InstituteforPublicAdministration

ii|D e l a w a r e S c h o o l L i b r a r i e s M a s t e r P l a n – A u g u s t 2 0 1 6

Table of Contents

ExecutiveSummary................................................................................................................1TenRecommendationsforImprovingSchoolLibrariesinDelaware...........................................3

Introduction...........................................................................................................................4TheResearch:WhatPreviousResearchHasShown................................................................6EnglishLanguageArtsPerformance...........................................................................................7Reading.........................................................................................................................................7Writing..........................................................................................................................................8

OtherAreasofIncreasedPerformance......................................................................................8ResearchSkills...............................................................................................................................8Math&Science.............................................................................................................................9InformationLiteracySkills.............................................................................................................9GraduationRates..........................................................................................................................9

TheRequisites:FactorsThatImpactPerformance.................................................................11TheReality:FindingsFromtheDelawareStudy....................................................................12ProfessionalLibraryStaff.........................................................................................................13AccesstoResources................................................................................................................15CoordinationandDataCollection............................................................................................17

TheRecommendations.........................................................................................................19Introduction............................................................................................................................19Staffing........................................................................................................................................20ContentandAccess.....................................................................................................................21GovernanceandInfrastructure...................................................................................................22AssessmentandAccountability..................................................................................................24

Staffing...................................................................................................................................25ContentandAccess.................................................................................................................27GovernanceandInfrastructure................................................................................................30AssessmentandAccountability...............................................................................................33

MovingForward...................................................................................................................39AppendixA:LiteratureReview.............................................................................................40AppendixB:DelawareSchoolLibraryStudySurvey..............................................................74AppendixD:DelawareSchoolLibraryMediaSpecialistCertificationRequirements............102

1|D e l a w a r e S c h o o l L i b r a r i e s M a s t e r P l a n – A u g u s t 2 0 1 6

Executive Summary

Overthepasttwodecades,therelationshipbetweenthequalityofschoollibrariesandstudentperformancehasbeenthefocusofdozensofstate-levelstudies.Simplystated,thesestudiesconfirmthataccesstohigh-qualityschoollibraryservicesresultsinbetterstudentperformance.Thedeclarationusedinthetitleofthisreport,QualitySchoolLibraries=HigherStudentAchievement,isnotaspeculativestatement.Researchaffirmsthisequation.

Mostresearchindicatesthatthefollowingcharacteristicsofschoollibrariesleadtoimprovedlearningoutcomesforstudents:1

• Afull-timecertified/qualifiedlibrarianatthebuildinglevel• Adequatesupportstafftoenablethelibrariantoperformprofessionalduties• Adequateexpenditurefornewresourcestoensurestudentaccesstorecent,relevant

content• Highlevelofcollaborationbetweenlibrariansandteachersandlibrariansandstudents• Flexibleschedulingthatenablesthelibrariantointeractwithteachersandstudents• Accesstoup-to-datetechnologicalinfrastructureandonlineresources• Accesstoprofessionaldevelopmentandnetworkingopportunitiesforlibrarystaff

Unfortunately,schoollibrariesinDelawareare,ingeneral,understaffed,underfunded,andunequippedofup-to-datecollectionsandresources.Librariansthatdoworkinschools,inmanycases,areunabletocarryoutprofessionaldutiesbecausetheymustcompleteday-to-daytasksrelatedtolibrarymanagementandadditionalstaffing/instructionalassignments.Oftentimes,librariansareunabletoparticipateinprofessionaldevelopmentopportunitiesandtocollaboratewithteachersandstudentsduetotheirfixedschedules(FocusGroups,2015).ThecurrentstateofschoollibrariesinDelawareisdire,whichcreatesasituationwherestudentsareunabletoreceivethemeasurablebenefitsofqualityschoollibraries.

Ofevengreaterconcern,thequalitylibrarygapisgrowingratherthanshrinkingsothatequitableaccesstoresourcesandtechnologyisnotavailableforallstudentsinthestate.AcomparisonamongDelaware’sschooldistrictsshowsthatthe10districtsinwhichlessthan40percentofthestudentsarefromlow-incomehouseholdshaveadded13librarianssincethe2005–2006schoolyear.Theninedistrictsinwhichmorethan40percentofthestudentsfromlow-incomehouseholdshavecut16librarianssincethe2005–2006schoolyear(DelawareDistrictandSchoolProfiles).Delaware’sstudentsfromlow-incomehouseholds2arefacingreductionsintheservicesneededtoimprovetheirreading,writing,andcriticalthinkingskills.

1PleaseseeAppendixA:LiteratureReviewforadditionalinformationregardingthisbodyofresearch.2Low-income,asdefinedbytheDelawareDepartmentofEducation,meansthatastudentcanqualifyforFreeandReducedPriceLunch.

DisparityinNumberofLibrarianPositionsperDistrict

InDelaware,just37percentoffourth-graderswerejudgedproficientinreading(withanaveragescoreof224ona0–500pointscale)andonly31percentofeighth-gradersreachedorexceededtheproficientlevelinreading(scoring263outof500points).3

Giventhattherelationshipbetweenqualityschool-libraryservicesandstudentlearningandperformancehasbeendemonstratedinnumerousstudies,adoptingaholisticapproachtoimprovingthequalityofDelaware’sschoollibrariesthroughtargetedinvestmentsappearstobeprudent.Theresearchindicatesthatsuchaninvestmentwouldhaveapositiveimpactonallstudents,butthattheseinvestmentswouldbenefitat-riskstudentstoanevengreaterextent.4

Thefollowingreportisintentionallyresults-oriented.Itdemonstratesthatschoollibrarieshaveapositiveimpactonstudentlearning,offersanassessmentofthecurrentstatusofDelawareschoollibraries,andpresentsaseriesofrecommendationsthat,ifimplementedinaholisticway,wouldimprovestudentlearningandperformanceonstandardizedtestsinmultiplesubjectareas.

Tenrecommendationsareoffered.Theyaregroupedintofourcategories:

1. Staffing2. ContentandAccess3. GovernanceandInfrastructure4. AssessmentandAccountability

3TestresultsarefromtheNationalAssessmentofEducationalProgress(NAEP),knownas“TheNation’sReportCard”.Dataisfrom2014–2015.4PleaseseeAppendixA:LiteratureReviewforadditionalinformationregardingthisbodyofresearch.

2005–2006 2015–2016

LibrarianPosiZonsinDelawareSchoolDistricts,comparing2005–2006to2015–2016schoolyears

Districtswithlessthan40%ofstudentsfromlow-incomehouseholds

Districtswithmorethan40%ofstudentsfromlow-incomehouseholds

Ten Recommendations for Improving School Libraries in Delaware

Staffing

1. Requireaschoollibrary,acertifiedlibrarian,andanappropriatelevelofsupportstaffineveryschool.

2. Seekfundingforandimplementapilotprojectinnineschoolstodeterminetheimpactthatqualityschoollibrarieshaveonstudentlearningoutcomes.

Content and Access

3. Expandstudentaccessto“e-content.”4. ExpandtheDelawareLibraryConsortiumtoincludeallschoollibraries.

Governance and Infrastructure

5. Establishspecificgovernanceresponsibilitiesforthecoordinationandoversightofschoollibraries.

6. Examineandaddresssystemicissuesthatinhibitthedevelopmentofhigh-qualityschoollibraryprograms.

7. LeverageEveryStudentSucceedsAct(ESSA)fundingtostrengthenschoollibraries.8. Implementflexibleschedulingforschoollibraries.

Assessment and Accountability

9. Designandimplementanongoingprogramofdatacollection,management,andassessmentforschoollibraries.

10. CreateaDelawareSchool-LibraryQualityIndextofacilitatethetrackingofstudentperformanceandinvestmentinschoollibraryservices.

Introduction

Overthepasttwodecades,therelationshipbetweenthequalityofschoollibrariesandstudentperformancehasbeenthefocusofdozensofstate-levelstudies,includingDelaware.Onecompendiumof“schoollibraryimpact”studies(Gretes,2013)identifiedmorethan60projectsin22statesandoneCanadianprovincethathadbeenconductedinthelast20years.Morerecentstudies,includingthosecarriedoutinSouthCarolina(Lance,Rodney,andSchwarz,2014)andWashingtonState(Coker,2015),takeintoaccounttheincreasinginfluenceofe-content.

School-libraryimpactresearchhasbeenconductedingeographicallylargeandsmallstates,somewithmajorurbancentersandothersthatarepredominantlyrural,locatedineveryregionofthecountry.Thesestudieshavebeenconductedoveranextendedperiodoftimeandhaveexaminedpopulationswithdiversedemographics.Avarietyofmethodologieshavebeenemployedincarryingouttheinvestigationsandanassortmentofdifferentquestionsofinterestrelatedtotheimpactofschoollibrariesonstudentlearninghavebeenexplored.

Therelationshipbetweenqualityschool-libraryserviceandstudentperformanceonstandardizedreadingtestshasbeenresearched,ashasthecorrelationbetweenexemplarylibrariesandgraduationrates.Studieshaveexploredtheimpactofschoollibrariesoncriticalthinkingskillsandstudentperformanceinscienceandmath.Manyofthestudieshaveemployedresearchdesignsthatcontrolledforfactorssuchasthedemographicsofthestudypopulation,overallperpupilexpenditures,percentageofstudentsfromlow-incomehouseholds,5andavarietyofothercharacteristicsthatindicatethedegreeofeconomicchallengefacingstudentpopulations.

Giventhediversityofstatesinvolvedandthevarietyofmethodologiesemployed,theextenttowhichthesestudiesarriveatverysimilarconclusionsisremarkable.Simplystated,accesstohigh-qualityschoollibraryservicesresultsinbetterstudentperformance.Thedeclarationusedasthetitleofthisreport,QualitySchoolLibraries=HigherStudentAchievement,isnotaspeculativestatement.Researchaffirmsthisequation.

However,attainingpositivestudent-learningoutcomesisnotassimpleasmaintaininganattractiveschool-libraryfacilityorevenfillingsuchafacilitywithup-to-date,relevantmaterialsandstate-of-the-arttechnology.Overandoveragain,theresearchdemonstratesthatthesinglefactormostcloselyassociatedwiththepositiveimpactofqualityschoollibrariesisafull-time,qualified/certifiedlibrarian/librarymediaspecialist.A2013compendiumentitledSchoolLibraryImpactStudies:AReviewofFindingsandGuidetoSources(Gretes,2013),citesnofewerthan20differentstudiesthatlinkhigherlibrarystaffingwithhigherreadingperformancesforelementary,middle,andhighschools.Severaladditionalstudiesconductedsince2013confirmtheearlierfindings(Lance,Schwarz,andRodney,SC2014;Coker,WA2015).

5Low-income,asdefinedbytheDelawareDepartmentofEducation,meansthatastudentcanqualifyforFreeandReducedPriceLunch.

Thestudiesalsoshowthatotherfactorsincludingflexiblescheduling,thelevelofinteractionbetweenthelibrarianandteachers,investmentinprintanddigitalresources,andaccesstotechnologicalresourcesalsocontributeinstatisticallysignificantwaystostudentachievement.Attainingpositiveresultsrequiresaholistic/systemicapproachtoprovidingqualityschool-libraryservices.

Thenextsectionsummarizesrelevantresearchsupportingtheroleofqualityschoollibrariesinstudentachievement.GreaterdetailregardingtheseandotherstudiescanbefoundinAppendixA:LiteratureReview.Theresearchsectionisfollowedbyareviewoffactorsthatimpactperformance,anassessmentofthecurrentconditionofDelaware’sschoollibraries,andrecommendationsforimprovementsthatwouldleadtohigherstudentachievement.

The Research: What Previous Research Has Shown

FewwouldchallengethesuppositionthatAmerica’sabilitytocompeteintheglobaleconomyiscloselylinkedtothenation’sabilitytoeducateitschildren.Yet,mostinternationalcomparisonsplacetheUnitedStates(U.S.)educationsysteminthemiddleofthepackamongdevelopednations(ProgramforInternationalStudentAssessment[PISA],2014).

OnelongitudinalmeasureofstudentachievementintheU.S.istheNationalAssessmentofEducationalProgress(NAEP).NAEPisacongressionallymandatedprojectadministeredbytheNationalCenterforEducationStatistics(NCES),withintheU.S.DepartmentofEducationandtheInstituteofEducationSciences(IES).NAEPhasassessedwhatstudentsknowandcandoinreading,writing,mathematics,andsciencesince1969.NAEP’sfindingsarereportedinapublicationreferredtoas“TheNation’sReportCard.”Thereportcardisupdatedbiennially;themostrecentdatawascollectedduringthe2014–15schoolyear.

The2015reportshowsnationalachievementlevelsinreadingholdingsteadycomparedto2013(thelastpreviousassessment)withmathachievementlevelsfallingslightlyinthesameperiod.Holdingsteadyinreadingmeansthatonly36percentoffourth-graders,34percentofeighth-graders,and37percentoftwelfth-graderswereproficientinreading.InDelaware,37percentoffourth-graderswerejudgedproficientwithanaveragescoreof224ona0–500pointscaleand31percentofeighth-gradersreachedorexceededtheproficientlevelscoring263outof500points.

TheNationalAssessmentGoverningBoard,whichoverseesNAEP,hassuggestedthattwelfth-gradestudentsscoring302oraboveontheNAEPreadingscalearelikelytopossesstheknowledge,skills,andabilitiesthatwouldmakethemacademicallypreparedforcollege.Nationally,only37percentoftwelfth-gradersscored302orhigherin2015.Many,ifnotthemajorityof,highschoolgraduatesarenotreadyforcollegeorfortheworkplacewithoutremedialassistance(PetrilliandFinn,2015).

Ameta-analysisof44studiescarriedoutbyDr.JimLindsaydocumentstherelationshipbetweenaccesstoprintmaterialsandeducationoutcomes.Theanalysisshowedthataccesstoprintmaterialshasthefollowingeffects:

• Improveschildren’sreadingperformance• Helpschildrenlearnthebasicsofreading• Causeschildrentoreadmoreandforlongerlengthsoftime• Producesimprovedattitudestowardreadingandlearningamongchildren(Lindsay,2010)

Bothanecdotalandempiricalevidencesuggeststhatchildreninmanyschoolsacrossthenationareseeingareductionratherthananincreaseintheiraccesstoreadingmaterials(Bridges,2013).Furthermore,evidencefromtheWashingtonStateSchoolLibraryImpactStudy(Coker,2015)suggests“studentswhoareleastlikelytohaveaccesstoaqualitylibraryaredisproportionatelymorelikelytofacepoverty.”Inotherwords,childrenwhoarealreadyathigherriskduetosocio-economicfactorsaremorelikelytoexperienceadeficitintheiraccesstoreadingmaterials(Lindsay,2010;Krashen,2012).

AstudybyNewYorkUniversity’sSteinhardtSchoolofCulture,Education,andHumanDevelopmentdocumentedtheexistenceof“bookdeserts”inpoorneighborhoodsandindicatedthat“accesstoprintresources…earlyonhasbothimmediateandlong-termeffectsonchildren’svocabulary,backgroundknowledge,andcomprehensionskills”(Neuman&Moland,2016).

Thefollowingoverviewofresearchsuggeststhattheimprovementofschoollibrarieswouldbeaprudentinvestmentandwouldgeneraterealgainsinstudentachievement.Theexamplesthatfollowareintentionallytakenfromthemostrecentstudiestoemphasizethefactthatschoollibrariesremainhighlyrelevantinthe21stcentury.

English Language Arts Performance

ArecentstatewidestudyinSouthCarolina(Lance,Rodney,andSchwarz,2014)validatestherelationshipbetweenqualityschoollibrariesandtestresultsforspecificEnglishLanguageArts(ELA)standards.ThestudyfoundahighcorrelationbetweenthepresenceofprofessionalschoollibrariansandtestresultsforthreeELAstandards—literarytext,informationaltext,andresearchaswellastwowritingstandards—contentandorganization.Thestudydeterminedthatthepositivelinkbetweenthepresenceofprofessionalschoollibrariansandtestresults“…couldnotbeexplainedawaybydemographicssuchasgender,race/ethnicity,disability,andsubsidizedorfreemealseligibility.”

TheSouthCarolinastudyaffirmsthefindingsofseveralotherstudies(includingstudiesinColoradoandPennsylvania)thatalsodocumenthigherstudentperformanceintheseareasinlibrarieswithfull-timeprofessionalstaff.

Reading

Multiplestudiesdocumentthestatisticallysignificantrelationshipbetweenschoolswithwell-staffedlibrariesandscoresonstandardizedreadingtests.Ina2013compendiumentitledSchoolLibraryImpactStudies:AReviewofFindingsandGuidetoSources(Gretes,2013),nofewerthan20differentstudiesarecitedthatlinkhigherlibrarystaffingwithhigherreadingperformancesforelementary,middle,andhighschools(AK2010;CA2008;CO2010;FL2003:IL2005;IN2010;IA2002;MA2010;MI2003;MN2004;MO2004;NC2003;NM;2002;NY2010;PA2000;ON2006/2009;OR2001;TX2001;WI2006).

A2012studyinColorado(Lance&Hofschire,2012)demonstratesthatgainsinreadingscoresarehighestwhenthereisafull-time“endorsed(certified)librarian”atthebuildinglevel.Thestudystatesthat“Researchfindingsonschoollibrariansandtheirassociationwithstudents’(reading)testscoresareconsistent:regardlessofhowrichorpooracommunityis,studentstendtoperformbetteronreadingtestswhere,andwhen,theirlibraryprogramsareinthehandsofendorsedlibrarians”(Lance&Hofschire,2012).

Furthermore,theresearchdemonstratesthattheinverseisalsotrue.LanceandHofschiredocumentedtheimpactoflibrarianlayoffsonfourth-gradereadingscoresbetween2004and2009.“Fewerlibrarianstranslatedtolowerperformance—oraslowerriseinscores—onstandardized

tests.”Thestudyalsofoundthat“19ofthe26statesthatgainedlibrarianssawanaverage2.2percentriseintheirNationalAssessmentofEducationProgress(NAEP)fourth-gradereadingscores”(Lance&Hofschire,2012).

Studentsatrisktendedtobeaffectedmorepositivelybytheadditionofschoollibrariansthanthegeneralstudentpopulationandtheseat-riskpopulationssufferedgreaterlosseswhenlibrarianswereeliminated(Lance&Hofschire,2012).

Writing

InarecentSouthCarolinastudy(Lance,Schwarz,andRodney,2014),allstudents,bothmaleandfemale,weremorelikelytoshowstrengthsandlesslikelytoshowweaknessesonthePalmettoAssessmentofStateStandards(PASS)Writingstandards—overallandonContentandOrganization—iftheirschoollibrarieswerestaffedbyatleastonefull-timelibrarianandatleastonefull-timeorpart-timeassistantthaniftheirlibrarieswerestaffedotherwise.Allstudentswere2percentlesslikelytoshowweaknessesonthePASSwritingstandardsifaqualifiedfull-timelibrarianwasonstaff.Allstudentswere2.1percentmorelikelytodemonstratestrengthsontheContentandOrganizationtestsifaqualifiedfull-timelibrarianwaspresentintheirschool.

AstudyconductedinPennsylvaniain2012entitledHowPennsylvaniaSchoolLibrariesPayOff:InvestmentsinStudentAchievementandAcademicStandards(Lance&Schwarz)foundthat“theimpactofschoollibrariesismorepronouncedproportionatelyforwritingthanreadingscores.”Studentswithaccesstoqualitylibraries(definedbymeasuresthatincludedacertifiedlibrarian,availabilityofsupportstaff,expendituresofatleast$11perstudentperyearfornewresources,collectionsofatleast12,000volumes,up-to-datetechnology,andflexiblescheduling),weretwo-to-five-timesmorelikelytoscore“advanced”onthePennsylvaniaSystemofSchoolAssessment(PSSA)readingandwritingteststhanstudentswhodidnothaveaccesstoqualitylibraries.

Other Areas of Increased Performance

GainsinstudentperformancearenotlimitedtoELA.TestresultsthatassesscriticalthinkingskillareasrelatedtoELAsuchasresearchandinformationliteracyarealsopositivelyimpactedbytheavailabilityofqualityschool-libraryservices.Althoughthecorrelationbetweenqualityschoollibrariesandperformanceinmathandsciencehasnotbeenstudiedasfrequently,severalstudiesshowgainsthatcannotbeexplainedbyotherfactors(Dow,Lakin,&Court,2012).Asidentifiedbythestudiesbelow,researchskills,informationliteracyskills,andevengraduationratesappeartobeimpactedbythepresenceofhigh-qualityschoollibraries.

Research Skills

TheSouthCarolinastudy(Lance,Schwarz,andRodney,2014)revealsthatthepresenceofatleastonefull-timelibrarianandafullorpart-timeassistantmadeasignificantdifferencein“exemplary”performanceintheresearchcomponentofthePalmettoAssessmentofStateStandards(PASS).Thepercentageofstudentsscoringatexemplarylevelswastwotothreepercenthigherinschoolswith

afullcomplementoflibrarystaffing.Thisgappersistedacrossmanycategoriesofstudentsincludingboysandgirls,Hispanicstudents,andlimitedEnglishlanguagestudents.

Math & Science

ResearchconductedinKansas(Dow,Lakin,&Court,2012)foundthatstudentsinschoolsthatmaintainedhigherandmorestablelibrarymediaspecialiststaffinghadhigherproficiencyratesasreportedinKansasAnnualYearlyProgressdata.Thehigherproficiencyrateswerenotlimitedtoreadingandwriting;scoreswerehigherinmathematics,science,andhistory/governmentaswell.Infact,theproficiencydifferencebetweenstudentsinschoolswithlibrarymediaspecialistsandwithoutlibrarymediaspecialistswasgreatestinmathematics.Furthermore,thisproficiencydifferencepersistedacrossthegradelevels(elementary,middle,andhighschool).

Information Literacy Skills

Researchexploringthecorrelationbetweenschoollibrariansandthedevelopmentofinformationliteracyskills(Schultz-Jones&Ledbetter,2009,2010)concludedthatschoollibrarians“candevelopandnurtureanoptimallearningenvironmentthatmakesapositiveandmeasurablecontributiontotheeducationalprocess.”Thesestudiesstresstheimportanceoflibrarian/teacherinteractionandpartnershipsinfacilitatingstudentlearning.Anothercompendiumofschool-libraryimpactstudiespreparedatMansfieldUniversity(Kachel,2013)citesstudieslinkinglibrarian/teacherinteractionandgainsinstudentlearningintheareasofinformationliteracyandtechnologyskills(Smith,2006;Klinger,2009).

Graduation Rates

TheWashingtonStateSchoolLibraryImpactStudyentitledCertifiedTeacherLibrarians,LibraryQualityandStudentAchievementinWashingtonStatePublicSchools(Coker,2015)developedameasurementtooltoassessstudentperformanceinrelationtoaholisticassessmentoflibraryquality.ThestudyappliedaLibraryQualityScale(LQS)toranklibrariesintofourcategories(lowlibraryquality,fair(-)libraryquality,fair(+)libraryquality,andhighlibraryquality)andthenexaminedstudentperformanceinrelationtoLQSrankings.TheLQScriteriaincludednineitemsthatreflectedstaffinglevelsandhoursofaccess,printandelectronicresources,accesstoup-to-datetechnology,andscheduling.

UsingtheLQSrankings,theCokerstudylookedatfive-yeargraduationratesinschoolsinthreecategories:

• Lessthan30%ofstudentseligibleforFreeorReducedPriceLunch(FRPL)• Between30%and50%ofstudentseligibleforFRPL• 50%orhigherstudentseligibleforFRPL

Whilethedifferenceingraduationratesinlowlibraryqualityschoolsandhighlibraryschoolsservingthelessthan30percentFRPLwassignificant(11%),thegapingraduationratesinlowlibraryqualityschoolsandhighlibraryschoolsservingthe50percentorhigherFRPLwasan

astounding36percent(43percentinschoolswithlowlibraryqualityand79percentinschoolswithhighlibraryquality).Again,qualityschoollibrariesappeartohavethegreatestimpactamongstudentswhofaceavarietyofsocio-economicchallenges.

Figure1:Five-YearGraduationRatesforSchoolswith50%orHigherQualifiedforFreeorReducedPriceLunch

HighLibraryQualityScale(LQS)Score

Fair(+)LQSScore

Fair(-)LQSScore

LowLQSScore

The Requisites: Factors That Impact Performance

Aswaspreviouslynoted,theextenttowhichschool-libraryimpactstudiesarriveatverysimilarconclusionsisremarkable.Thesamefactorsareidentifiedoverandoveragainasbeingcorrelatedwithstudentsuccess,andwhiletherearesomevariationsinfindings,itisthesimilarityratherthanthevariancethatisstriking.Researchindicatedthefollowingcharacteristicsmakeadifferenceinstudentlearning:

• Afull-timecertified/qualifiedlibrarianatthebuildinglevel6• Adequatesupportstafftoenablethelibrariantoperformprofessionalduties• Adequateexpenditurefornewresourcestoensurestudentaccesstorecent,relevant

content7• Highlevelofcollaborationbetweenlibrariansandteachersandlibrariansandstudents• Flexibleschedulingthatenablesthelibrariantointeractwithteachersandstudents• Accesstoup-to-datetechnologicalinfrastructureandonlineresources• Accesstoprofessionaldevelopmentandnetworkingopportunitiesforlibrarystaff

Whiletheresearchdemonstratesthatprofessionalstaffingisclearlythemostimportantofthefactorsintermsofstudentperformance,theschoollibrariesthatmakethemostdifferenceinstudentlearningarethoseinwhichallofthefactorscometogetherinaholisticway(Coker,2015).Inacknowledgementofthisfact,thisMasterPlanrecommendsaholisticapproachtothedevelopmentofqualitylibrariesandcreatesasystemforquantifying“qualitylibraries”thatwillfacilitateongoingassessmentofschool-libraryimpacts.

ThenextsectionpresentsdeficienciesthatcurrentlyexistinDelaware’sschoollibrariesaswellassometroublingtrendsthatdiminishtheeffectivenessofschoollibrariesandlibrarians.Therecommendationssectionofthereportprovidesawayforwardthat,ifimplemented,willgeneratepositiveoutcomes.

6SchoollibrariancertificationrequirementsarecodifiedinTitle14,Chapter1500,Section1580SchoolLibraryMediaSpecialistoftheDelawareAdministrativeCode.SeeAppendix.7Whatisdeemedanadequatedollaramounttomakeapositivedifferencerangesfrom$11perstudenttoover$15perstudent.

The Reality: Findings From the Delaware Study

AstudyofDelaware’sschoollibrariesconductedbyDr.RossJ.Toddin2004wasgenerallyoptimistic.ToddidentifiedanumberofchallengesfacingschoollibrariesintheFirstStatebutindicatedthat“Delawarehasthepotentialtobeidentifiednationallyasoneofthefirststatestoachievehighqualityschoollibraryservicesandprogramsandtoreachstate-basedandnationallydeterminedstandards.”Heciteddeficienciesthathecalled“shortcomingsintheprovisionofinfrastructure—resources,full-timestaffing,aswellasinstructionalopportunitiestoworkwithclassroomteachers.”Unfortunately,itappearsthatthesameshortcomingsstillexistin2016andthey,infact,havebecomeevenmorepronounced.

ThepositiveoutcomesenvisionedbyToddhavenotmaterialized,notbecausetheadviceinthereportwasflawed,butrather,becausetherecommendationsfromthereportwereneverimplemented.

Toddoutlinedasetofcharacteristicsthatparallelvirtuallyeverymajorstatewidestudyofschoollibrariesthathasbeencarriedoutsincetheyear2000.AmongthecharacteristicsidentifiedbyToddascontributingtostudentlearningoutcomeswere:

• Astate-certified,full-time,librarymediaspecialistinthebuilding;• Theavailabilityofpara-professionalstaffwhoundertakeroutineadministrativetasksand

freethelibrarymediaspecialisttoundertakeinstructionalinitiativesandreadingliteracyinitiatives;

• Alibraryprogramthatisbasedonflexibleschedulingsothatlibrarymediaspecialistsandclassroomteacherscanengageincollaborativeplanninganddeliveryofinformationliteracyinstruction;

• Aschoollibrarythatmeetsresourcerecommendationsof15to20booksperchild;• Abudgetallocationof$12to$15per-studentper-yeartoensurecurrencyandvitalityofthe

informationbase;• Astrong,networkedinformation-technologyinfrastructurethatfacilitatesaccesstoanduse

ofinformationresourcesinandoutoftheschool.

AnumberofmethodswereemployedincarryingoutthisstudytorevisitthestatusofDelaware’sschoollibrariesin2015–16.Theseeffortsincluded:

• Aweb-basedsurveydirectedtoallschool-librarystaffincludingcertifiedlibrarians,othercertifiedteachersactingasschoollibrarians,andparaprofessionalsworkingin(andsometimesmanaging)schoollibraries;

• Focusgroupswithschool-library/media-centerpersonnelheldinlocationsthroughoutthestate;

• Focusgroupswithschoolprincipals;and• Personalinterviewswithindividualsincludinglibrarians,principals,superintendents,and

otherswithspecialknowledgeofspecificprograms.

Followingisanoverviewofthefindingsoftheseinformation-gatheringefforts.Greaterdetailcanbefoundintheappendicestothisreport.

Professional Library Staff

Thepresenceofafull-time,well-qualified/certifiedlibrarianatthebuildinglevelisthefactormostcloselycorrelatedwithstudentsuccessinvirtuallyalloftheschool-libraryimpactstudies.ItisthereforevitallyimportanttoconsiderhowDelaware’sschoolsarefaringinthiscriticalarea.

WhenRossTodd’sstudywasreleasedin2005,thetotalenrollmentinDelaware’spublic,non-charterschoolswas115,816students.Adecadelater,thestudentpopulationhadgrownto123,127,anincreaseof6.3%.In2005,Delawareschooldistrictsreportedthattheyemployedatotalof123librarians.Bythe2015–16schoolyear,thatnumberhaddroppedto120.Atfirstglance,thisdropmayseemrelativelyinsignificant;however,acloserexaminationrevealssomeverytroublingtrends.Thestatewidepicturemasksamuchbleakersituationthatadverselyaffectsstudentsinsomedistricts.

In2005–2006,thestatewideratiooflibrarianstostudentswasonelibrarianforevery942students.By2015–16,theratiohadgrowntoonelibrarianforevery1,026students.Again,thisdisparityseemsrelativelysmall.Itisnotuntilwebegintoexaminenumbersatthedistrictlevelthatconsiderableinequityisrevealed.In2005–2006,thedistrictwiththebestlibrarian/studentratiohadonelibrarianforevery535students.In2005–2006,thedistrictwiththepoorestlibrarian/studentratiohadonelibrarianforevery2,131students.In2015–16,thedistrictwiththebestlibrarian/studentratiohadonelibrarianforevery579students(thisdistrictaddedfourlibrarianpositionsbetweenthe2014–15and2015–16schoolyears).Thelowestratioforthe2015–16schoolyearwasonelibrarianforevery5,170students.Itwouldseemclearthatthereisasignificantdisparitybetweentheschool-libraryservicesreceivedbyastudentinadistrictwithonelibrarianforevery579studentsandtheservicesreceivedbyastudentinadistrictwithonelibrarianforevery5,170students.

Figure2:DisparityinDelawarePublicSchoolDistrictsintheRatioofLibrarianstoStudents

EvenmorealarmingisthefactthatDelaware’sschoollibrariesappeartobeheadedinanincreasinglydiredirectioninregardtothenumberofschoolswithfull-time,certifiedlibrarians.AcomparisonamongDelaware’sschooldistrictsshowsthatthetendistrictsinwhichlessthan40

LowestLibrarian/StudentRaroDistrict

HighestLibrarian/StudentRaroDistrict

percentofthestudentsarefromlow-incomehouseholdshaveadded13librarianssincethe2005–2006schoolyear.Theninedistrictsinwhichmorethan40percentofthestudentsarefromlow-incomehouseholdshavecut16librarianssincethe2005–2006schoolyear.It’sworthnotingthatthedistrictwiththehighestpercentageofstudentsfromlow-incomehouseholdsinthestate,addedfourlibrarianpositionsbetween2014–15and2015–16.However,theoveralltrendindicatesthatDelaware’sat-riskstudentswhocouldbenefitthemostfromqualityschoollibrariesareinsteadfacingreductionsinserviceslikelytoimprovetheirperformanceinreading,writing,andcriticalthinking.

Figure3:DisparityinNumberofLibrarianPositionsperDistrict

Anotherconcernrelatestothequalificationsoflibrarystaff.AlthoughtheDelawareDistrictandSchoolProfilesreport120librarians,acloserexaminationrevealsthatnotalloftheindividualsfillingthesepositionsarecertifiedlibrarians.AccordingtorecordsfromtheDelawareAssociationofSchoolLibrarians,approximately110ofthelibrariansareeithercurrentlycertifiedorarequalifiedforcertification.Inmostotherinstances,para-professionalsoperateschoollibrariesandarereportedinthedistrictsstatisticsaslibrarians(2015).Thisissimplyoneofmanyareasinwhichalackofcentralizeddata-collectionaboutschoollibrarieshindersqualityanalysis.

Anadditionaltroublingtrendisanapparentgradualerosionofthetimelibrariansareabletospendcarryingouttheirprofessionalduties.Inputfromtheweb-basedsurvey,librarianfocusgroups,andlibrarianinterviewsindicatesthatmany,ifnotmostDelawareschoollibrariansareseverelylimitedintheamountoftimetheycanspendworkinginaprofessionalcapacitywithstudentsandteachers.Ofthe64librariansrespondingtotheweb-survey,60.9percentindicatedthattheyhaveotherinstructionaland/orstaffingresponsibilitiesbeyondthosedirectlyassociatedwiththeirjobdutiesinthelibrary/mediacenter.Thesedutiesrangefromservingastheschooltestcoordinatororaspecialeducationteachertodutiesmorecloselyalignedwiththelibrarysuchasactingasthebuildingtechnologistandteachingresearch-skillsclasses.

2005–2006 2015–2016

LibrarianPosiZonsinDelawareSchoolDistricts,comparing2005–2006to2015–2016schoolyears

Districtswithlessthan40%ofstudentsfromlow-incomehouseholds

Districtswithmorethan40%ofstudentsfromlow-incomehouseholds

AddingtothiserosionisareporteddeclineinthenumberofsupportstaffworkinginDelaware’sschoollibraries.Only10ofthe68librariansrespondingsaidthatanyotherpaidstaffworkedintheirlibraries.Ofthese,fourlibrarieshadonlypart-timesupport.Consequently,manylibrariansreportedspendingasignificantportionoftheirtimeonclericaltasksrangingfromcheckingmaterialsinandout,re-shelvingbooks,andprocessingmaterials(attachingbookcovers,labels,etc.).Timespentcarryingoutclericaltasksdirectlyimpactstheamountofcollaborationwithteachersthatresearchdemonstrateshasapositiveimpactonstudentlearning.8

Severallibrarianswhoparticipatedinfocusgroupsraisedarelatedissueconcerningprofessionallearningcommunities(PLCs).AlthoughlibrariansareuniquelypositionedtoaddsignificantlytoPLCsascross-disciplinaryresources,librariansreportthattheirroleisoftenrelegatedtocoveringclasseswhileteachersparticipateinPLCmeetings.ArethinkingoftherolethatlibrariansmightplayinPLCswouldverylikelyyieldpositiveresults(Hughes-Hassel,Brasfield,andDupree,2012).

Librariansparticipatinginfocusgroupsandininterviewsalsoraisedconcernaboutunitcounts.Theyexpressedtheopinionthattheinclusionoflibrariansinthegeneralunitcountpitslibrariansagainstothervaluedandneededstaff.Theavailableresearchbuildsastrongcaseforamodelthatmandatesaleveloflibrarystaffingthatreflectsthesizeofthestudentpopulationratherthanplacinglibrariansincompetitionwithothereducatorsandsupportstaff.9

Finally,informationgatheredinfocusgroups,interviews,andinsessionswiththeDelawareSchoolLibrariesCouncilunderscorestheimportanceofongoingstaffdevelopmentforlibrarians.Theweb-basedsurveydocumentsthefactthatmostschoollibrariansinDelawareareworkinginisolationfromotherlibraryprofessionals.Delaware’scertificationprogramforlibrariansshouldbereviewedwithaneyetowardstrengtheningtheprofessionaldevelopmentcomponent.

Inshort,professionallibrarianpositionsarebeingcutdisproportionatelyindistrictsinwhichstudentscouldbenefitmostfromtheirservices.Furthermore,theeffectivenessofmanyofthelibrariansalreadyinplacehasbeendiminishedbecauseofalackofsupportstaffandbytheencroachmentofmanyotherdutiesthatreducetheamountoftimetheyareabletospendinteractingwithstudentsandteachers.

Access to Resources

Accesstoup-to-date,relevantresourcesproducesnumerouspositiveoutcomes(Lindsay,2010)including:

• Improvingchildren’sreadingperformance• Helpingchildrenlearnthebasicsofreading• Causingchildrentoreadmoreandforlongerlengthsoftime• Producingimprovedattitudestowardreadingandlearning

8PleaseseeAppendixA:LiteratureReviewforadditionalinformationregardingthisbodyofresearch.9PleaseseeAppendixA:LiteratureReviewforadditionalinformationregardingthisbodyofresearch.

However,itappearsthatthebooksandotherlearningresourcesofferedbyDelaware’sschoollibrarieshavedeclinedsincetheToddstudywasconductedmorethanadecadeago.Toddreportedanaveragecollectionsizeof11,500itemsandamedianbudgetallocationfornewmaterialsat“below$6,000”perschool.Theweb-surveyconductedin2015identifiedthemeanexpendituresfornewmaterials(purchasedwithtaxfunds)as$4,688andthatthemedianbudgetwas$3,000—halfoftheestimatedamountreportedintheToddstudy.

Althoughthesurveyfoundthataverageschoolcollectionshavegrownslightly(amedianof12,450items),onaverage,only460newitemswerebeingaddedtoeachschool’scollectionperyear(medianwasevenlowerat300).ThisisaveryclearindicationthatDelaware’sschool-librarycollectionsareoutdated.Atareplacementrateof460newitemsayear(3.7%ofthecollectionperyear),itwouldtakeroughly27yearsfortheentirecollectiontoturnover.

In2012–13,theDelawareSchoolLibrariesCouncilworkedwithFollett,thecurrentschool-librarycatalogvendor,toconductananalysisofprintcollections.TheresultsofthisanalysisappearedintheDelawareSchoolLibrariesCouncilAnnualReportfor2013.FollettreportedthattheaveragecopyrightdateoffictiontitlesinDelaware’sschool-librarycollectionswas1994andthattheaverageimprintdateofnon-fictionmaterialswas1993.Nearly90percent(89.97%)ofthematerialsinScienceTechnology,Engineering,andMath(STEM)categories(Dewey500s[Science]andDewey600s[AppliedSciences])weremorethan5yearsold.

TheToddstudyrecommendedanexpenditureof$12to$15perstudentperyearforthepurchaseonnewresources.However,thisrecommendationwasmademorethantenyearsagoanddoesnotaccountforinflationthathasoccurredoverthepastdecade.Currently,itisimpossibletoaccuratelyreporttotalexpendituresfornewlibraryresources.Forthemostpart,decisionsregardinglibrarymaterialsbudgetsarebeingmadeatthebuildingratherthanatthedistrictlevelandnocentralizedsystemofreportingtheseexpendituresisreadilyavailable(FocusGroups,2015).However,web-surveyresultssuggestthatthetotalexpenditurefornewmaterialsisintherangeof$800,000to$900,000.Thiswouldtranslateintobetween$6.50to$7.50perstudent.

TheSouthCarolinastudy(Lance,Rodney,andSchwarz,2014)indicatedthatexpendituresof$13.33ormoreperstudentwascorrelatedwithpositiveoutcomesintermsofstudentperformance.AnearlierstudyinPennsylvania(LanceandSchwarz,2012)foundthatexpendituresover$11.00perstudentmadeadifferenceinstudentperformance.Whileitisdifficulttodefineapreciseexpenditurerecommendation,thereisnoquestionthattheamountthatwouldcontributetodesiredresultsinstudentlearningisconsiderablymore,andprobablyclosertodouble,whatisbeingspentperstudentatthecurrenttime.

OneadvantagethatstudentsinDelawarehavethatisn’taffordedtoallchildreninthenationisaccesstohigh-qualityonlinedatabases.UDLib/SEARCHisaprogramthatworkstodeliverequitableaccesstoinformationresources.Thecontinuationofthisprogramisessential.Whileonlinedatabasesareanextremelyvaluableresearchtool,theyarenotareplacementforbook-lengthworks.Buildingonthismodelbyexpandingittoincludemorecurriculum-basede-contentoffersanopportunitytoincreaseaccesstoup-to-date,relevantcontentinawaythatensuresequityaswellasquality.

Thecurrentstatusofresourcesharingbetweenandamongschoolshasimprovedtoamodestextentoverthecourseofthepastdecade.Dr.Toddreportedthat40percentofschool-librarycatalogsweresearchableviatheInternet.Whilethatpercentagehasdoubled(80.9percentofsurveyparticipantsindicatedthattheirlibraryholdingswereavailableoutsidetheschoolbuilding),theoveralllevelofresourcesharingamongschoolsisstillverylow.Thisisdue,atleastinpart,toalackofareasonablequantityofup-to-datematerialsthatareinhighdemand(FocusGroups,2015).However,thelackofanetworkedonlineresourceforfindingandreservingmaterialsalsocontributestothissituation.ApilotprogramisunderwaytoincludealimitednumberofschoollibrariesintheDelawareLibraryCatalog.Thismayserveasamodelforthesharingofresourcesnotonlybetweenandamongschoollibrariesbutbetweenandamongschoolandpubliclibrariesaswell.

Coordination and Data Collection

Delawareschoollibrarieshavesufferedafatecommontomanyotherstatesinregardtostatelevelcoordination.Atonetime,manystateeducationdepartments,includingDelaware,hadindividuals(andoftenwholeunits)thatworkeddirectlywithschoollibrariestosupportandcoordinatetheirefforts.Overtimemanyofthesepositionsdisappeared.Makingmattersevenworse,havingadistrict-levelschool-librarycoordinatorusedtobecommon,butnowthesepositionshavenearlydisappeared.Inshort,bothstate-anddistrict-levelpersonnelsupportingschool-libraryserviceshaveevaporated.Schoollibrariansreportedthattheyoftenfeelasiftheyareoperatinginavacuum.ProfessionaldevelopmentandthebuildingofprofessionalnetworkshavelargelybeentheresultofpersonalinitiativeandvoluntaryactivitiesasopposedtobeingeffortssupportedbyeithertheStateorbyschooldistricts.

The“reconstitution”oftheDelawareSchoolLibrariesCouncilhasbeenonestepintherightdirectioninthataformalgovernmentalbodynowexiststhathasthemissionof“establishinganexemplaryschoollibraryprogram.”Inadditiontospearheadingthecurrentmasterplanprocess,thecouncilhasundertakensomedatacollectionandhasservedasapointofcontactandasanadvocateforschoollibrarieswithschooldistricts,schoolboards,thelegislature,andthepublic.ItiscriticalthattheCouncilbereauthorizedthroughExecutiveOrderunderthenextgovernor’sadministration.Unfortunately,nopaidstaffisassignedtothecouncilanditseffortshavelargelybeenundertakenasalaboroflovebyindividualswhocareaboutschoollibrariesandwhoareawareofthedifferencethattheycanmake.However,withoutformalstaffingsupport,thecouncil’sabilitiestoaffectchangewillbeextremelylimited.

Furthermore,theworkthatneedstobedoneisconsiderable.Inadditiontothesupportandcoordinationofschool-libraryprogramsfromthestatelevel,programstocollectandreportschool-librarystatisticshaveallbutdisappeared.Inthepast,somebasicinformationregardingschoollibrarieswasgatheredthroughtheNationalCenterforEducationalStatistics(NCES)SchoolsandStaffingSurvey(SASS).Whileincompleteinitsscope,SASSatleastprovidedsomebaselineinformationthatcouldbeusedforcomparativeandresearchanalysispurposes.However,SASShasnowbeenreplacedbytheNationalTeacherandPrincipalSurvey(NTPS).Unfortunately,theNTPSsurveycaptureslittlemorethanverificationofwhetherornotanindividualschoolhasalibrary.

Thisseverelylimitstheabilityofschools,schooldistricts,andstateeducationagenciestoassesstheimpactofinvestmentsinschoollibraries.Inshort,thebasictoolsneededtoassesstheimpactofschool-libraryprogramsonstudentperformancearelargelylacking.

The Recommendations

Introduction

Thedeclarationusedasthetitleofthisreport,QualitySchoolLibraries=HigherStudentAchievement,isnotaspeculativestatement.Researchaffirmsthisequation.ConsiderableevidencesuggeststhatDelawarewillattainmeasurablegainsinstudentperformanceifstrategicinvestmentsaremadeinimprovingthequalityoftheFirstState’sschoollibraries.Thefollowingrecommendationsareintendedtochartacoursethatwillenablethestatetorealizethesegains.

Itshouldbenotedthatseveraloftherecommendationsarenotnew,noraretheyrevolutionary.ThefindingsofthisMasterPlananditsrecommendationsareconsistentwiththosemadeinastudybyDr.RossToddwhenheexaminedDelaware’sschoollibrariesoveradecadeago.Therecommendationsarealsoconsistentwiththosemadeindozensofotherstatewidestudiesconductedacrossthenationsincetheyear2000.ThefactthatpotentialgainsoutlinedintheToddreport(andinmanyothers)havenotmaterializeddoesnotreflectpoorlyonthequalityoftherecommendations;rather,progresshasbeenimpededinDelaware(andmanyotherstates)becausegoodrecommendationswereneveractedupon.

Therecommendationsinthisreportareintentionallyresults-oriented.Therecommendationsproposemakingholisticchangesthattogetherwillyieldpositiveoutcomes.Therecommendationshavebeenorganizedintofourseparatecategories.Theyare:

• Staffing• Contentandaccess• Governanceandinfrastructure• Assessmentandaccountability

Researchshowsthatdifferentcomponentsoflibraryservicescontributetostudentsuccesstovaryingdegreesandthattheyimpactlearnersindifferentways.10Forexample,overall,full-timeprofessionalstaffingattheschoolbuildinglevelhasthegreatestimpactonperformanceonstandardizedteststhatassessreading,writing,andresearchskills.However,simpleaccesstoreadingmaterialsisalsocrucial.Severalstudies(Pribesh,2011;Krashen,2012)documentarelationshipbetweenpoorreadingtestscoresamongchildreninpovertyandlackofaccesstobooksintheirhomesandcommunities.Thisissuewasrecentlyunderscoredinthe“bookdesert”studythatlookedataccesstoprintresourcesinlow-incomeneighborhoods(Neuman&Moland,2016).

Ahighcorrelationhasalsobeenfoundbetweenstudentachievementandfactorssuchasthenatureandqualityofinteractionbetweenlibrarians,flexibleversusfixedschedulesandoverall

10PleaseseeAppendixA:LiteratureReviewforadditionalinformationregardingthisbodyofresearch.

expendituresonlibraryservices.11Anapproachthatimprovesthequalityofschoollibrariesinmultiplewaysismostlikelytogeneratepositiveresultsintermsofstudentlearningandperformance.

Abriefoverviewoftherecommendationsispresentedbelowfollowedbyadditionaldetailsregardingeachoftheproposedactions.

Staffing

Researchdemonstratesthatthepresenceofacertifiedprofessionallibrarianwithanappropriatelevelofsupportstaffingatthebuildinglevelisthecomponentoflibraryservicethatismosthighlycorrelatedwithstudentperformance.12Consequently,tworecommendationsaredirectedtowardachievingthegoalofhavingafullystaffedlibraryineachpublicelementary,middle,andhighschoolbuildinginthestate.Thefirstrecommendationinvolvesthedevelopmentoflegislationthatcodifiestherequirementforlibrariesineachschoolanddesignatesschoollibrariansandaccompanyingparaprofessionalsasadistinctcategorywithinthestate’sunitcountappropriationmodel.

Statefundingforthisinitiativewouldbeapproximately70percentofthetotalneededtoimplementtheeffort.Fullyimplementingtheprogramwouldrequirelocalschooldistrictsupportofapproximately30percent.Recognizingthatfullyreachingthisgoalwilllikelytakeaperiodoftime,thesecondrecommendationcallsforaprivately-funded“proof-of-concept”pilotprojectinvolvingnineschools(anelementaryschool,amiddleschool,andahighschoolineachcounty).Thepilotprojectwouldsupporttheimprovementofninelibrariesinfourcriticalareas(professionalstaffing,supportstaffing,acquisitionofnewmaterials,andimprovedaccesstoexistingresources)thatresearchdemonstratesproducesimprovedlearningoutcomesforstudents.Thepilotwouldenabletheparticipatingschoolstoachieveahighlevelonaschool-libraryqualityindexthatisbuiltaroundresearchfindings.Studentperformanceonspecificstandardizedtestsattheappropriategradelevelswouldthenbeusedtodemonstrateanddocumenttheimpactofqualityschoollibraries.

Recommendation 1: Require a School Library, a Certified Librarian, and an Appropriate Level of Support Staff in Every School

Delawareshouldimplementlegislationthatcodifiestherequirementforaschoollibraryineachschoolandprovidesacertifiedlibrarymediaspecialistandappropriatelevelofsupportstaffineveryelementary,middle,andhighschool.ThislegislationwouldbesimilartoHouseBillNo.152,whichwasintroducedinthe148thGeneralAssembly,butwould“scale”therequirementforcertifiedlibrarymediastaffandwouldaddsupportstaffbasedonanindividualschool’senrollmentlevel.Thelegislationwoulddesignateschoollibrarians,andappropriatelibrarysupportstaff,asadistinctcategorywithintheState’sunitcountappropriationmodeltoensurethateachschoolwillreceivesufficientStatefundingtohirethenumberofschoollibrariansandsupportstaffrecommendedintheSchool-LibraryQualityIndex(seeRecommendation#10).

11PleaseseeAppendixA:LiteratureReviewforadditionalinformationregardingthisbodyofresearch.12PleaseseeAppendixA:LiteratureReviewforadditionalinformationregardingthisbodyofresearch.

Recommendation 2: Seek Funding for and Implement a Pilot Project in Nine Schools to Determine the Impact that Quality School Libraries Have on Student Learning Outcomes

Delawareshouldseekcorporate/foundation/philanthropicfundingforapilotprojectdesignedtoserveasaproof-of-conceptofthecorrelationbetweenqualityschoollibrariesandstudentperformance.Thepilotshouldbeimplementedoverafive-yearperiodinnineschools(oneelementaryschool,onemiddleschool,andonehighschoolineachcounty.)Participantschoolswouldbefundedforfiveyearsatalevelthatwouldcoveranappropriatestaffingcomplement,fundingforlibraryresourcesattherecommendedlevelof$15perstudentandcostsassociatedwithparticipationofthelibraryintheDelawareLibraryCatalog.ThesepilotlibrarieswillbeconsideredQualitySchoolLibrarieswhentheyhaveachievedascoreofatleast90pointsontheSchool-LibraryQualityIndex.

Content and Access

Severalofthestudiesthatexplorethecorrelationofqualitylibrariesandstudentperformancehavefoundstatisticallysignificantrelationshipsbetweenthelevelofaccesstoreadingresourcesandstudentperformance(Krashen,2004,2012;Lindsay,2010).Thatthereisarelationshipbetweenaccesstoreadingmaterialsandtheabilityofchildrentoreadwouldseemintuitive.

Annualexpendituresfornewresources(print,non-printmedia,andonlineresources)areastrongindicatorofaccesstoresourcesthatactuallywillberead.Outdatedtitlesgetlittleuse(BaumbachandMiller,2006).Therelationshipbetweenexpendituresfornewmaterialsandstudentlearningisnotquiteasstrongastheprofessionallibrarian/studentlearningcorrelation,nevertheless,itisstatisticallysignificantandrepresentsakey,measurablecomponentinqualitylibraryservice(Kachel,2013).

Unfortunately,thereisatremendousdisparityinthequantityandqualityofresourcesavailabletoDelaware’sstudents.Studentsinschoolswithnolibrariesorwithlibrariesstockedwithoutdatedresources(indicatedbythefactthattheyspendlittleornothingfornewmaterialsorcontent)areatacleardisadvantagewhencomparedtochildreninschoolsthatinvestinnewresourcesonanongoingbasis.

Tworecommendationsseektoremedythisdisparity.ThefirstcallsfortheexpansionoftheUDLib/SEARCHprogramandDelawareDivisionofLibraries’e-bookprogramtoincreasetheaccesstoe-books.E-booksareanexcellentinvestment.DatafromtheDelawareDivisionofLibraries’e-bookprogram(2015)indicatesthat41percentoftheire-booksare“checkedout”atanygiventimecomparedtoarateofabout10percentfortypicalprintcollections.

ThesecondrecommendationrecognizesthatDelaware’staxpayersarealreadyinvestinginawidevarietyoflibrarymaterialsinschoolandpubliclibraries.ByincludingschoollibrariesintheDelawareLibraryCatalog(whichalreadyincludestheholdingsofallpubliclibrariesandsomeacademiccollections),allchildrenandadultsinDelawarewouldgainimprovedaccesstoawealthofresources.Participationinthesharedcatalogwouldalsofacilitatethesharingofmaterials

betweenschoolsinthesamedistrict,amongdistrictsinthestateandbetweenschoolsandpubliclibraries.WhileitwouldbepossibletomarginallyimproveresourcesharingthroughthecreationofasharedFollett“Destiny”system(mostschoolsinDelawarecurrentlyuselocalversionsofthissystem),theDLCsolutionoffersgreaterpossibilitiesforexpansionasaprimaryinformationsourceinadditiontobeingafindingandresourcesharingtool.ParticipationintheDLCwouldalsoaddresstheseriousissuesthatexistinregardtoequityofaccesstoresources.

Recommendation 3: Expand Student Access to “E-Content”

DelawareshouldexpandonitssuccessfulgrouplicensingeffortsrepresentedbyUDLib/SEARCHprogramthroughtheUniversityofDelaware’sMorrisLibraryande-booklicensingonbehalfofallDelawareresidentsfacilitatedthroughtheDelawareDivisionofLibrariestoincreasestudentaccesstoadditionalonlineanddownloadablee-content,especiallye-books.TheUDLib/SEARCHmodelalreadyensuresequitablestudentaccesstoanoutstandingsetofresearchandstudytools.Expandingtheprogrambyprovidingstatewidefundingforcurriculum-relatede-bookswouldaddressaseriousdisparityinthequalityandquantityofothereducationalresourcesthatcurrentlyexists.TheprogramwouldbecoordinatedandadministeredasanextensionofUDLib/Search.ExpandingtheDelawareDivisionofLibraries’e-bookprogramtoincludemoretitlesforchildrenwouldprovideenhancedaccesstogeneralreadingmaterialsforallStateresidentsincludingstudentsandteachers.

Recommendation 4: Expand the Delaware Library Consortium to Include all School Libraries

TheDelawareLibraryCatalog,providedthroughtheDelawareLibraryConsortium,offersresidentsoftheFirstStatesingle-searchaccesstotheholdingsofeverypubliclibraryinthestate.TheholdingsofallDelawareschoollibrariesshouldalsobereflectedintheDelawareLibraryCatalog.Thiswouldresultinmoreefficientstudentaccesstovaluablelibraryandinformationresourcesaswellasthemoreefficientuseofthestateandlocaltaxdollarsthatarecurrentlyspenttopurchaselibrarymaterials.Studentswouldlikelymakegreateruseofpubliclibrarymaterialsaswellbecauseasinglesearchwouldenablethemtofindrelevantresourceswherevertheyexistinthestate.Finally,theinclusionofschoollibrariesintheDelawareLibraryCatalogwouldalsostrengthentheconceptofalifelonglearningcontinuuminvolvingschoolsandpubliclibrariesandmoveDelawaretowardthe“seamlessinformationlandscape”envisionedinthe2004Toddstudy.

Theeffectivenessofexistingschoollibrarieshasbeenhamperedinanumberofdifferentways.Mostschoollibrarianscurrentlyoperateinavacuumwithlittlecoordinateddirectionandwithlimitedopportunitiestoinnovateandcollaboratewithintheirschools,withintheirdistrictsandwithinthestate.Schooldistrictsarelargelyunawareofresourcesheldbyotherneighboringdistrictsandthereisalackofaneffectiveresourcessharingsystem.Creatingagovernanceframeworkandaresourcesharinginfrastructurewouldenableschoollibrariestomaximizethevalueofstaffandothereducationallibraryresourcesthatarepurchasedwithtaxpayerdollarsbyexpandingthepotentialaudienceforeveryitempurchased.

Becausethereareanumberofdistinctfactorsthatcontributetothissituation,avarietyofrecommendationsareoffered.Recommendation4(thattheDelawareLibraryConsortium(DLC)beexpandedtoincludeallschoollibraries)iscloselytiedtotheGovernanceandInfrastructurerecommendations.Infact,arobustsharedintegratedlibrarysystemispartoftheoverallinfrastructurethatisneeded.WhileitwouldbepossibletomarginallyimproveresourcesharingthroughthecreationofasharedFollett“Destiny”system,theDLCsolutionoffersgreaterpossibilitiesforexpansionasaprimaryinformationsourceinadditiontobeingafindingandresourcesharingtool.

However,creatingalinkedsystemofschoollibrarieswillrequiremorecoordinationthaniscurrentlyinplace.ItwouldrequirethecreationofpositionswithintheDelawareDepartmentofEducationandDivisionofLibrariestocoordinate,support,andoverseeschoollibraries.Themanagementofschoollibrariesandhiringdecisionsregardinglibrarystaffwouldstillremainatthelocalandschooldistrictlevels.Thepointofincreasedcoordinationisnotcontrol,rather,itisdesignedtoachievegreaterefficiencyandeffectivenessoflimitedresources.Statewidecoordinationwouldprovideprofessionalsupporttoschoollibrariansandwouldofferadvicetolocaladministratorswhenrequested.

AsecondGovernanceandInfrastructurerecommendationcallsforthereviewofadministrativerulesandstructuralmechanismsthattendtomakeschoollibrariestargetsforcutsandreductionstocreateanewmodelthatprovidesincentivesratherthandisincentivestodistrictstosupportqualitylibraries.

Athirdrecommendationidentifieschangesinafederalprogram(thetransitionfromtheElementaryandSecondarySchoolAct[ESEA]totheEveryStudentSucceedsActof2015[ESSA])thatmayprovideopportunitiestousefederalfundstoimproveschool-libraryservices.Thefinalrecommendationinthiscategoryurgestheadoptionofaflexibleschedulingmodelinschools.Thisrecommendationstemsfromthefactthatresearchdemonstratesthatlibrarian/teachercollaborationisvastlyimprovedunderthismodel.Collaborationbetweenlibrariansandteachersinactivitiesrangingfromparticipationinprofessionallearningcommunitiestoco-teachinghasbeenidentifiedasanimportantfactorinthelinkbetweenqualitylibrariesandstudentlearning(Lance,Rodney,andSchwarz,2010).

Recommendation 5: Establish Specific Governance Responsibilities for the Coordination and Oversight of School Libraries

SpecificresponsibilitiesforthecoordinationofoversightofDelaware’sschoollibrariesshouldbecodifiedandimplemented.Toensurecoordinationandcooperationbetweenschoolandpubliclibrariesinthefurtherdevelopmentofacontinuumoflifelonglearning,someoftheseresponsibilitiesshouldbegiventotheDelawareDepartmentofEducation,whileotherresponsibilitiesshouldresideintheDivisionofLibraries.

Recommendation 6: Examine and Address Systemic Issues that Inhibit the Development of High-Quality School-Library Programs

Theimportanceofhavingahigh-qualityschoollibrarystaffedbyacertifiedlibrarianineveryschoolcannotbeoverstated.Adequatestaffing,sufficientqualityresources,andasupportiveadministrativecultureareallcriticalcomponentsthatallowschoollibrariestoserveasacatalystforimprovinglearningoutcomesforallstudentsregardlessofsocioeconomicstatus.Unfortunately,severalissuessuchastheabsenceofadesignatedfundingsourceforstaffandmaterials,insufficientmechanismsfortheevaluationoflibrarians,andalackofunderstandingregardingtheimpactthathigh-qualityschool-libraryprogramscanhaveonstudentshindertheirdevelopmentandperformance.Theseissuesmustbeexaminedinfurtherdetail,andsolutionsshouldbedevelopedtoaddressthem.

Recommendation 7: Leverage Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) Funding to Strengthen School Libraries

DelawareshouldtakeadvantageoftheEveryStudentSucceedsActof2015tostrengthenitsschoollibrariesinspecific,targetedways.ThereauthorizationoftheElementaryandSecondaryEducationAct(ESEA)astheEveryStudentSucceedsActof2015placesagreateremphasisonschoollibrariesandprovidesopportunitiesforleveragingfederalfundstoenhancestudentlearningthroughtheimprovementofDelaware’sschoollibraries.

Recommendation 8: Implement Flexible Scheduling for School Libraries

Delawareschoollibrariansshouldworkwiththeirschoolanddistrictadministrationstowardtheimplementationofaflexibleschedulingmodelforlibrariesinallschools.Researchindicatesthatthequalityofinteractionbetweenlibrariansandteachersisgreatlyenhancedwhenlibraryservicesareoperatingwithinaflexibleschedulingenvironment.Schoolsshouldbeencouragedtoimplementflexibleschedulingoratleasttoestablishahybridoffixed/flexiblescheduling.

ThediscontinuationofthecollectionofstatisticaldataonschoollibrariesthroughtheFederalSchoolsandStaffingSurvey(SASS)leavesDelawareandtherestofthenationwithadearthofbasicreliabledataaboutschoollibraries.ThisunfortunatesituationlimitsthedegreetowhichDelawarecantracktheimpactofitsschoollibraries.ThelackofdesignatedstaffintheDepartmentofEducationwithresponsibilitiesforschoollibrariesmakesthesituationevenworsesincetheStateisnotcurrentlyinthepositiontofillthisinformation/statisticsgatheringandanalysisgap.Furthermore,theresearchdemonstratesthatgainsinstudentperformancerequiremorethansimplytheexistenceofaschoollibrary.Qualityschoollibrariesmakeadifference.Theresearchclearlyidentifiesthefactorsthat,together,constitutequality.13

Tworecommendationsrevolvearoundassessmentandaccountability.Thefirstcallsforthecollectionofabasicsetofdatafromschoollibrariesonanongoingbasis.Thesecond

13PleaseseeAppendixA:LiteratureReviewforadditionalinformationregardingthisbodyofresearch.

recommendationcreatesaneffectivemechanismthatwouldusethedatathatarecollectedtoevaluatelibrariesbasedonaschool-libraryqualityindex.School-libraryqualityindexratingsandstandardizedtestscorescanthenbeappliedtoassessprogressinstudentlearninginrelationtolibraryquality.

Recommendation 9: Design and implement an ongoing program of data collection, management, and assessment for school libraries

Delawareshoulddesignandimplementitsownongoingassessment/datacollection/datamanagementefforttodocumentthegainsresultingfromadditionalinvestmentinthestate’sschoollibraries.Thedearthofqualitycomparativedataregardingschoollibrariesmakesassessmentdifficult,andinsomeinstances,impossible.Datacollectionshouldbelimitedtoasmallsetofessentialdatawithspecificapplicationtomeasuringtheimpactofqualitylibraryservicesonstudentperformance.

Recommendation 10: Create a Delaware School-Library Quality Index to Facilitate the Tracking of Student Performance and Investment in School-Library Services

Delawareshouldimplementa“School-LibraryQualityIndex”thatusesthedatacollectedastheresultofRecommendation9.Thisindexwouldcreatearatingofschool-libraryservicesthatwouldbeusedinconcertwithstandardizedtestingresultstomeasuretheimpactthatspecific,targetedinvestmentsinschoollibrarieshaveonstudentperformance.

Followingisamorein-depthlookateachoftherecommendations.

Staffing

Recommendation 1: Require a School Library, a Certified Librarian, and an Appropriate Level of Support Staff in Every School

Delawareshouldimplementlegislationthatcodifiestherequirementforaschoollibraryineachschoolandprovidesacertifiedlibrarymediaspecialistandappropriatelevelofsupportstaffineveryelementary,middle,andhighschool.ThislegislationwouldbesimilartoHouseBillNo.152,whichwasintroducedinthe148thGeneralAssembly,butwould“scale”therequirementforcertifiedlibrarymediastaffandwouldaddsupportstaffbasedonanindividualschool’senrollmentlevel.Thelegislationwoulddesignateschoollibrarians,andappropriatelibrarysupportstaff,asadistinctcategorywithintheState’sunitcountappropriationmodeltoensurethateachschoolwillreceivesufficientStatefundingtohirethenumberofschoollibrariansandsupportstaffrecommendedintheSchool-LibraryQualityIndex(seeRecommendation#10).

NewlegislationshouldbedraftedthatencompassesthestaffingrecommendationsoutlinedintheSchool-LibraryQualityIndex.ThislegislationwoulddifferfromHouseBillNo.152,introducedinthe148thGeneralAssembly,inthatitwouldrequireeachschoolbuildingtohavealibraryandwouldcallforbothaspecificnumberofcertifiedlibrarymediaspecialistsandparaprofessionalsupportstaffbasedonthesizeofthestudentenrollmentineachschool.Itwouldintegrateschoollibrarians,andaccompanyingparaprofessionals,asadistinctgroupwithintheState’sunit-countappropriation

model(Title14,Chapter17,StateAppropriations).DoingsoensuresthedevelopmentofadedicatedfundingsourcefromtheStatetosupportthesalaryandbenefitsofschoollibrariansandaccompanyingparaprofessionals.Therecommendednumberofstaffreflectsresearchthatdemonstratesastrongcorrelationbetweenschoollibrarystaffingandstudentperformance.14

Statefundingforthisinitiativewouldbeapproximately70percentofthetotalneededtoimplementtheeffort.Fullyimplementingtheprogramwouldrequirelocalschooldistrictsupportofapproximately30percent.

Followingaretherecommendedlevelsforcertifiedlibrarymediaspecialistsandsupportstaff:

Table1:CertifiedLibraryMediaSpecialist

Enrollment CertifiedLibraryMediaSpecialistTarget

0–299 .5Full-TimeEquivalent

300–999 1.0Full-TimeEquivalent

1,000–1,599 1.5Full-TimeEquivalent

1,600orhigher 2.0Full-TimeEquivalent

Table2:LibrarySupportStaff/Para-Professional

Enrollment LibrarySupportStaff/Para-professionalTarget

Ideally,theproposedlegislation,oradditionalcompanionlegislation,wouldalsoaddresstheissueofper-pupilexpendituresfornewlibraryresourcesbyestablishingincentivestoreachspecifictargets.TargetlevelsforthiselementshouldalsobebasedontherecommendationsfoundintheSchool-LibraryQualityIndex.Anexpendituretargetof$15perstudent(adjustedannuallytoreflectinflation)istheultimategoal.

Recommendation 2: Seek Funding for and Implement a Pilot Project in Nine Schools to Determine the Impact that Quality School Libraries Have on Student Learning Outcomes

Delawareshouldseekcorporate/foundation/philanthropicfundingforapilotprojectdesignedtoserveasaproof-of-conceptofthecorrelationbetweenqualityschoollibrariesandstudentperformance.Thepilotshouldbeimplementedoverafive-yearperiodinnineschools(oneelementaryschool,onemiddleschool,andonehighschoolineachcounty.)Participantschools 14PleaseseeAppendixA:LiteratureReviewforadditionalinformationregardingthisbodyofresearch.

wouldbefundedforfiveyearsatalevelthatwouldcoveranappropriatestaffingcomplement,fundingforlibraryresourcesattherecommendedlevelof$15perstudentandcostsassociatedwithparticipationofthelibraryintheDelawareLibraryCatalog.ThesepilotlibrarieswillbeconsideredQualitySchoolLibrarieswhentheyhaveachievedascoreofatleast90pointsontheSchool-LibraryQualityIndex.

AstrongDelawareSchoolLibrariesCouncil(DSLC)isessentialinmakingthisandotherinitiativesareality.ExistingvacanciesonthecouncilneedtobefilledtoensuretheeffectivenessofDSLC.DSLCshouldworktomakesurethatDelawareansarefullyawareofthebenefitsofstrongschoollibraries.Furthermore,DSLCshouldworkwiththeDepartmentofEducation,theDelawareDivisionofLibraries,withschoolsuperintendents,legislators,andotherinterestedpartiestodevelopthepilotprojecttoreachatleast90pointsontheSchool-LibraryQualityIndex.

SchoolsselectedtoparticipateshouldrepresentthediversityofDelaware’sschoolsinregardtosocio-economicfactorsandcurrentstudentperformanceonstandardizedtests.Baselinedataandongoingprogressdata(usingtheSchool-LibraryQualityIndexandtestscoresonspecificstandardizedtestsapplicabletoagivengrade-level/school)wouldbetrackedforthedurationoftheprojecttodeterminetheimpactoftheimprovedlibraryservicesonstudentperformance.AmechanismforgraduallyshiftingthecostoftheprogramfromsoftfundingtoStateandlocalschooldistrictfundingcouldbebuiltintothepiloteffort.

Inadditiontoseekingthefundingnecessarytosupporttheon-siteprograms,fundsshouldbeincludedinthepilotprogramfortheongoingassessmentprocessandstaffdevelopmentrelatedtothepilotprojectforlibrarians,librarysupportstaff,teachers,andprincipals.

Content and Access

Recommendation 3: Expand Student Access to “E-Content”

DelawareshouldexpandonitssuccessfulgrouplicensingeffortsrepresentedbyUDLib/SEARCHprogramande-booklicensingonbehalfofallDelawareresidentsfacilitatedthroughtheDelawareDivisionofLibrariestoincreasestudentaccesstoadditionalonlineanddownloadablee-content,especiallye-books.TheUDLib/SEARCHmodelalreadyensuresequitablestudentaccesstoanoutstandingsetofresearchandstudytools.Expandingtheprogrambyprovidingstatewidefundingforcurriculum-relatede-bookswouldaddressaseriousdisparityinthequalityandquantityofothereducationalresourcesthatcurrentlyexists.TheprogramwouldbecoordinatedandadministeredasanextensionofUDLib/Search.ExpandingtheDelawareDivisionofLibraries’e-bookprogramtoincludemoretitlesforchildrenwouldprovideenhancedaccesstogeneralreadingmaterialsforallStateresidentsincludingstudentsandteachers.

TheUDLib/SEARCHprogramisessentialinlevelingtheplayingfieldforallDelawarestudents.WhiletherearetremendousdisparitiesinregardtoaccesstoqualitycollectionsofprintmaterialsinDelaware’sschoollibraries,allpublicK–12studentsaswellasthestudentsinamajorityofprivateschoolstudentsinDelawarehaveequalaccesstoawidearrayofhigh-qualitydatabasessuchascriticalreferencematerialsandfull-textjournalarticles.State-levelfundingfortheseresources

enablesDelawaretoprovideabaselineofimportanteducational/curriculum-relatedcontentinthemostcosteffectivewaypossible.

WhileUDLib/SEARCHoffersawealthofdatabases,thecurrentfundinglevelfortheprogramallowsforthelicensingofaverylimitednumberofe-books.HarnessingtheUniversityofDelaware’sexpertiseandthelicensinginfrastructurethatisalreadyin-placethroughUDLib/SEARCHcouldgoalongwaytowardimprovingthedepthandbreadthoflibraryandinformationresourcesavailabletoeverychildinDelaware.Theinvestmentof$350,000incurriculum-relatede-contentlicensingthatwouldbesharedamongallpublicschoolshasthepotentialforatremendousreturnoninvestment.Aproratedamountofthistotalexpenditurewouldbeincludedwhencalculatingtheper-studentexpenditurefactoratthebuildinglevel.

AnexpansionoftheDelawareDivisionofLibraries’e-bookeffortswouldalsobenefitstudentsbyprovidingallstateresidents,includingschoolchildrenwithadditionalreadingmaterials.Theseitemswouldbeavailabletoall.Anexpenditureofanadditional$250,000isrecommended.Thishybridlicensingapproach(curriculum-relatedmaterialsthroughUDLib/SEARCHandenrichmentmaterialsthroughtheDivisionofLibraries)isdesignedtomaximizetheState’spurchasingpower.Licensingthatislimitedtostudents(aswellasteachers,schooladministratorsandparents)islesscostlythanlicensingcurriculum-relatedmaterialsforallstateresidents(manyofwhomwouldnotusethecurriculum-basedresources).

ItshouldbenotedthatthedatainfrastructureofDelaware’sschoolsmustbeupgradedtoensurethatallstudentsinDelawareareabletoaccesstheresourcesprovidedbythisexpansionofelectronicdatabasesandcontent.AccordingtoSenateConcurrentResolution22(Delaware,2015)theState“currentlypaysfor10megabytesofbandwidthtoschools,whichfallswellbelowtherecommendedamounttosupporttheinternetneedsofthestudentpopulation.”Improvingthebandwidthavailabletoeachschoolwillallowstudentstoaccesstheseadditionalresourcesquickly,whilealsoensuringthatthedatainfrastructurewillnotbeoverburdened.

Recommendation 4: Expand the Delaware Library Consortium to Include all School Libraries

TheDelawareLibraryCatalog,providedthroughtheDelawareLibraryConsortium(DLC),offersresidentsoftheFirstStatesingle-searchaccesstotheholdingsofeverypubliclibraryinthestate.TheholdingsofallDelawareschoollibrariesshouldalsobereflectedintheDelawareLibraryCatalog.ThiswouldresultinmoreefficientstudentaccesstovaluablelibraryandinformationresourcesaswellasthemoreefficientuseoftheStateandlocaltaxdollarsthatarecurrentlyspenttopurchaselibrarymaterials.Studentswouldlikelymakegreateruseofpubliclibrarymaterialsaswellbecauseasinglesearchwouldenablethemtofindrelevantresourceswherevertheyexistinthestate.Finally,theinclusionofschoollibrariesintheDelawareLibraryCatalogwouldalsostrengthentheconceptofalifelonglearningcontinuuminvolvingschoolsandpubliclibrariesandmoveDelawaretowardthe“seamlessinformationlandscape”envisionedinthe2004Toddstudy.

ParticipationofallschoollibrariesintheexistingDLC,whichalreadyincludesallpublicandsomeacademiclibraries,wouldstreamlinestudentandteacheraccesstoawealthofmaterialsinlibraries

throughoutthestate.ParticipationintheDelawareLibraryCatalogwouldgreatlyexpandthediversityofmaterialsavailable,wouldsimplifyinterlibraryloan,andwouldofferstudentsandteachersafamiliarinterfaceforsearchingforresourcesinschool,athome,andintheircommunitylibraries.

Participationofschoollibrarieswouldalsofacilitatecoordinatedcollectiondevelopmentbothwithinandacrossdistricts.StudentsandteacherswouldalsohaveeasieraccesstootherresourcessuchasLibGuides,e-booksthroughtheDelawareDivisionofLibraries,andthe“AskaLibrarian”virtualreferenceprogram.Whiletheseservicesarecurrentlyavailabletostudentsandteachers,theywouldbemorelikelytousethemiftheywereusingthesameentryportalintheschoolsthatisavailableathomeandintheirpubliclibrary.

HavingallschoolsasparticipantsintheDLCcouldalsoprovidegreaterimpetustoextendtheDelawareLibraryCatalogbeyonditsexistingprimaryfunctionofservingasafindingtool.MakingtheDelawareLibraryCatalogaprimarysourceofdirectlyaccessibleresources(suchasdirectaccesstoonlinedatabasesanddownloadablecontentfromcatalogsearches)wouldgreatlybenefitallstateresidentsinadditiontoenrichingtheresourcesavailabletostudentsandteachers.Collaborationwithpubliclibrariesoncollection,development,andmanagementwouldenableschoollibrarianstospendmoretimeandattentiononcollaborationwithteachersandfulfillingstudents’needs.

ThedevelopmentofthisunifiedlibraryplatformwillfulfillakeyrecommendationoftheAspenInstitute’sRisingtotheChallenge:Re-EnvisioningPublicLibraries(2014)report.Thisreportcalledforthecreationof“adigitalpubliclibrarymodel[that]wouldhaveasingleinterface—oratmostafew—thatallowsexistingonlinelibrarycatalogstobefullyintegratedwithnewones.Itwillprovideasinglepointofaccesstoalltitles,takingtheburdenofbothtechnologyandarchivingoffindividuallibraries”(Garmer,2014).

Finally,inclusionofschoollibrariesintheDLCwouldeasethedatacollectionburdenonschoollibrariansbyprovidingcentralized“live-data”regardingnumberofholdings,recencyofmaterialsbysubject/topicandcirculationactivity.Thiswouldalsoassistschoollibrariansinrefiningtheircollectiondevelopmentpracticesbymakingvaluablereal-timeinformationavailabletothem.

Therehasbeensomediscussionofcreatingastatewideschool-librarycatalog/resourcesharingsystembyexpandingontheFollett“Destiny”school-librarymanagementsystem.Thiswouldclearlybeanimprovementoverthestatusquo;however,expandingtheDLCtoincludeschoollibrarieswouldaccomplishallthatastatewidedestinysystemwouldaccomplishandwould,inaddition,linkschoollibrarieswithpubliclibraryresourcesandprovideasharedportalforthedeliveryofinformationalandeducationalcontent.

Recommendation 5: Establish Specific Governance Responsibilities for the Coordination and Oversight of School Libraries

SpecificresponsibilitiesforthecoordinationofoversightofDelaware’sschoollibrariesshouldbecodifiedandimplemented.Toensurecoordinationandcooperationbetweenschoolandpubliclibrariesinthefurtherdevelopmentofacontinuumoflifelonglearning,someoftheseresponsibilitiesshouldbegiventotheDelawareDepartmentofEducation,whileotherresponsibilitiesshouldresideintheDivisionofLibraries.

Atthepresenttime,thehealthandstatusofschoollibrariesislargelydeterminedatthedistrictandschoolbuildinglevel.Whilesomeaspectsofthislocalcontrolarecertainlypositive,thelackofcoordinationandoversightatthestatelevelhasresultedininequitiesandanunevennessinstudentaccesstoanessentialelementinpositivelearningoutcomes.State-levelcoordinationofschool-libraryserviceswouldalsoassistlocaladministratorsandlibrariansbyincreasingawarenessofemergingtrends,bestpractices,andsupplementalfundingopportunities.

Werecommendthatafull-timepositionbeestablishedwithintheDelawareDepartmentofEducationtoserveasthecoordinatorofschool-libraryprograms.Thepositionshouldbefilledbyacertifiedlibrarymediaspecialistwithfirst-handexperienceinschoollibraries.Dutiesofthepositionwouldincludeplanningprograms,conductingassessments,andcoordinatingstaffdevelopmentforschoollibraries.Thecoordinatorofschool-libraryprogramswouldalsoprovideassistanceandguidancetoschoolsandschooldistrictstoensurethatbestpracticesandnewandemergingtrendsinschool-libraryserviceareincorporatedintotheassessmentoflibrarystaff.

Theschool-librarycoordinatorwouldoverseethecollectionandanalysisofrelevantstatisticsandwouldreportannuallyonthestatusofschoollibrariesasitrelatestostudentperformance.TheDepartmentofEducationpositionwouldalsobeinvolvedinstatewideplanningrelatedtotheimprovementofschool-libraryservicesincoordinationwiththeDelawareDivisionofLibraries,wouldidentifypotentialsourcesofgrantstosupportschool-libraryinitiatives,wouldcoordinatestaffdevelopmentopportunitiesforschool-librarypersonnel,andwouldcoordinatethedevelopmentandmaintenanceofweb-contentrelatedtobest-practicesinschoollibraries.Theschool-librarycoordinatorwouldalsofacilitatestrategicplanningforlibraryservicesincoordination/cooperationwithDelawareDivisionofLibrariesstaffinvolvedinstrategicplanningforpubliclibraries.Finally,thepersoninthispositionwouldstafftheDelawareSchoolLibrariesCouncil.

Ideally,eachschooldistrictwouldalsoemployalibrary/mediacoordinatortooverseeschool-libraryimprovementatthedistrictlevel.Thedistrictlibrary/mediacoordinatoror,ifsuchaspositiondoesnotexist,onelibrarianineachdistrictshouldbedesignatedtoactasthedistrict’sliaisonwiththeDepartmentofEducation’sschool-librarycoordinator.

Itisalsocriticaltoensurethatschoollibrariesaresupportedinwaysthatleverageothertaxpayerresourcestoadvancestudentlearning.Consequently,werecommendthatanadditionalpositionbeestablishedwithintheDelawareDivisionofLibraries.Thispositionwouldcoordinateschool

participationintheDelawareLibraryConsortium,wouldcooperatewiththeUDLib/SEARCHprograminregardtoe-contentlicensing,andwouldserveasaliaisonbetweenschoolandpubliclibraries.ThispositionwouldalsofacilitatestrategicplanningforpubliclibrariesincoordinationwiththeDepartmentofEducation’sschool-librarycoordinatorwhowouldbechargedwithstrategicplanningresponsibilitiesforschoollibraries.

Recommendation 6: Examine and Address Systemic Issues that Inhibit the Development of High-Quality School-Library Programs

Theimportanceofhavingahigh-qualityschoollibrarystaffedbyacertifiedlibrarianineveryschoolcannotbeoverstated.Adequatestaffing,sufficientqualityresources,andasupportiveadministrativecultureareallcriticalcomponentsthatallowschoollibrariestoserveasacatalystforimprovinglearningoutcomesforallstudents,regardlessofsocioeconomicstatus.Unfortunately,severalissuessuchastheabsenceofadesignatedfundingsourceforstaffandmaterials,insufficientmechanismsfortheevaluationoflibrarians,andalackofunderstandingregardingtheimpactthathigh-qualityschool-libraryprogramscanhaveonstudentshindertheirdevelopmentandperformance.Theseissuesmustbeexaminedinfurtherdetail,andsolutionsshouldbedevelopedtoaddressthem.

Currentlyfunding(Title14,Chapter17StateAppropriations)forschoollibrariansisbasedentirelyonthediscretionofschoolanddistrictadministrators,creatingasituationwherethereisacompetitionforlimitedfundingbetweenlibrariansandothervaluablespecialtypositions/services.Asdiscussedthroughoutthisreport,librariansserveavitalrolebypromotingreading,enhancingcommunicationskills,andprovidingaccesstoawealthofinformationandtechnologytoallstudents.Recommendation1isdesignedtoensurethateveryschoolwillhaveaccesstothisvaluableresourcedespitecompetitionforfunding.

Moremustbedonetodevelopanadministrativecultureattheschoolanddistrictlevelthatissupportiveoflibraries.Doingsowillrequireenhancedadvocacyeffortsbyschoollibrariansandstakeholdersthatshowcasehowtheactivities/programsofschoollibrariescanaddressthepressingissuesofpubliceducationinDelawaretoday,suchasimprovinglearningoutcomesandaccesstoresourcesforstudentsthatarelivinginpovertyandassistingwiththeintegrationofEnglishlanguagelearnersintotheclassroom.Linkingschool-libraryprogramstothesepressingissueswillenhancetheirvaluetoschool/districtadministrators,andcanleadtothedevelopmentofasupportiveadministrativeculture,whichwillallowthemtoeffectivelycompeteforfundingthatisprovidedatthediscretionofschoolanddistrictleadership.

Thequalityoflibraryresourcesinmanyschoolsacrossthestateisalsosufferingduetoinsufficientfunding.Toensurethatallstudentshaveaccesstorelevant,up-to-date,high-qualityresources,legislationmustbeproposedthataddressestheissueofperpupilexpendituresfornewlibraryresourcesbyestablishingincentivestoreachspecifictargets.TargetlevelsforthiselementshouldalsobebasedontherecommendationsfoundintheSchool-LibraryQualityIndex.Anexpendituretargetof$15perstudent(adjustedannuallytoreflectinflation)istheultimategoal.

Themechanismscurrentlyinplacetoevaluatetheperformanceofschoollibrariansmustbeenhancedtoensurethatconstructivefeedbackisprovidedtostaff.Acrossthestate,thereisalackofaunifiedunderstandingoftheroleoftheschoollibrarianandthemetricsthatmustbeusedtoevaluateperformance.Insomeinstances,theyareevaluatedasteachers,andinothers,theyareassessedasspecialists.Thislackofaunifiedperformanceappraisalhinderstheprofessionaldevelopmentofstaffandforcesadministratorstobasedecisionsoffofincompleteinformation.Severalprincipalsreportedthattheperformanceappraisalprocessforlibrariansisdifficultduetothelackofaclearunderstandingofthelibrarian'srole.Developingastatewidejobdescriptionforschoollibrarians,alongwiththemetricsthatshouldbeusedtodetermineperformance,shouldbeassignedtotheDepartmentofEducation.Routinizedproceduresmustbeestablished,andqualifiedevaluatorsmustbetrained.

Recommendation 7: Leverage Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) Funding to Strengthen School Libraries

DelawareshouldtakeadvantageoftheEveryStudentSucceedsActof2015(ESSA)tostrengthenitsschoollibrariesinspecific,targetedways.ThereauthorizationoftheElementaryandSecondaryEducationAct(ESEA)astheESSAplacesagreateremphasisonschoollibrariesandprovidesopportunitiesforleveragingfederalfundstoenhancestudentlearningthroughtheimprovementofDelaware’sschoollibraries.

TheDelawareSchoolLibrariesCouncilshouldpartnerwiththeDepartmentofEducationandtheDivisionofLibrariestodeterminehowfederalfundingthroughESSAcanbeusedtosupportarenewedemphasisonthequalityofschoollibraries.SchoollibrariesaremoreprominentlymentionedinESSAthantheywereinESEA.WhilespecificusesofESSAfundingwilldependonotheruses,ataminimum,thefollowingareasshouldbeexploredingreaterdepth.

TitleI,PartAfundsmightbeusedtosupportplanningactivitiesatthestateanddistrictlevels.TitleII,PartAfundscouldconceivablybeusedtosupportlibrarystaffdevelopmentandprogrammingactivities.

TitleII,PartB,Subpart2mightbeusedtoencourageandenhancelibrarian/teachercollaborationinactivitiesrelatedtoliteracy.TitleII,PartB,Subpart2,Section2226couldbeusedtosupportspecificinnovativeliteracyinitiativesaimedatlow-incomecommunities.Finally,TitleIV,PartAblockgrantfundscouldbeusedforavarietyofeffortsrelatedtolibraries.

Recommendation 8: Implement Flexible Scheduling for School Libraries

Delawareschoollibrariesshouldworkwiththeirlocaladministrationstowardtheimplementationofaflexibleschedulingmodelforalllibraries.Researchindicatesthatthequalityofinteractionbetweenlibrariansandteachersisgreatlyenhancedwhenlibraryservicesareoperatingwithinaflexibleschedulingenvironment.Schoolsshouldbeencouragedandincentivizedtoimplementflexibleschedulingoratleasttoestablishahybridoffixed/flexiblescheduling.

Researchdemonstratesthatoperatingunderaflexibleversusfixedschedulehasagreatimpactonthedegreetowhichlibrariansandteachershaveanopportunitytocollaborateandthedegreeto

whichstudentsareabletoparticipateinactivitiesdirectlyrelatedtotheirdevelopmentofcriticalthinkingskills(Lance,Rodney,andRussel,2007).

Thedecisiontoimplementfixedorflexibleschedulesistypicallymadeatthebuildinglevelandoftenishighlyintertwinedwithahostofotherschedulingdecisionsrelatedtoteachersandotherstaff.Movingawayfromthefixedframeworkandtowardtheflexibleframeworkmayrequireanincrementalchange.Thischangeisunlikelytocomeunlessallpartiesareawareofthesignificantbenefitsofthechange.Acombinationofstepsmayhelpthetransition.

Pilotprojectsshouldprovideanopportunitytodocumentthebenefitsoftheflexiblemodel.TheinclusionoffixedversusflexibleintheSchool-LibraryQualityIndexmayalsoencouragemovementfromfixedtoatleastahybridapproach.Thedisseminationofthisreportamonglegislators,schoolboardmembers,districtadministrators,principals,andteachersandtheschedulingofwebinarsandotheropportunitiestobuildanunderstandingofthebenefitsofadoptingaflexiblemodelisalsoimportant.Educationanddemonstrationarethekeystochangeinthisarea.

Recommendation 9: Design and implement an ongoing program of data collection, management, and assessment for school libraries

Delawareshoulddesignandimplementitsownongoingassessment/datacollection/datamanagementefforttodocumentthegainsresultingfromadditionalinvestmentinthestate’sschoollibraries.Thedearthofqualitycomparativedataregardingschoollibrariesmakesassessmentdifficult,andinsomeinstances,impossible.Datacollectionshouldbelimitedtoasmallsetofessentialdatawithspecificapplicationtomeasuringtheimpactofqualitylibraryservicesonstudentperformance.

Inthepast,somebasicinformationregardingschoollibrarieswascollectedthroughtheNationalCenterforEducationalStatistics(NCES)SchoolsandStaffingSurvey(SASS).Whileincompleteinitsscope,SASSatleastprovidedsomebaselineinformationthatcouldbeusedforcomparativeandresearchanalysispurposes.However,SASShasnowbeenreplacedbytheNationalTeacherandPrincipalSurvey(NTPS).Unfortunately,theNTPSsurveycaptureslittlemorethanverificationofwhetherornotanindividualschoolhasalibrary.Thisseverelylimitstheabilityofschools,schooldistricts,andstateeducationagenciestoassesstheimpactofinvestmentsinschoollibraries.

Werecommendthedevelopmentandimplementationofadata-collectiontoolthatwouldbeadministeredeachyear.Toavoidaddingaconsiderableburdenonlibrarianswhoareoftenalreadyoverextended,datacollectionshouldbehighlytargeted.Itshouldincludeinformationidentifyingtheschool,thedataelementsincludedintheDelawareSchool-LibraryQualityIndex(seeRecommendation4)andonlyafewothersrelevanttotheongoingassessmentofthecorrelationbetweenschool-libraryqualityandstudentperformance.

Initiallistofdataelementstobecollectedinclude:

• Librarianon-site(buildinglevel)• Statusofcertificationoflibrarian• Numberofhoursperweekthelibrarianspendsonlibrary-relatedfunctions• Paraprofessional/librarysupportstaffon-site(buildinglevel)• Numberofhoursperweektheparaprofessionalspendsonlibrary-relatedfunctions• Totallibraryexpendituresbyrevenuesource(State,district,grant,other)• Totalexpendituresfornewmaterials(includesprint,non-print/media,e-content)by

revenuesource• Numberofnewitemsaddedtothelibrarycollectionduringthepreviousyear(tracked

throughparticipationintheDelawareLibraryCatalog)• Totallibrarycollectionsize(numberofitems,numberofe-booksavailable,etc.)(tracked

throughparticipationintheDelawareLibraryCatalog)• Averagenumberofqualitylibrarian/teacherinteractionsperweek(co-teaching,

participationwithteachersinPLCs,etc.)• Averagenumberoflibrarian/studentinteractionsperweek(includingstructuredclassvisits,

butdoesnotincludestudy-halltypecontacts)• Libraryaccessforstudentsandteachers(fixedschedule,fixed/flexiblemix,flexible

schedule)• Numberofcomputersand/ortabletsavailabletostudentsinthelibrary• Totalnumberofitemscirculated(trackedthroughparticipationintheDelawareLibrary

Catalog)• Numberofitemscirculatedbysubjectarea(trackedthroughparticipationinthe

DelawareLibraryCatalog)

Specificdefinitionsofeachdataelement,appropriatemeasurementtechniques(appropriatenessofsamplingversusactualcount,etc.)wouldbeoutlinedinanassessmenttoolguideandwouldbeasharedresponsibilityoftheDelawareDepartmentofEducationandtheDivisionofLibraries.TrainingincollectingandreportingthedatawouldbeprovidedbytheDepartmentofEducation’sschool-librarycoordinator.ItshouldalsobenotedthattheparticipationofallschoollibrariesintheDelawareLibraryConsortiumwouldallowforthereal-timecapturingofseveralofthedataelementsandwouldofferthetrackingofmaterialusagebytopic/subject.Thiswouldmakevaluableinformationavailableineffortsdirectedatcreatingalifelongcontinuumoflearninginvolvingschoolandpubliclibraries.

Recommendation 10: Create a Delaware School-Library Quality Index to Facilitate the Tracking of Student Performance and Investment in School-Library Services

Delawareshouldimplementa“School-LibraryQualityIndex”thatusesthedatacollectedastheresultofRecommendation9.Thisindexwouldcreatearatingofschool-libraryservicesthatwouldbeusedinconcertwithstandardizedtestingresultstomeasuretheimpactthatspecific,targetedinvestmentsinschoollibrarieshaveonstudentperformance.

Aswasnotedatthebeginningofthisreport,attainingpositivestudentlearningoutcomesisnotassimpleasmaintaininganattractiveschool-libraryfacilityorevenfillingsuchafacilitywithup-to-date,relevantmaterialsandstate-of-thearttechnology.Areliablemeasurementoflibraryqualitymustbeavailabletoaccuratelymeasurethecorrelationbetweentheprovisionofqualityofschoollibrariesandstudentperformance.

Werecommendtheadoptionofa“School-LibraryQualityIndex”thatquantifiesthedegreeofexcellence.Theindexwoulduseratingsonavarietyofdataelementstoachieveascoreforeachlibraryrangingfrom0to100.Theweightingofeachdataelementisrelatedtotheimportanceofthevariouselementsidentifiedinpreviousresearch.Consequently,thelargestnumberofpointsisrelatedtotheprovisionofacertifiedlibrarymediaspecialistandlibrarysupportstaff.Otherpointsareallocatedforexpendituresperstudentfornewresources(print,non-print/media,andonlineanddownloadablecontent),newitemsaddedtothelibrarycollectionperstudent,librarycollectionsizeperstudent,numberoflibrarian/studentinteractions,numberoflibrarian/teacherinteractions,flexibleversusfixedscheduling,andtheavailabilityoftechnologicalresourcessuchascomputersandtabletsinthelibrary.

Table3:CertifiedLibraryMediaSpecialist(35points)

Enrollment CertifiedLibraryMediaSpecialistTarget

300–999 1.0Full-TimeEquivalent

1,600orhigher 2.0Full-TimeEquivalent• 35pointsforreachingtheappropriatelibrarymediaspecialist(LMS)target• 10pointsforreachingtargetone-levelbelowrecommendation

Table4:LibrarySupportStaff/Para-Professional(10points)

Enrollment LibrarySupportStaff/Para-professionalTarget

• 10pointsforreachingtheappropriatelibrarysupportstaff/para-professionaltargetinadditiontoreachingLMStargetlevel

• 5pointsforreachingtargetone-levelbelowrecommendation

Table5:ExpendituresperStudentforNewAcquisitions/Resources(10points)

PerStudentExpenditure Points

$0.00-$0.99 0points

$1.00-$2.99 1point

$3.00-$4.99 2points

$5.00-$6.99 3points

$7.00-$8.99 4points

$9.00-$10.99 5points

$11.00-$12.99 6points

$13.00-$14.99 8points

$15.00orhigher 10points

Table6:NewItemsAddedtoLibraryCollectionperStudentperYear(5points)

ItemsAddedperstudent Points

0.00–0.99/student 0points

1.00–1.99/student 1point

5.00ormore/student 5points

Table7:CollectionSizeperStudent(5points)

ItemsperStudent Points

0.00–9.99itemsperstudent 0points

10.00–14.99itemsperstudent 1point

30ormoreitemsperstudent 5points

Table8:Librarian/StudentInteraction(10points)

Group(Classroom)VisitsperWeek Points

0.00–1.99qualityclassroomvisitsperweek 0points

2.00–3.99qualityclassroomvisitsperweek 1point

20ormorequalityclassroomvisitsperweek 10points

A“quality”classroomvisitinvolvesmorethansimplythepresenceofaclassintheschool-libraryfacilityfor“studyhall”purposes.Aqualityvisitwouldincludeinstructionintheusageoflibraryresourcesorpersonalinteractionbetweenthelibrarianandindividualstudentsorgroupsofstudentsrelatedtofinding,evaluating,andusinginformationresources.Visitsofthelibrariantoclassrooms(asopposedtostudentsvisitingthelibraryfacility)couldbecountedasqualityclassroomvisitsifinstructionisprovidedthatrelatestotheeffectiveuseoflibraryservicesandresources.

Table9:Librarian/TeacherInteraction(10points)

ContractsperWeek Points

0.00–0.99qualitycontactsperweek 0points

20ormorequalitycontactsperweek 10points

Co-teachinginvolvementandparticipationinProfessionalLearningCommunities(PLCs)meetingswouldqualifyasaqualitylibrarian/teacherinteractionaswouldindividualmeetingswithteacherstoidentifyappropriateresourcesforstudents,planco-teachingactivities,andconferencestoidentifyresourcesthatmightbeacquiredtosupportaparticularcurriculum.Librariansshouldbeinvolvedinthedevelopmentoftheseguidelinesandcollectionofdatamightbeaperiodicsamplingratherthananongoingcount.

Table10:FixedVersusFlexibleSchedule(10points)

ScheduleType Points

Fixed 0points

CombinationFixed/FlexibleSchedule 5points

FlexibleSchedule 10points

Table11:TechnologyResourcesAvailabilityattheBuildingLevelperStudent(5points)

Computers/TabletsAvailableperStudent Points

0.00–0.99computers/tabletsperstudent 0points

1.00–2.99computers/tabletsperstudent 1point

5.0-9.99computers/tabletsperstudent 4points

1ormorecomputers/tabletsperstudent 5points

Moving Forward

“Promotethen,asanobjectofprimaryimportance,institutionsforthegeneraldiffusionofknowledge.Inproportionasthestructureofagovernmentgivesforcetopublicopinion,itisessentialthatpublicopinionshouldbeenlightened.”GeorgeWashington,1796

AsthisMasterPlan,accompanyingliteraturereview,andvastbodyofresearchknownasthe“impactstudies”haveshown,qualityschoollibrariescanhaveasignificantimpactonstudentachievementinavarietyofacademicsubjects.Allstudents,regardlessofrace,geographiclocation,andsocioeconomicstatus,experiencethesepositiveimpacts.TheMasterPlan’srecommendations,whichhavebeendevelopedthroughextensiveresearchandfieldwork,aredesignedtodevelopaholisticsystemthatleadstohigh-qualityschoollibrariesstatewide.Theyaddressareasincludingstaffing,accessandcontent,governanceandinfrastructure,andassessmentandaccountability.Adoptingtherecommendationsineachofthesecategoriesiscriticalbecausethey,asawhole,willleadtothedevelopmentofarobustandresponsiveinfrastructurethatwillallowschoollibrariestoflourishacrossthestate.

Whiletheimplementationoftheserecommendationswillrequireanextensiveallocationoffinancialandhumanresources,theanticipatedoutcomesclearlyjustifytheexpectedeffort.High-qualityschoollibrarieswillnotonlyleadtoimprovedlearningoutcomesforallstudents,butwillalsoleadtothenurturingoflife-longlearnersthatareabletoappropriatelyanalyzeandsynthesizeinformationfromavarietyofsources.Theselife-longlearnerswilleventuallybeDelaware’sleadersandresidents,therefore,itiscriticalforthestate’seconomicandsocietalwell-beingthatallstudentsreceivethebenefitsprovidedbyhigh-qualityschoollibraries.

Ultimately,investmentinthedevelopmentofhigh-qualityschoollibrariesenhancesstudentlearningandperformancebyprovidingstudentswiththeresourcesandguidancetheyneedtosucceed.Providingadequateaccesstotimely,appropriatelearningresourcesandprofessionaldirectioninhowtofind,evaluate,andnavigatetheconfusinguniverseofinformationandmisinformationwillbuildessentialresearchandcriticalthinkingskillsthatwillservestudentswellbothinschoolandintheworkplace.

Appendix A: Literature Review

Introduction

ThefollowingdocumentisacompilationoffindingsfromtheresearchusedtodeveloptheDelawareSchoolLibrariesMasterPlan:QualitySchoolLibraries=HigherStudentAchievementanditsaccompanyingrecommendations.Thisliteraturereviewencompassestopicsincludingthecharacteristicsofqualityschoollibrariesandhowtheyimpactstudentperformance,theroleoftheschoollibrarian,librarytechnology,andthedevelopmentofpartnershipsbetweenschoolandpubliclibraries.Literaturecoveredinthisreviewincludesnumerousschoollibraryimpactstudiesandrelevantjournalarticlesandpublications.

Quality School Libraries

Aqualityschoollibrarycanbethecoreoftheschool,ahubwherelearningflourishes.Itshouldbetransformativeandleadtoimprovedstudentperformance.AccordingtotheDelawareSchoolLibrariesCouncil’sAnnualReport(2013),aqualitylibraryhasthefollowingcharacteristics:

• Sufficientfunding• Acurrentandfullcollection• Currenttechnologyandstaffwiththeabilitytouseitcorrectly• Afull-timecertifiedlibrarian• Integrationintotheschoolcurriculumthatsupportsliteracyandstudentachievement• Flexiblescheduling

Thissectionwillfocusonthesecharacteristicsandtheiridealcorrespondinggoals,alongwiththeimpactthatachievingthesegoalscanhaveonstudentperformance.Itwillalsoincludebestpracticesrelatedtotheenvironmentandphysicalfeaturesofthelibrarytoprovidedecision-makerswithanideaofwhataqualitylibrarylookslike,andthecharacteristicsthatitexhibits.

Funding

Sufficientandstablefundingisoneofthemostimportantcharacteristicsofaqualityschoollibrary.Multiplelibraryimpactstudieshavefoundthathigherexpendituresperstudentandoveralllibraryspendingcorrelateswithhighertestscores.Accordingtoa2000studyofPennsylvaniaschoollibraries(Lance,Rodney,Pennel-Hamilton,2000),“higherachievingschoolsoftenspendtwiceasmuch—ormore—ontheirschoollibraryprogramsaslowerachievingschools”(Gretes,2013).

Withoutadequatefunding,librariescannotbesufficientlystaffedorhaveup-to-datecollectionsandtechnology.AccordingtoTheSchoolLibraryJournal's2014SpendingSurvey:SavvyLibrariansAreDoingMorewithLess,manylibrariesonlyfunctionbecauseschoollibrariansarewillingtoutilizetheirownresourcestosupporttheirinsufficientbudgets(Barack,2014).In2007,anaverageof$11,015wasspentnationallybyschoollibrariesoninformationresources,whichincludeprint

andnon-printmaterials,licenseddatabases,andothermethodstoaccesselectronicinformation(Davis,2009).

In2004,overhalfofDelaware’sschoollibrarieshadannualbudgetallocationsbelow$6,000(ToddR.J.,2005).TheDelawareSchoolLibrarySurvey(2004)describesahigh-qualityschoollibraryashavingbudgetallocationsof$12to$15perstudentoninformationresources(ToddR.J.,2005).ThiscomparesfavorablywithAmericanLibraryAssociationdatafrom2008thatshows$12asthenationalaverageforper-studentexpendituresoninformationresources.However,itshouldbenotedthatthedataalsoshowsthat$12wasonlytwo-thirdsthecostofafictiontitle($17.26)andone-thirdthecostofanon-fictiontitleatthattime($27.04)(Davis,2009).

In2011,theCommonwealthofPennsylvaniaproducedtheGuidelinesforSchoolLibraryProgramsthatprovidesquantitativeinputsandoutputstoguideperformance.Theguidelinesarebasedonresultsfrompreviousstudiesinthestatethatdemonstratedthepositiveimpactthatschoollibrariescanhaveonstudenttestscores.Inordertoproducetheseimprovedlearningoutcomesforstudents,schoollibrariesneedsufficientbudgets.Forthistobeachieved,accordingtothestudy,thetotalexpendituresperstudentmustbe$41inanelementaryschoollibrary,$45inamiddleschoollibrary,and$50inahighschoollibrary(OfficeofCommonwealthLibraries,2011).Thereportdividedthesetotalexpendituresperstudentintoprint,audiovisual,andelectronicresourcesbudgets.

Collection

Acurrentcollectionisoneofthekeyattributesofaqualityschoollibrary.Robustcollectionscaninspireapassionforreadinginstudentsandprovidethemwithaccesstoawealthofinformationinavarietyofsubjects(OfficeofCommonwealthLibraries,2011).Withoutup-to-dateresources,librariescannotprovidestudentswithadequateaccesstoinformation.Forinstance,ifSTEMbooksareolderthan5yearsold,theywillnolongerprovidestudentswiththemostrecentfindingsintheirsubjectmatter(DelawareSchoolLibrariesCouncil,2013).Accordingtothe2013AnnualReportbytheDelawareSchoolLibrariesCouncil,only29,998of299,169STEMbooks(10.3percent)inthe167participatingschoolsinDelawaremetthisstandard.AgeofresourcesisnotonlyimportantforSTEMbooks,butforallcollectionmaterials.In2013,ofthe2,154,929itemsin169Delawareschools,theaverageyearofpublicationwas1994.

Robust,timelycollectionsareacrucialcomponentofschoollibrariesthatcanincreaselearningoutcomesforallstudents.Ina2012impactstudyinPennsylvania(LanceandSchwarz,2012),theresearchteamfoundthatfor“BlackandHispanicstudents,accesstomorethan12,000librarybooksmorethandoublestheirchancesofobtaining‘Advanced’Writingscoresandcutstheirriskof‘BelowBasic’Writingscoresinhalf”(Kachel,2013).Thesefindingsshowthatalibrarywitharobustcollectioncanhaveasignificantimpactonimprovingwritingscoresandclosingtheachievementgapforminoritystudents.

TheStandardsforSchoolLibraryMediaCenters:DelawarePublicSchools(2002)statesthatinordertofunctionproperly,alibrarycollectionshouldhave15currentlyusefulvolumesperstudent.(DelawareSchoolLibrariesCouncil,2013).In2004,Delaware’saverageofusefulbooksperstudent

was12.56anddatafromtheDelawareSchoolLibrarySurveyshowsthat37percentofschoollibrariesdidnotmeettheminimumresourcerecommendation(ToddR.J.,2005).TheCommonwealthofPennsylvaniastatesthattheminimumvolumesperstudentshouldbe15inmiddleandhighschoolsand20inelementaryschools,whiletheidealamountis20inmiddleandhighschoolsand25inelementaryschools(OfficeofCommonwealthLibraries,2011)

Inthedigitalage,e-books,e-readers,andtabletsareexpandingtheirpresenceinschoollibraries.In2014,66percentofschoolsnationwideofferede-books.Themediannumberofe-booksremainsatalow189titlesperschoolcomparedto11,300printbooks,butschoollibrariansexpecte-bookspendingasapercentageoftheirtotalmaterialsbudgettoquadrupleinthenextfiveyears(Sun,2014).Qualityschoollibrariesarerecognizingthisdigitalshiftandallocatingmoreresourcestoelectronicmaterials.

TheSchoolLibraryJournalconductedasurveyin2014,whichexaminedhowschoollibrarianswereattemptingtokeepup-to-datecollectionswiththeirshrinkingbudgets.Accordingtothesurvey,theadoptionofdigitaltoolsandcontentwereamongthemostimportantprioritiesoftheschoollibrarianseveniftheirbudgetdidnotsupportit.Forty-sixpercentofelementaryschoollibrariansreportedthatdigitalusewasup,and60percentreportedthatprintusewasdown.Atthemiddleschoollevel,45percentreportedthatdigitalusewasup,and60percentreportedthatprintusewasdown.Ofthehighschoollibrarians,46percentreportedthatdigitalusewasup,and59percentrespondedthatprintusewasdown.The43percentofrespondentsthatpurchasede-booksin2012–2013spentanaverageof$1,100onthistypeofcontent,and34percentoftheserespondentsexpectedtospendmoreone-booksinthefuture(Barack,2014).

E-booksrefertodigitizedversionsofprintbooksandtextbooks.Theyareoftenformattedforandaccessedonspecializede-readers,butmanyarealsoavailableondesktopcomputers,laptops,andsmartphones.E-booksprovideseveraladvantagesforstudentsandschoolscomparedtotraditionalprintbooks.Digitalresourcesareavailableeverydayoftheyearandatalltimesofday,whileprintresourcesareonlyaccessibleforstudentsduringlimitedlibraryhours,unlesstheyarecheckedoutandtakenhome.Whene-booksaremadeavailableonsmartphones,theyareespeciallyconvenientforstudentsandthereisanecdotalevidencethattheyinspirestudentstoreadmorefictionontheirowntime(Nelson,2012).E-booksarealsogenerallycheaperthanprintbooks(Davidson&Carliner,2013),sostudentscangainaccesstoawiderbreadthofresourcesinlibrariesthatallocatefundingtoe-bookpurchases.Whilelibrarymediacentersestimatedthattheyspentamedianof$402one-booksin2013−2014,20percentoflibrariesmanagedtospendnomoneyone-books,acquiringtheminsteadthroughstate,district,orconsortiummembership(Sun,2014).

Althoughstudieshavefoundthatelementaryschoolstudentsperformedequallywellwhenusinge-booksversusprinttextbooks,therearesomedrawbackstotheuseofe-books.Somestudentshavefoundthatthereadabilityofe-booksislowerandstrugglewiththebasicfunctionsofe-bookssuchashighlighting(Davidson&Carliner,2013).Readingfromascreentakestwentytothirtypercentlongerthanreadingfrompaper,hasbeenfoundtocausemorestressandrequiremoreeffort,andcanmakeithardertorememberwhathasbeenread(Marcum,2012).Whilee-booksaregenerallycheaperthanprintbooks,theyrequireexpensivetechnology,likecomputersande-readers,to

access.Ifstudentsdonothavethesetechnologiesathome,oriflicensingagreementsonlyallowaccesstodigitalresourceswithintheschool,itmaybedifficultforstudentstoaccessdigitalresourcesoutsideofschoolhours.

Duetoadvancesintechnology,databasesarenowreadilyavailableforstudentstoaccessinschoollibrarieswiththeguidanceoflibrarians.Databasesaresearchableonlinecompilationsofpublishedworksthatstudentscanuseforresearch(EnochPrattFreeLibrary).Theyareavailablefromarangeofpublishingcompaniesandsomearedirectedtowardspecificagegroupsanddisciplineswhileothersaremoregeneral(Michaelson,2014).Schoollibrariesobtainaccesstodatabasesfortheirstudentsbypurchasingsubscriptions.InDelaware,K–12publicschoolshaveaccesstoUDLib/Search,acollectionofdatabasesthatprovideonlinemagazines,journals,encyclopedias,andeducationalactivities(AboutUDLib/Search,2015).WhileaccesstotheUDLib/Searchdatabasesandtechnicalassistance/trainingarefreeforschoolsthatparticipate,theStatecontributessignificantfundingeachyeartopayforlicensingfees,personnel,andotheroperatingcosts.ThenumberofUDLib/Searchsearchesmadeeachyeargenerallyincreases,showingthatpublicschoolsareusingthedatabases(Miller,2015).

Itisoftentheresponsibilityoflibrarianstochoosedatabasesthatbothfittheneedsoftheirstudentsandareaccessible(Michaelson,2014).Furthermore,studentsmustalsobetaughtproperuseofdatabases.StudentstodayprefertousegeneralsearchengineslikeGoogletofindinformation.Zimmerman(2012)arguesthatmoststudentsreverttousingGooglebecause,“Theyfindthattheschoolstheyattendprovideaccesstoalotofdata,butitisatthecostoflearningahighlydevelopedmethodofsearching.Thisisnotanobstacletoatrainedlibrarian,butitisalargeobstacletoanuntrainedstudent.”Librarianscantrainstudentsintheuseofdatabasesandensuretheyhavetheskillstotakefulladvantageoftheonlineresourcesthatalibraryoffers.

Technology and Information Literacy

Inthe21stcentury,qualityschoollibrariesmustprovideup-to-datetechnology.Moreover,qualityschoollibrariesmustalsoemploycertifiedlibrarianswiththeknowledgeandskillstoutilizetechnologyandteachotherstohowtodoso.AccordingtotheNationalBoardforProfessionalTeachingStandards(NBPTS),withcurrenttechnology,librariescanfurthertheirroleasthehubsofschoolcommunities(LibraryMediaStandards,2012).Onelibrarianunderlinedtheimportanceoftechnologybystating,“Hereweareinacomputererawheretheamountofinformationisdoublingeverycoupleofmonths.Thekidsneedmorehelpthaneverbeforetolocateinformationandtoapplyitandanalyzeit.It’sjustamazingtomethatwere[sic]notseeingitasmorebeneficialthaneverbefore”(Pascopella,2005).The21stcenturyschoollibraryplaystwovitalroles:1)providingaccesstotechnologyand2)promotinginformationliteracy.

ProvidingAccesstoTechnologySchoollibrariesplayavitalroleingivingstudentsaccesstotechnology,becausemanystudentsdonothaveaccesstotheseresourcesathomeorintheircommunitiesoutsideofschoolhours.AccordingtothePewResearchCenter,asofSeptember2013,70percentofadultAmericanshadbroadbandaccessathome,butonly52percentofadultAmericansthatmadelessthan$30,000a

yearhadaccesstothisservice(ZickuhrandSmith,2013).Thesedatashowthatasignificantportionofthepopulationstilldoesnothaveaccesstohigh-speedinternetathome,whichcanmakecompletingclassworkoutsideofschooldifficultforstudentswhocannotefficientlyacquireinformationonline.AstudyconductedbytheNewYorkComprehensiveCenterin2011cametotheconclusionthat“schoollibrariesareimportantinsupportingthedevelopmentof21stcenturyskills,includingthosethatrequiretechnologicalliteracy.Thedigitaldividethatmanyat-riskstudentsfacecanbealleviatedwiththeresourcesandtechnologicalinstructionschoollibrariesoffer”(NewYorkComprehensiveCenter,2011).Notonlydoschoollibrariesprovideaccesstotechnology,buttheyalsoprovidestudentswiththeopportunitytolearnhowtouseiteffectivelyandresponsiblythroughtheguidanceofprofessionallytrainedschoollibrarians.

Accordingtoa2006studyconductedonDelaware’sschoollibraries,“themosthelpfuldimensionsofschoollibraries,asperceivedbybothstudentsandfaculty,centeronthecentralplaceofinformationtechnologyinaccessinginformationandusingthetechnologytoenablestudentstocompletetheirschoolwork”(ToddandHeindstrom,2006).Surveyresultsshowedthat88.9percentofstudentsfoundthatcomputersprovidedintheschoollibrarywereatleastalittlehelpfulwithregardstoimprovingtheirabilitytocompleteschoolassignments,while94.1percentfoundthatcomputerslocatedinschoollibrarieswereatleastalittlehelpfulinassistingthemwithacquiringinformationlocatedbothinsideandoutsideschoollibraries.15

PromotingInformationLiteracyInadditiontoprovidingDelaware’sstudentswithaccesstotechnology,schoollibrariesalsoimprovetheinformationliteracyofmanystudents.Forinstance,94.2percentofstudentsrespondedthattheschoollibrarywasatleastalittlehelpfulinteachingthemthedifferentstepsinvolvedinacquiringandusinginformation,while90.3percentbelievedthatitwasatleastalittlehelpfulinassistingthemwithfindingdifferentopinionsabouttopicsofinterest(ToddandHeindstrom,2006).Schoollibrariesalsoprovidesomestudentswithassistanceindeterminingthecriticalinformationprovidedbysources,with91.7percentstatingthattheschoollibrarywasatleastalittlehelpfulinguidingtheminidentifyingthemostimportantthingsinthesourcestheyreview,while87.6percentfoundthattheschoollibrarywasatleastalittlehelpfulinteachingthemto“bemorecarefulaboutinformation[theyfound]ontheinternet”(ToddandHeindstrom,2006).Nearly92percentofstudentsmentionedthattheschoollibrarywasatleastalittlehelpfulbyassistingthemindeterminingthequalityofinformationtheyfound.

ImpactstudiesconductedinNewMexico(Lance,Rodney,andHamilton-Pennell,2002),Wisconsin(Smith,2006),NewJersey(Todd,Gordon,andLu,2010),andWashington(Coker,2015)alsoshowedthepositiveimpactthatschoollibrariescanhaveonstudentlearningoutcomesthroughtheprovisionoftechnologyandlessonsrelatedtoinformationliteracy.OneofthekeyfindingsintheNewMexicostudywasthat“middleschoolswiththehighestNewMexicoAchievementAssessmentProgram(NMAAP)languageartsscoresweretwiceaslikelyasthelowest-scoringschoolstoprovideaccesstolicenseddatabasesviaaschoollibrarynetwork”(Scholastic,2015).IntheWisconsinstudy,researchersfoundthat“elementaryschoolswithmorecomputersand

15Thisincludesthefollowingfourresponses:mosthelpful,quitehelpful,somehelp,andalittlehelp.

technologyequipmentmadeupthetop25schoolswithhighestWCKE[WisconsinConceptsandKnowledgeExamination]scoresinreadingandlanguagearts”(Kachel,2013),andthat“studentsvaluedmostthelibrarymediaspecialist’shelpinteachinguniqueskillsnotcoveredintheclassroom—especiallyinformation,communication,andtechnologyskillsessentialforstudentsinthe21stcentury”(Scholastic,2015).

ThestudyinNewJerseywentintodetailonhowschoollibrariansinthestate“madekeycontributionstostudentsuccess”inareassuchas:masteringofinformationliteracycompetencies,developingfamiliarityoftheresearchprocess,modelingethicaluseofinformation,andnurturingresponsibleuseoftechnology(Todd,Gordon,andLu,2010).Meanwhile,theresearchteaminWashingtonfoundthat“studentswhoattendschoolswithon-staffcertifiedteacher-librarians(CTLs)havemoreequitableaccesstotechnologicallyadvancedandaccessiblelibraryfacilities…greateraccesstodatabasesandresourcesforlongertimesduringtheschoolday…[thatareoften]accessibleoutsidetheschoolaswell…[and]aremorelikelytobetaughtinformationtechnologyskillsandtechnologyfluencyskills”(Scholastic,2015).ThesefindingsarealsosupportedbytheresearchofDr.BarbaraSchultz-JonesandDr.CynthiaLedbetter,twoscholarsinthefieldoflibraryandinformationscience,who,afterexaminingthecorrelationbetweenschoollibrariansandtheirimpactonstudents’informationliteracyskills,concludedthatschoollibrarians“candevelopandnurtureanoptimallearningenvironmentthatmakesapositiveandmeasurablecontributiontotheeducationalprocess”(Schultz-JonesandLedbetter,2009,2010).Multiplestudiesshowthatschoollibrariescanplayasignificantroleinprovidingstudentswithaccesstotechnology,whilealsocreatinganenvironmentwheretheycanlearnhowtouseitinaneffectiveandresponsiblemanner.

InTexas,schoollibrarieshavestandardsthatfollowtheNBPSTrecommendations,andthus,theTexasAdministrativeCode(updatedin2011)encouragestheuseoftechnologyinschoollibrariesasamethodofaccessing,evaluating,anddisseminatinginformation(SchoolLibraryPrograms:StandardsandGuidelinesforTexas,2005).Accordingtothestandards,aqualityschoollibraryshould:

• Providestudentsandstaffwithcampus-wideandremoteaccesstoelectroniclibraryresourcesthroughalibrary-designedportal.

• Provideaweb-deliveredonlinepublic-accesslibrarycataloginthelibrary,campus-wide,andremotely.

• Provideoneadministrativecomputerperlibrarystaffmember.• Providetwocomputersdedicatedtocirculationandonecomputerdedicatedtoteacher

use.• Facilitatethefullintegrationoftechnology,includingmultimediaandthewebintothe

curriculumandinstruction.• Employarepresentativetoserveontheschooltechnologycommittee,helpdevelopthe

schooltechnologyplan,andprovideinputinthedevelopmentofthedistricttechnologyplan.

• Employalibrarianthatactivelyandsystematicallytrainsstudentsandstaffintheuseoflocal,statewide,ornationalconsortiatechnologyinitiatives,includingstatewideinterlibraryloan,ifapplicable.

Pennsylvaniaalsoprovidesstandardsforschoollibrariesrelatedtotechnology.Thestateguidelinesrecommendthatschoollibrarieshaveinternetcapabilityaswellas35computersperlibraryortwo-thirdsofitsseatingcapacity,whicheverisgreater(OfficeofCommonwealthLibraries,2011).

Staffing

Themajorityofstudiesfocusingonevaluatingtheimpactthatschoollibrarieshaveonstudentlearningoutcomesgointodetailontheimportanceofafull-time,state-certifiedlibrarianincultivatingaqualityschoollibrary.Certifiedlibrarianshavebeenfoundtobooststudentachievement,specificallyreadingscoresandliteracyrates.Aproperlystaffedlibraryhasevenbeenlinkedtobetterattitudestowardreading(Klinger,2009).

Oneofthecriticalfunctionsofaschoollibraryistoelevatetheimportanceofreadinginschoolbyprovidingstudentswithboththeopportunityandencouragementtoread.AccordingtoScholastic’sKidsandFamilyReadingReport:5thEdition,asurveyof2,558parentsandchildren,14percentofchildren“read[forfun]athomeandschoolequally,and14[percent]saytheyreadforfunmostlyinschool”(Scholastic,2014).Readingforfuninschoolisevenmoreprevalentamonglow-incomestudents.Ofstudents(ages6to17)fromfamiliesthatmakelessthan$35,000ayear,19percentreadforfunprimarilyinschooland41percentreadingforfunaboutthesameamountoftimeinschoolandathome.Formorethanhalfofstudents(52%),independentreadingintheclassroomisconsideredapositiveexperiencewith34percentmentioningthatitis“oneof[their]favoritepartsoftheschoolday”and31percentstatingthattheywishedtheywoulddoitmoreoften(Scholastic,2014).

Theschoollibraryisakeycomponentinprovidingthesestudentswiththeopportunitytoreadbecause,accordingtothesurvey,77percentofchildrenages6to11and58percentofchildrenages12to17foundthebookstheyreadforfunatthelibrary.Resultsfroma2010ScholasticandBillandMelindaGatesFoundationsurveyof25,452K–12publicschoolteachersalsosupportthisfinding.Init,83percentofteachersstatedthattheirstudentsgotthebookstheyusedforindependentreadingfromtheschoollibrarymostoften(ScholasticandBillandMelindaGatesFoundation,2010).

TheresultsfromtheseScholasticsurveysshowthatformanyschool-agechildren,particularlythosefromlow-incomehouseholds,theschoolenvironmentiswheretheywillfindaccesstobooksandengageinasignificantamountoftheirreading.Findingsfroma2006studyinDelaware,whichincludedasurveyof5,773studentsfrom13elementaryandhighschools,showedthattheschoollibrarycanbehelpfultostudents’“generalreadinginterests.”Surveyresultsshowedthat88.1percentofstudentsagreedthattheschoollibraryhelpedatleastalittle16whenitcametoprovidingthemassistanceinfindingstoriesthattheylike.Approximately83percentofstudents

16Thisincludesthefollowingfourresponses:mosthelpful,quitehelpful,somehelp,andalittlehelp.

agreedthattheschoollibrarywasatleastalittlehelpfulinprovidingthemassistanceinreadingmore,while81.3percentagreedthatitwasatleastalittlehelpfulinassistingthemwithbecomingabetterreader(ToddandHeinstrom,2006).Theimportanceofthelibraryincultivatingaloveofreadingwasalsoevidentina2006studyofover800elementaryschoolsconductedinOntariothatfoundthat“schoolswithteacher-librarianscouldbeexpectedtohavereadingenjoymentscoresthatwere8percentilepointshigherthanaverage”(Queen’sUniversityandPeopleforEducation,2006).Thesefindingsshowthatschoollibrariesareacriticalcomponentofastudent’seducationalexperience,particularlyiftheyarefromalow-incomehousehold,becausetheyprovidethemwithaccesstobooksandtheencouragementtoread.

ArecentstudybyNewYorkUniversity’sSteinhardtSchoolofCulture,Education,andHumanDevelopmenthighlightedthisissuebydocumentingtheexistenceof“bookdeserts”inlow-income,urbanareasacrossthecounty.Thestudyindicatedthat“accesstoprintresources…earlyonhasbothimmediateandlong-termeffectsonchildren’svocabulary,backgroundknowledge,andcomprehensionskills”(NeumanandMoland,2016).Ameta-analysisof44studiesconductedbyDr.JimLindsayfoundasimilarrelationshipbetweenaccesstoprintmaterialsandstudentlearningoutcomes.Positiveeffectsprovidedbyprintmaterialsinclude(Lindsay,2010):

• Improveschildren’sreadingperformance• Helpschildrenlearnthebasicsofreading• Causeschildrentoreadmoreandforlongerlengthsoftime• Producesimprovedattitudestowardreadingandlearningamongchildren

Thesepositivelearningoutcomescaneventuallymanifestthemselvesinimprovedscoresonstandardizedtestsbystudents.Ananalysisontheimpactofschoollibrarianlayoffsinrelationtofourth-gradereadingscorescollectedbytheNationalCenterforEducationStatisticsbetween2004and2009conductedbyKeithCurryLanceandLindaHofschireshowedthat“regardlessofwhethertherewerefewerclassroomteachersschoolwide,studentsinstatesthatlostlibrarianstendedtohavelowerreadingscores—orhadaslowerriseonstandardizedtests—thanthoseinstatesthatgainedlibrarians”(LanceandHofschire,2011).Infact,theresearchers“foundthat19ofthe26statesthatgainedlibrarianssawanaverage2.2percentriseintheirNationalAssessmentofEducationalProgress(NAEP)fourth-gradereadingscores…[while]9ofthe24statesthatlostlibrarianshada1percentrise”(LanceandHofschire,2011).Theauthorsnotedthatwhilethesechangesmayseeminsignificant,“minorshiftsarequitemeaningfulsincetheretendstobelittleoverallchangewithfourth-gradeNAEPreadingscoresovertime”(LanceandHofschire,2011).Significantpositiveimpactsonreadingscoreswerealsofoundforlow-income,Hispanic,Black,andEnglishlanguagelearnerstudents.

FigureA:PercentChangeinFourth-GradeNAEPTestScores,2004-2005to2008-2009

Source:Lance,K.andHofschireL.,(2011,September).SomethingtoShoutAbout:NewResearchShowsthatMoreLibrariansMeansHigherReadingScores.TheSchoolLibraryJournal.Theresultsfromthisanalysisaresimilartotheonesfoundintheschoollibraryimpactstudiesconductedin25statesandOntario(Scholastic,2015).Accordingtoananalysisofthesestudies17completedin2013,thisbodyofresearchconfirmsthat“qualityschoollibraryprogramswithfull-time,certifiedlibrariansandlibrarysupportstaffareindicativeofandcriticaltostudentachievement”(Kachel,2013).Thisanalysisincludesachartdetailing35particularschoollibrarycharacteristicsthatwereproventohavea“positiveassociationwithstudentachievement”andthestudywhereeachassociationwasfound.Librarycharacteristicsfallunderthefollowingcategories:staffing/availability,instruction/informationliteracycurriculum,professionaldevelopment/training,collaboration/cooperation,electronicnetworkingandtechnology,collectionsandresources,usage,andfunding/budget.

Forinstance,findingsfromanimpactstudyconductedinColoradoin2010(Francis,Lance,andLietzau,2010)includedthatelementaryschoolswithatleastonefull-timeendorsed(statecertified)schoollibrarianhad4to5percentmorethird,fourth,andfifthgradestudentsscoringproficientoradvancedinreadingonstandardizedteststhanelementaryschoolsthatdidnot(Scholastic,2015).Inthisstudy,itwasalsofoundthatschoolswithatleastonefull-timeendorsedschoollibrarianhad2to3percentlessthird,fourth,andfifthgradestudentswithunsatisfactoryscoresonstandardizedtests(Francis,Lance,andLietzau,2010).InalaterimpactstudyconductedinColoradoitwasfoundthatschoollibrariesstaffedonlybyassistants,asopposedtohavingacertifiedschoollibrarian,had

17FindingsfromastudyconductedinSouthCarolinaandoneinWashingtonwerenotincludedintheanalysisbecausetheyhadnotyetbeenreleased.

1%1.2%

0.5% 0.5%

-2.8%-3%

AllStudents PoorStudents BlackStudents HispanicStudents

Allstates

Statesthatgainedlibrarians

Statesthatlostlibrarians

Englishlanguagelearners

noinfluenceoverstudentreadingscores(LanceandHofschire,2012).TheseresultsaresimilartothefindingsofastudyconductedinFloridain2002(Baumbach)whereitwasdiscoveredthatelementaryschoolsthathadlibrariesstaffedforatleast60hoursperweekhada9percentimprovementintestscoresoverthosethatdidnot,whilemiddleschoolsthatfitthiscriterionhada3.3percentimprovement.Highschoolsthatmetthiscriterionhada22.2percentimprovementintestscores(Scholastic,2015).

ArecentstudyconductedinSouthCarolina(Lance,Rodney,andSchwarz,2014)alsosupportsthefindingsthatschoollibrarieshaveapositiveimpactonstudentstandardizedtestscoresinreadingandwriting.ThestudyfoundthattherewasahighcorrelationbetweenthepresenceofprofessionalschoollibrariansandstudenttestscoresforthreeEnglishLanguageArtsstandardsincludingliterarytext,informationaltext,andresearch.Inparticular,schoolsthathadatleastonefull-timelibrarianandafull-timeorpart-timeassistanthad2to3percentmorestudentsreceiving“exemplary”scoresontheresearchsectionofthePalmettoAssessmentofStateStandards(PASS).Studentsatschoolswithatleastonequalified,full-timelibrarianandonefull-timeorpart-timeassistantwere2percentlesslikelytoshowweaknessesonthewritingsectionofthePASSassessmentandwere2.1percentmorelikelytoshowstrengthsoncontentandorganizationcomponentsofthetest.Findingsfromthestudy“couldnotbeexplainedawaybydemographicssuchasgender,race/ethnicity,disability,andsubsidizedorfreemealseligibility.”

ThreerecentimpactstudiesconductedinPennsylvania(LanceandSchwarz,2012),Washington(Coker,2015),andKansas(Dow,Lakin,andCourt,2012)cametosimilarconclusions.InthePennsylvaniastudy,theresearchteamconcludedthat“studentsinwell-supported,resourced,andstaffedschoollibrariesachieveahigherlevelofacademicsuccess…”andthat“Black,Hispanic,andstudentswithdisabilitiesorwhowereeconomicallydisadvantagedbenefittedproportionallymorethanstudentsingeneral…”meaningthat“staffinglibrarieswithcertifiedlibrarianscanhelpclosetheachievementgapsamongthemostvulnerablelearners”(Scholastic,2015).Specifically,inschoolsthathadafull-timecertifiedlibrarian,2.5percentmorestudentsscoredadvancedinwritingonstandardizedtests,onaverage,thaninschoolsthatdidnothaveafull-timecertifiedlibrarian.Thisbenefitnearlydoubledwhensupportstaffassistedlibrariansintheschoollibrary.(Kachel,2013).

ResultsfromthestudyconductedinWashington,whichexamined1,486K–12publicschools,showedsimilarpositiveresults,revealingthat“studentswhoattendschoolswithCTLs[certifiedteacherlibrarians]andqualitylibraryfacilitiesperformbetteronstandardizedtestsandarefarmorelikelytograduate.FacilitieswithCTLshadan85%five-yeargraduationrate,versus79%forthosewithout”(Scholastic,2015).FindingsfromtheKansasstudyincludedthatschoolswithhigherandmorestablestaffinglevelsinschoollibrarieshadstudentswithhigherproficiencyratesinreading,writing,mathematics,science,andhistory/governmentasmeasuredintheKansasAnnualYearlyProgressdata(Dow,Lakin,andCourt,2012).Theseresultswerefoundacrossallgradelevels,andmathematicswasthesubjectwiththegreatestdifferenceinproficiencyratesbetweenschoolswithatleastonelibrarianandoneswithout.

Infact,someelectedofficialsinDelawarefoundtheneedforacertifiedlibrarianineveryschoolsovitalthattheydraftedHouseBill152,sponsoredbyRepresentativePaulBaumbachandSenatorDavidSokola.HouseBill152requiresthattherebeatleastonelibrarymediaspecialistineveryelementary,middle,andhighschoolinthestate(DelawareGeneralAssembly,2015).Theneedforthisbillisunderscoredbyitgarneringbi-partisansupport.

Accordingtothe2004DelawareSchoolLibrarySurvey,itisimportantthatpara-professionalstaffdonotreplaceschoollibrarians,butinsteadoffersupportbyundertaking“routineadministrativetasksand[freeing]thelibrarymediaspecialisttoundertakeinstructionalinitiativesandreadingliteracyinitiatives”(ToddR.J.,2005).ThelackofsupportstaffinDelawarehasforcedcertifiedlibrarianstoreservetimeforadministrativetasksinsteadofdevelopingprogramsthatwillincreasestudentachievement.In2004,Delawarehadpara-educatorsemployedin60percentofschoollibraries,with54percentofelementaryschoollibrarieshavingnopara-educatorsupport,andonly22percentofschoollibrarieshavingfull-timesupportstaff(ToddR.J.,2005).

Connection with School

Librariansshouldhaveacentralroleinsupportingclassroomlearning.Aseducators,librarianshaveabroadbaseofknowledgeandcanhelpotherteacherslocateresourcesthatenhancelearningactivitiesforstudents.However,researchfindsthatcollaborationamonglibrariansandclassroomteachersisnotasextensiveasitcouldbe.

Promotingcollaborationbetweenlibrariansandeducatorsispossiblethroughadministrativesupport.Forinstance,inOntario,aprincipalinaschoolwithaqualitylibrarystrivedtostrengthentherelationsbetweenclassroomteachersandlibrarians.Toachievethisgoal,theprincipalrequiredeachteachertopartnerwiththelibrarianonceperyeartoco-developandco-teachalessonthatalignedwiththecurriculum(Klinger,2009).

Findingsfromschool-libraryimpactstudieshaveshownthebenefitsthatflexibleschedulingandcollaborationbetweenteachersandschoollibrarianscanbring.Forinstance,ina2005impactstudycompletedinIllinois(Lance,Rodney,andHamilton-Pennel,2005),theresearchteamfoundthatinhighschoolseleventh-gradeACTscores“werehighestwhentherewasahighdegreeoftruecollaborationbetweenlibrarymediaspecialistsandclassroomteachersinawidespectrumofactivities”(Scholastic,2015).Itwasalsofoundthat“elementaryschoolswithmoreflexiblyscheduledlibrariesperformed10%betterinreadingand11%betterinwritingontheISATtestsoffifth-gradersthanschoolswithlessflexiblyscheduledlibraries”(Kachel,2013).SimilarfindingsweredetailedinanimpactstudyconductedinIndiana(Lance,Rodney,andRussel,2007),wheretheresearchteamfoundthat“acrossgradelevels,Indianastudentstendedtoperformbetteronstatetestswhereprincipalsvaluedteacher-librarymediaspecialistcollaboration,supportedflexiblelibraryscheduling,metregularlywiththelibrarymediaspecialist,andhadthelibrarymediaspecialistserveonkeyschoolcommittees”(Scholastic,2015).Thefindingsofthesestudiesshowthataschoollibraryprogram,anddynamiclibrarian,thatareintegratedintotheschoolcurriculumanddecision-makingprocessescanhaveasignificantpositiveimpactonstudentperformance.

Physical Environment

Ina2005study,AppoquiniminkSchoolDistrictdescribedtheirqualitylibrariesasthecenteroftheschool(Pascopella,2005).Similarly,oneschoolinOntariowithamodellibrarydescribedtheroomasneartheschooloffice,withcozycorners,colorful,welldecorated,andevenholdingapiano(Klinger,2009).TheSchoolLibraryMediaQuarterlypublishedanarticlethataddressedadditionalelementsthataqualityschoollibraryshouldhave.Primarily,itshouldbeawarm,welcomingplace.Thistypeofatmospherecanbecreatedthroughpaintorwithaccentcolorsinpostersordisplayboards.Carpetingisalsorecommendedasitcontrolsnoiseandappealstochildrenasaplacetorelax.Ifwall-to-wallcarpetingistooexpensive,schoollibrariescanalsopurchasearearugstoprovideasimilareffectforstudents(Doll,1992).

Modernlibrariesareusedasmeetingareasforstudentsandthusneedtohaveplentyofcollaborativespaces.InacasestudyofVancouverPublicSchools,DigitalPromise501(c)(3)foundthatmodernlibraryspacesshouldbeopenandflexible,withmoveablefurniturethatcancreateavarietyoflayouts.Thisallowsstudentstoarrangethemselvesintodifferentgroupsandworkeffectivelywitheachother(DigitalPromise).Anonlinesurveythatreceivedhundredsofstudentresponsesfromacrossthegloberevealedthatstudentsprefer“student-friendly”librariestothetraditionallibraryatmosphere,evenifthatmeansthatspacesarelouderandmessier(Fingal,2014).

Thedevelopmentoftechnologyhascreatednewneedsforlibraryspaces.Accordingtothe2004DelawareSchoolLibrarySurvey,morelibrarymediaspecialistsregarded“space”asapriorityfortheirlibrarymediacentersthananyotherresponse(ToddR.J.,2005).Onetraditionalfunctionofalibraryistoprovidedesktopcomputersforclasses.Onestudyfoundthatstudentsandteachersbothpreferroomswith“peripheral”layouts,whichreferstoasetupinwhichcomputerandworkstationsarearrangedaroundtheedgesoftheroomwithscreensfacinginwards.The“peripheral”layoutallowsforeasymovementandcollaborationbetweenstudentsandalsoallowsteachersandlibrarianstomonitorstudents’workandensurethatstudentsarestayingon-task(Brush&Hew,2007).Librariescanalsosavemoneybyusinglaptopswithwirelessconnectionsinordertosavebuildingandmaintenancecostsofthecomputerlaboratories(Russell,Bebell,&Higgins).Libraryspacesshouldadapttonewtechnologybybeingflexibleandoptimizedforstudentcollaborationandtheuseofpersonalelectronicsanddigitalresources.

Summary of Quality School Library Research

AliteraturereviewcompletedbyGretesResearchServicesonbehalfoftheHarryandJeanetteWeinbergFoundationsummarizedthefindingspresentedbytheschool-libraryimpactstudiesassuch:

Universalfindingsfrommorethan60impactstudiesconductedin22statesconcludethatschoolswithawell-equippedlibrary,staffedbyafull-time,certifiedlibrarianandappropriatestaffcontributesignificantlytogainsinstudentlearning.Highqualityschoollibrariesnotonlyhelpstudentsreadmore,butalsohelpthemlearnhowtouseandprocessinformationbetterandperformbetteronachievementtests.Levelsoflibraryfunding,

staffinglevels,collectionsizeandrange,andtheinstructionalroleofthelibrarianallhaveadirectimpactonstudentachievement.(Gretes,2013)

Overall,thecommonthemeofthisbodyofresearchisthatanadequatelystaffedandsupportedschoollibrarycanhaveasignificantpositiveimpactontheeducationalexperienceofstudents,whichcanthenberealizedthroughimprovedstandardizedtestscores.Schoollibrariesareanintegralcomponentofastudent’seducationalexperienceandnumerousstudieshaveshownthattheirservicescanleadtoimprovedlearningoutcomesforindividualsfromallbackgrounds(Gretes,2013).Byprovidingallstudentswithaccesstobooksandtechnology,implementingprogramsfocusedonencouragingreading,andpromotinginformationliteracy,schoollibrariesarehelpingtopreparestudentsforsuccessinthe21stcentury.

The Role of the School Librarian

K–12schoollibrariansareanintegralpartofschoolcommunitiesandcanleadtoimprovedstudentlearningoutcomes.Schoollibrarians’successiscontingentuponvariousenablersandbarriersthattheyfaceintheircareers.Oneofthemostsignificantfactorsthathaschangedtheroleofschoollibrariansistheadvancementoftechnology.Inthisdigitalage,librarianshavethepotentialtoleadintechnologyintegrationbyteachingbothstudentsandothereducatorshowtechnologycanpositivelyimpactacademicgrowth.Whiletechnologicalcompetenciesarebecomingincreasinglyimportant,librariansmustalsopreserveanddemonstratethetraditionallibrarianskillsofteachingstudentshowtobecriticalthinkersandinspiringthemtobelifelongreadersandlearners.Schoollibrarianscanmakeaninvaluableimpactonentirelearningcommunitiesandstudents.Schoollibrarianshavedemonstratedtheimportanceoftheirroles,andtheycancontinuetopositivelyimpacteducationsystemsacrossthenationiftheyreceiveadequatesupportfromdecision-makers.

Thefollowingsectionwillexaminetherolethattheschoollibrarianplaysintheschoolcommunity.Itwillbeginwithanexaminationoftheprocessthatschoollibrariansmustgothroughtoreceivetheircredentials,andthencontinuewithadescriptionofpotentialenablersandbarrierstoschoollibrariansuccess.Moderntechnology’sinfluenceonchangingtheroleoftheschoollibrarianisthendescribed.Thesectionthenconcludeswithananalysisoftheroleofthelibrarianwithregardstotechnologyintegrationandtheirimpactwithintheschoolcommunityonbothstaffandstudents.

American Library Association and American Association of School Librarians Standards and Competencies for School Librarian Programs

Beforeindividualscanacquirethetitleof“schoollibrarian,”theymustobtaintheappropriateprofessionaldegreessupportedbyboththeAmericanLibraryAssociation(ALA)andtheAmericanAssociationofSchoolLibrarians(AASL).TheALAisanonprofitorganizationthatendorseslibraryeducationinternationally,andtheAASListheonlynationalmembershiporganizationthatisfocusedontheprofessionalismofschoollibrariansandtheschoollibrarycommunity(AmericanLibraryAssociation[ALA],2015a).Whilebothorganizationshaveestablished“schoollibrarian”astheofficialprofessionaltitle,“schoollibrarymediaspecialist,”“teacherlibrarian,”“media

coordinator,”and“libraryinformationspecialist”areallacceptablenamesfortheprofession(NationalCouncilforAccreditationofTeacherEducation[NCATE],2010).

AccordingtotheAmericanLibraryAssociation,K–12schoollibrariansneedamaster’sdegreeastheirfirstprofessionaldegree,buttheymaydosothroughoneoftwotracks.Thefirsttrackisearningamaster’sdegreefromaprogramaccreditedbytheALA,whichcanbepursuedincollegesanduniversitiesacrosstheUnitedStates,Canada,andPuertoRico.DegreenamesincludeMasterofLibraryScience(MLS),MasterofArts,MasterofLibrarianship,MasterofLibraryandInformationStudies(MLIS),andMasterofScience(ALA,2015a).Thesecondtracktoreceiveamaster’sdegreefortheschoollibrarianprofessionistoearnamaster’sdegreewithaspecialtyinschoollibrarianshipfromaprogramrecognizedbytheAASLinaneducationalunitaccreditedbytheCouncilfortheAccreditationofEducatorPreparation(CAEP)(ALA,2015a).InDelaware,certificationrequirementsforSchoolLibraryMediaSpecialistsareincludedinTitle14,Chapter15,Section1580oftheAdministrativeCode(refertoAppendixD).

Standards and Competencies

AccordingtotheALA/AASLStandardsforInitialPreparationofSchoolLibrarians,therearefivecorecompetenciesthatallschoollibrariansmustmeet.First,schoollibrariansmustteachfortheultimatepurposeoflearning,consideringallstudentsandothermembersofthelearningcommunity.Throughthisstandard,candidatesacknowledgeandsupportstudents’diverselearningstylesandtheirphysicalandintellectualabilitiesandneeds.Theyareeducatedonthestagesofhumangrowthanddevelopment,andtheyunderstandthatvariousculturescaninfluencelearning.Further,candidatesexchangebestpracticesofteachingandlearningwithothereducatorstoinstillcollaborativepartnershipsontheprinciplesofeducation.Thisstandardalsorecognizestheimportanceoftechnologyintegrationasameansofcreativeteachingforadiversebodyofstudents(NCATE,2010).

Thesecondstandardthatschoollibrariansmustmeetrelatestotheimportanceofreadingandliteracy.Throughthisstandard,candidatesdevelopcollectionsofliteratureandselectinformationmaterials,inprintandelectronicformats,suitedforchildrenandyoungadultsbasedonvaryingreadinglevelsandcultural,social,andlinguisticneeds.Theysupportreadingforpersonalgrowth,lifelonglearning,andenjoymentthroughthiscompetency(NCATE,2010).

Informationandknowledgeformthebasisofthethirdcompetency.Schoollibrariansmustbeknowledgeableofthevariousphysical,digital,andvirtualcollectionsofresourcesandservicesthataremadeavailabletothediverselearningcommunity(NCATE,2010).

Thefourthcompetencyemphasizesadvocacyandleadership.Tomaximizestudentlearningandachievement,schoollibrarianshelpfacilitatethecollaborationbetweenteachers,administrators,librarians,andmembersofthecommunity.Dynamicschoollibraryprogramsthriveasschoollibrariansleadprofessionaldevelopmentworkshopsforothersdedicatedtotheimportanceofeducation(NCATE,2010).

Throughprogrammanagementandadministration,whichshapethefifthcompetency,schoollibrariansareexpectedtoplan,implement,andcontinuouslyevaluateschoollibraryprogramsandservicesaccordingtotheethicsandprinciplesoftheirprogrammission(NCATE,2010).

Enablers and Barriers to School Librarians’ Success in Four Domains

Onceschoollibrariansearntheappropriatedegree(s)anddemonstrateaproficiencyinmeetingallfivecompetencies,theirsuccess,orlackthereof,stemsfromanumberofenablersandbarriers.LynnF.ZinnconductedextensiveresearchonteacherleadershipandpublishedthefindingsthroughtheAmericanEducationalResearchAssociationin1997.BasedonZinn’sresearch,domainsthatimpactlibrarians’achievementincludesocialrelationships,institutionalstructures,personalconsiderationsandcommitments,andintellectualandpsychologicalcharacteristics(Johnston,2012).ExamplesofenablersandbarriersaredetailedbelowinTable1.

Table1:EnablersandBarriersinFourDomains

FourDomainsImpactingLibrarians’Achievement ExamplesofEnablers ExamplesofBarriers

1. PeopleandInterpersonalRelationships

Maintainingpersonalsupportsystematwork

Havingpositiveworkingrelationshipswithschooladministrators,teachers,andprincipal

Lackingpersonalsupportsystem

Lackingpositiveworkingrelationshipsandlackingprofessionalrespect

2. InstitutionalStructures Receivingnecessaryresources,suchasfunding,personnel,time,andtechnology

Understandingclearlydefinedroledefinitions

Lackingresources,suchashavinginsufficienttimetocompletetasks

Lackingroledefinitionsfrombroadly-andill-definedleadershiprolesandresponsibilities

3. PersonalConsiderationsandCommitments

Continuinggoodhealthandwellness

Gainingsupportfromfamilyandfriends

Havingpersonalhealthissues

Lackingsupportfromfamilyandfriends

4. IntellectualandPsychologicalCharacteristics

Possessingintellectualcuriosity,enjoymentoflearning,andprofessionalgrowth

Perceivingabilitytomakeadifferenceinthelivesofstudentsandteachers

Lackingintellectualcuriosity,enjoymentoflearning,andprofessionalgrowth

Havingfeelingsofdiscouragementandfrustration

Most Frequently Reported Enablers and Barriers

In2009,ThePALMCenterconductedTheSchoolLibraryMediaSpecialistandTechnologyIntegrationSurvey(Johnston,2012).Throughthisstudy,schoollibrariansidentifiedwhichenablersmostcontributedtotheirsuccessfulcareers.Thehighestrankingenableridentified,withafrequencyofjustover9.5percentwashavingasupportiveprincipal(Johnston,2012);amongotherthings,librarians’positiverelationshipwiththeirsuperiorinstillsasenseofmutualtrust,confidence,andmotivationthatgenerateshighachievementintechnologyintegration.Inthesamestudy9.5percentofparticipantsstatedthatopportunitiestogainaleadershiproleandassumemoreresponsibilitiesledtotheirsuccess.Theymentionedthattheirroleasaschoollibrarianhasbecomemorefulfillingthroughbothdesigningstaff-developmentworkshopsandservingonleadership,technology,andcurriculumcommitteesinschoolsandatthedistrictlevel(Johnston,2012).Accordingtothestudy,anequallyimportantenablerforschoollibrariansisthedesiretomakeadifferenceforstudentsandteachers(Johnston,2012);whenlibrariansembracemorally-basedmotivationstohelpothers,theybelievethattheyperformbetterintheirdesignatedrolewithintheirschoolcommunities.Otherfrequentlyreportedenablersfromthestudyincludethefollowing:professionaldevelopmentopportunities,senseofobligationtogetinvolved,commitmenttocontinualprofessionalgrowth,expertise,collaborativeteachers,professionalorganizations,andpersonalbeliefsandvalues(Johnston,2012).

InthesamePALMCenterstudy,schoollibrariansidentifiedthecorebarrierstotheirsuccess.Withafrequencyofnearly25.5percent,timewastheleadingbarrieridentified(Johnston,2012).Numerousschoollibrariansfeltthatwithmoretimetheycouldbetterinvestintheirpartnershipswithothereducators,enhancetheirrelationshipswithstudents,implementmoredesiredlibraryprograms,andbecomemoreknowledgeableontechnologyintegrationforteachingpurposes.Theyreportedthat,sincetoomuchtimeisspentonshelvingbooks,checkingbooksinandout,andcompletingpaperwork,thereisnotenoughtimetodevotetomoreconstructivetasks(Johnston,2012).Whileopportunitiestogainleadershipandtoundertakemoreresponsibilitieshavejointlysurfacedasanenabler,manyschoollibrariansalsorecognizethelackoftheseopportunitiesasamajorbarrier;theybelievethatexclusionfromtheseenrichingopportunitiesoftenhindersgrowth.“Unsupportiveprincipal”wasalsoidentifiedasabarrier,whichcorrespondswiththeaforementionedenablerofasupportiveprincipal(Johnston,2012).Otherkeybarriersthatschoollibrarians’mentionedincludedlackoffunding,inadequatestaffing,competitiveinstructionaltechnologists,aclimateofcompetitionwiththedistricttechnologydepartment,technologyresources,uncollaborativeteachers,andafixedschedule(Johnston,2012).

Digital Age Shifts Librarians’ Role

Technology,asacrucialelementofteachingandlearning,hassignificantlytransformededucationinthe21stcentury.Bothinandoutsideoftheclassroom,studentsareabletoutilizetechnologytoolsandresourcestoobtaininformationquickly,analyzeandsynthesizeit,andthenpresentitinaprofessionalmanner(Johnston,2012).Onceindividualsinsocietyunderstandhowtousetechnology,theymustthenadoptanewmindsetthatsupportstechnology’sroleinstimulating

morecreativityandmeaninginwhatisdone(Kuhlthau,2010).Thechanginginformationlandscapehasredefinedtheroleofschoollibrarians,givingthemnewopportunitiesforleadership;fromthefamiliaritywithelectronicdatabasestothecreationofpresentationsusingPowerPoint,librarianshaveanenormouspotentialtoleadintechnologyintegration(Johnston,2012).

Bringingtabletapplicationsande-booksintoaschoollibrarycreatesnewrolesforschoollibrarians.First,itrequiresthatlibrarianscurateapplicationofferingsforelementaryschoolstudents.Veryfeweducationappsarequality;appsneedtobeevaluatedforuserinterfacesandothercharacteristics.Childrenmayexperiencefrustrationandboredomunlesstheappisattherightlevelofdifficulty(Neumann&Neumann,2013).

E-booklibrariesalsoneedtobecarefullycuratedandorganized.Inadditiontopurchasingmaterialsthatarespecificallyneededforstudentsinaparticularschool,librariescanexpandtheresourcesavailabletostudentsbyparticipatingincooperativepurchasingagreementsandconsortia(AmericanAssociationofSchoolLibrarians[AASL],2013).Librariansalsoneedtodeterminewhethertheywillbuyaccesstosubscriptionservices,andifsowhichoneswillbestfittheirschool’sneedsandbudget.Importantly,schoollibrariesshouldhaveacomprehensiveandeasy-to-usecatalogueofresources.Afterall,spendingonelectronicresourcesisonlyjustifiediftheresourcesareactuallyusedbythestudents.Printmaterialsanddigitalmaterialsshouldbeintegratedinthecataloguesostudentscanfindtheinformationtheyarelookingforregardlessofitsformat.Tofurtherencourageuseofdigitalresources,librariesshouldmakesurethatstudent-owneddevicesareacceptedonschoolnetworkssothatlibrary-owneddigitalresourcescanbeviewedonwhateverdeviceastudentprefers(AASL,2013).In2013–14,nearly75percentofschoolmediacentersreportedthatstudentsaccessedlibrarye-booksonstudent-owneddevices(Sun,2014).

Beyondprovidingdigitalresources,librariesshouldtakeresponsibilityforteachingstudentshowtoeffectivelyusethem.Inadditiontocuratingtabletapplicationsinelementaryschools,librariesneedtoprovidescaffolding—encouragementforstudentstouseappscorrectlyandcreatively,andmodelingtheiruse(Neumann&Neumann,2013).Inlibrariesthatprovidee-books,librariansshouldhelpstudentswithcommonchallengesrelatedtotheiruse,includingreadability,highlighting,andaccessibility.InaNewYorkStatesurvey,74percentoflibrarymediaspecialistsprovidedguidancetostudentsintheuseofdigitalresourcesatleastonceperweek(Gretes,2013).

Ultimately,theroleofaschoollibrarianentailsoptimizingtheadvantagesofe-booksandtabletapplicationswhilemitigatingtheirdrawbacksthroughcuratingonlineresourcesandeducatingstudentsontheiruse.

Librarians’ Potential to Lead in Technology Integration

Withintheirschoolcommunities,schoollibrariansplayapivotalroleinhelpingtointegratetechnologyintostudents’educationalandprofessionaldevelopment.Librarians’academicbackgroundandtechnologicalexpertisegivethemgreatpotentialtolead.Best-practicelibrarymediaprogramsthriveinschoolswhereschoollibrariansactasinnovators,informationagents,andtechnologyintegrationleaders(Johnston,2012).Theyhavebroadknowledgeinlocatingand

evaluatinginformationusingextensiveresourcesinthelibrary,ontheinternet,inelectronicdatabases,andinthecommunity(Kuhlthau,2010).

Researchfindingspointtotheroleofthelibrarianasatechnologyleaderinschools.Notonlydoschoollibrariansdirectlyimpactstudentsthroughtheirleadership,buttheycanalsoprovideandsupporttechnologytrainingforteachers,othercolleagues,administrators,andparents;asleadingtechnologyfacilitators,librarianscanadministerprofessionaldevelopmentinareasrelatedtoinstructionalandtechnologyresourcestotheentirelearningcommunity(ISTE,n.d.).Technologyinclassroomsisonlyeffectiveifteachersarewelltrainedonitsuse.Librarianscanactivelycoachteachersonhowtousethetechnologyintheirclassroomsandserveasaresourceforanyadditionalhelpthatteachersmayneed(DigitalPromise).Asexpertsintechnology,librarianscanprovidetechnicalsupportforeducationalprograms,IWBs,andspecialWiFinetworksforstudent-owneddevicesinclassrooms.

Furthermore,librarianscanberesourcesforstudentsusingtechnologyintheclassroomandlibrary.Responsibilitiesofthemodernlibrarianoftenincludeteachingin-classlessonsandteachingresearchskillsdirectlytostudents(DigitalPromise).Outsideofformalclasstime,librariansshouldbeavailabletohelpmatchstudents’needsandinterestswithappropriateresources(Rosen,2014).

Havingendlessaccesstodigitalinformationresourcesforthewholelearningcommunityhelpsstudentstoimprovetheirlearningandremainacademicallyengaged(AASL,2010).TeachingtoreflectallISTENETSstandards,whichhelptomeasureproficiencyfortechnology’sintegrationintoeducation,schoollibrarianscaneducatestudentsonawide-rangeoflocal,state,andnationalcurriculum,technologystandards,andinformationliteracy(ISTE,n.d.).Thiseducationismeanttobothdevelopinformationskillsvitaltousingtechnologyasatoolforcurrentlearning,whilealsohelpingstudentsinthefuture“…toactively,safely,andethicallyparticipateinthedigitalculture”(Johnston,2012).Aseducatorswithasecurebackgroundintechnology,schoollibrarianshavearesponsibilitytohelppreparestudentsastheymoveforwardintotheirfuturecareers.

Concerns with Technology Integration

Althoughschoollibrarianshaveauniquepotentialtoleadintechnologyintegration,numerouseducatorsandcommunitymembershaveunfortunatelyneglectedtorecognizethispotential.Schoolcommunitiesarenotfullyutilizinglibrariansinthiscapacity,andasaresultlibrariansareunsurehowtotakeontheirnewroles(Johnston,2012).Manyfeelthattheyaretooinexperiencedinemergingtechnologies,suchassocial-networkingsites,blogs,wikis,andpodcasts,andthattheymustacquiretheappropriateknowledgepriortointegratingtechnologyintotheirstudents’education.Further,accordingtotheresearchofHughes-HassellandHanson-Baldauf,whenaskedhowtheyprefertolearntouseandapplytechnologytools,schoollibrarianspredominantlychosemethodsthatindicated“self-motivationandawillingnesstolearntechnologyontheirowntimetodeveloptheirexpertise”(Johnston,2012,p.22).Ifschoollibrarianshadmoretimetothemselves,manyofthemwouldpotentiallytakeadvantageofthisself-educatingapproach.

Besidestime,adequatefundingisanessentialenablertoschoollibrarians’success.Fundinginthisareaisusedforhardware,software,subscriptiondatabases,onlinetools,andotherdigital

resourcestosupportresearchandinquiry-basedlearning(ISTE,n.d.).Toaccountforconcernsrelatedtopurchasinge-contentandtechnology,budgetsandtheprocessesusedtodevelopthemneedtoevolvetobettersupportlibrarytechnology.AccordingtoAASL,traditionalpurchaseorderproceduresareoutdatedandnotsuitedtodigitalpurchases.Librariansneednewprocessestopayfordigitallibrarymaterials,suchase-booksandsubscriptionservices.Theprocessshouldbequickenoughforlibrarianstokeepconstantlyevolvingdigitalresourcesup-to-dateandflexibleenoughforlibrarianstobuynewresourcesastheyaredeveloped.Theyalsoneedcontinuousfundingfromschoolstoupdatedigitalcontentandtechnology(AmericanAssociationofSchoolLibrarians,2013).Itisimperativethatlibrarybudgetsarepreparedforthenewcostsoflibrarytechnologyandthatschoolsplanforthechangesinfundingneeds.

Further,thereareconcernsrelatedtothescopeofschoollibrarians’technologyintegrationinvolvement.Comparedtoleadingintechnologyrelatedactivitieswithintheirschoolbuildings,schoollibrarianshaveadmittedlyreportedmuchlowerlevelsofsuchinvolvementindistrict-widepolicymakingandinformationsharingwithpeersandcommunitymembers(Johnston,2012).

Impact Within the School Community

Althoughthecurrentdigitalagepresentsnovelleadershipopportunitiesforschoollibrarians,librariansmustcontinuetoalsoleadinthemoretraditional,non-technologicalcapacitiestoachievethefundamentalmissionandfulfilltheroleofschoollibrarian.Withintheschoolcommunity,theycancooperatewithparentsandcollaboratecloselywithteacherstodesignprogramsandconstructanenvironmentthatisconducivetoimprovedstudentlearningoutcomes.Schoollibrarianscanalsoserveonschoolimprovement,curriculum,andplanningcommitteesasinstructionalleaders(ISTE,n.d.).Insomecases,theyadditionallyserveontheirschools’decision-makingteamsandshareexpertisebypresentingatfaculty,parent,andschoolboardmeetings(AASL,2010).Schoollibrarianssometimesalsosuperviseandevaluatetheirsupportstaff,whichmayincludeeducationalassistants,computereducationassistants,studentassistants,andvolunteers.Alongwithengaginginin-personcommunication,schoollibrarianscanalsoplayaroleinmaintainingfrequentcommunicationtostakeholdersthroughaschoollibrarywebsite,parentnewsletters,emailexchanges,video/audiostreamingandpodcasts,andmore(AASL,2010).

Direct Influence on Students

Beyondtheclassroom,librarianshelptoempowerstudentstobecomebettercriticalthinkers,skillfulresearchers,ethicalusersofinformation,andenthusiasticreaders(AASL,2010).However,believingthatschoollibrariansplayatrivialroleinstudentachievement,severalschooldistrictshavecutfundingfornon-classroomteachingpositions(ISTE,n.d.).Thesedecisionsruncountertoevidenceindicatingthatcertifiedschoollibrariansandstronglibraryprogramsenhancepre-K–12students’successthroughouttheiracademiccareers(ISTE,n.d.).Forexample,accordingtoa2011studyusingdatafromtheNationalCenterforEducationStatistics,“...statesthatgainedlibrariansfrom2004–2005to2008–2009—suchasNewJersey,TennesseeandWyoming—showedsignificantlygreaterimprovementsinfourthgradereadingscoresthanstatesthatlostlibrarians,likeArizona,Massachusetts,andMichigan”(Kachel,2015).

Statefundingcuts,though,haveheavilyimpactedlibrarians’presenceinschools.Overadecade,Ohiohaslostmorethansevenhundredschoollibrarypositions,whileCaliforniaretainstheworstratio—1-to-7,000librarians-to-students—ofanystateinthenation(Kachel,2015).Onemainreasonwhystatesarechoosingtodismisslibrariansandschoollibraryprogramsisbecausetheylegallycan.Insomestates,suchasPennsylvania,schoolsarenotevenrequiredtohavelibraries.Whilelibrariesarerequiredinprisons,barberandcosmetologyschools,andnursingprograms,theyareoptionalinpublicschools(Kachel,2015).Publicschoolshavetightbudgetsandmustfaceatoughacademicdecisionandunfortunatetradeoff;theymustdecidewhethertheywanttoterminatetheemploymentofteachers,whospendthemajorityoftheirtimewithstudentsintheclassroom,ortheemploymentoflibrarians,whoareoftenperceivedtobesupportstafftotheclassroomteachers(Santos,2011).

Althoughtechnologicaladvancementshavechangedthelandscapeofpublicschoolsandschoollibraries,librariansstillplayamajorroleinboththedigitalandnon-digitalcapacities.Throughcollectionandmaintenanceofmiscellaneousdigitalandprintedmaterialsandliteratureofvariousgenres,librariansexposestudentstoadiversearrayofperspectivesinavarietyoftopicsacrossmultipledisciplines.Theyinstillinstudentsthevaluesofbuildingonpriorknowledgewhilealsohelpingthemtoconstructnewknowledge(AASL,2010).

Accordingtotheideaofguidedinquiry,sometimesathirdmember,suchasateacherspecializinginmusic,reading,orart,contributestooptimalstudentlearning(Kuhlthau,2010).Thethree-membercoreteamcomposedofaclassroomteacher,schoollibrarian,andteacherspecialistprovideasynergeticapproachtovariousareasoflearning.Whenstudentslearnaboutinformationliteracy,socialskills,curriculumcontent,literacycompetence,andeventheprocessesoflearningthroughthecollectiveeffortoftheseeducators,theyabsorbknowledgethroughamuchmoreenrichinglearningexperience(Kuhlthau,2010).Schoollibrariansarecoremembersoftheseteams.Whiletheymayleadparticularlyinareasoftechnologyintegration,librarianscanalsocontributesignificantlytotheadvancementofstudenteducationalachievementinnon-technologicalcapacities.

Schoollibrariansalsohavetheresponsibilitytofullyunderstandthecopyrightandlicensingpoliciesthatprotectintellectualpropertyinthelibrary(AASL,2010).Theymustrelaytheirknowledgeoffairusetostudentssothatthey,too,canproperlymanagetheiruseofbothelectronicandnon-digitalsources.Alongwithoverseeinglibraryresourceuseandmanagement,insomecases,librarianscanalsosupervisepersonnelandfacilitiesforthedevelopmentandimplementationoflibraryprograms(AASL,2010).Theseandotherresponsibilitieshelpschoollibrariansexerciseeffectivemanagementprinciplesforstudents’bestinterests.

Summary of the Role and Impact of the School Librarian

Inavarietyofdifferentcapacities,schoollibrarianspositivelyimpactstudents,teachers,andentirelearningcommunities.Amongotherthings,havingasupportiveprincipalenablesthelibrariantosucceedintheirroles.Havinganinsufficientamountoftimetoimplementeffectivelibraryprogrammingisoftenconsideredtobetheleadingbarriertosuccess.Theadoptionofe-books,

databases,tabletapplications,andotherinnovativeclassroomtechnologieshavecreatednewrolesforlibrarianstofulfill.However,withsufficientresources,librarianscansucceedinbothtechnologyintegrationandinpracticingmoretraditionallibrarianroles.Schoolsthatchoosetocutfundingfromlibraries,whetherbychoiceorduetotightfinancialconstraints,unfortunatelydismissmanyoftheopportunitiesforstudentacademicgrowth.Theroleoftheschoollibrarianisoftheutmostimportance,anditshouldnotbeoverlooked.

School and Public Library Partnerships

Thecurrenteconomicclimate,andcorrespondingbudgetshortfalls,threatenscollections,staff,andprogramminginalllibraries.Increasingthecollaborationbetweenschoolandpubliclibrariescanleadtoenhancedstudentandcommunitylearningoutcomes.Despiteservingsimilarpopulations,historically,publicandschoollibrarieshaveoperatedasseparateentities.Someofthetrendsstillremaintruetoday.A2012surveyof559publiclibrariansconductedbytheSchoolLibraryJournalfoundthatonly30percentofrespondentscollaboratedwith“localschoolstocoordinatebookpurchasestosupportthecurriculum”andonly9percent“workeddirectlywithschoollibrariansandteachers”onhomeworkassignments(GirmscheidandMiller,2012).Emphasisoncollaborationexemplifiestheevolutionofschoolcurriculumreformandlibrarianship.Inaninformation-richsociety,improvedcollaborationwillgreatlyenhancethequalityofeducationandservicesofferedtothecommunityat-large.

Developing Partnerships

Collaborativerelationshipsdonotdevelopovernight.Thedevelopmentofsustainablepartnershipsreliesonthecapabilitiesoflibrariestoserveascentersforintergenerationallearningforfamiliesresidinginlocalandneighboringcommunities.Initiatingcontactcanbeassimpleasaschoollibrarianstoppingintoapubliclibraryandformallymeetingthestafftherebeforeadministrativelyseekingaformalpartnership.AsillustratedinNatalieZiarnik’sbookSchoolandPublicLibraries:DevelopingaNaturalAlliance,thesectiontofollowlaysoutfoundationalguidelinesthatcanassistinlaunchingaproductiveandcollaborativepartnership.Ziarnik’sworkidentifiesthreekeyprinciplesthatschoollibrarianscanutilizetobridgethepublic-andschool-librarydivide:

Table2:ThreeKeyPrinciplestoBridgingthePublic-andSchool-LibraryDivide

ArrangingaVisit SustainingtheConnection ContinuingContact

Createalistofpotentialattendees/collaborators.

Findatimethatisconvenientforbothschoolandpubliclibrarians.

Distributepacketsofinformationregardingyourlibraryorschool.

Duringthevisit,offeraninformaltourofyourfacility.

Becomeacquaintedwitheachcolleague’sschedule.

Considerwhichpartsofthecollaborativeeffortwillmakeefficientuseofresourcesandexpertise.

Bepracticalandmaintainlevelexpectations.Collaborativeeffortsshouldfitwithinthemissionsofinvolvedinstitutions.

Establishamonthlynewsletterofrelevantresourcesandongoinginstitutionalevents.

Maintainregularinteractiontoensurebetterserviceforstudents.

Establishsummerreadingprogramstokeeptheschoolandpubliclibraryconnectedthroughoutthesummer.

Source:Ziarnik, N. (2003). School and Public Libraries: Developing the Natural Alliance. American Library Associations. Chicago, IL

Successfulcommunicativeoutreacheffortsassistinestablishingproductiverelationships.Takinganinformalapproach,schoollibrariansshoulddiscusstheanticipatedbenefitsofestablishedpartnershipswithadministrationbeforecontactingpotentialcollaborators.Additionally,identifyingapointofcontact,understandingthetargetpopulation,andoutliningpotentialcollaborativeareasshouldbeexploredpriortothisengagement.Recognizingthepopulationtheseinstitutionsserveandtheservicestheyofferhelpsintheconstructionofaformalrelationship.Initiatingcontactcantakeplacethroughanumberofdifferentavenues(email,telephone,physicalvisits)dependingonthepubliclibrarian’savailability.Emailsdetailingcurrentendeavors,upcomingevents,andotherinitiativesestablishaformalcommunicationtrail.Informationgleanedfromreceivednotificationsmaysparkfutureinterestincollaborativeopportunities.Fromthepubliclibrary’sperspective,internalconsultationamongstaffregardingservicescurrentlyprovidedtolocalschoolscanclarifyareaswhereadditionalsupporteffortscanbedirected.

Managing Partnerships

Publicandschoollibrarypartnershipsplayanintegralroleinaddressingtheneedsofallstudentlearners.Whilepreliminaryoutreachmeasureswereidentifiedintheprevioussection,smallinitialcollaborativepartnershipscanhelpin“establishingabasiccooperativerelationshipbetweenschoolandpubliclibraries”(Squires,2009).Takingonsubstantialprojectsintheearlystagesofthepartnershipcanleadtodisastrousresults,butestablishinganon-goingandconsistentdialoguebetweenlibrariescanaccomplishnoteworthyprojectswithminimaleffort.Thisshared-approachtoeducationbetweenschoolandpubliclibrariesreallocatesresourcestocomplementstudents’curriculumandliteracyneeds.

Thedevelopmentofsustainablecollaborativeeffortsisdependentonthepromotionofavailablelibraryresources.Publicandschoollibrariesshouldperiodicallyshareinformationregardingupcomingevents,programs,andservicesinanefforttoidentifyareaswherecollaborationcanbebeneficial.Throughthepostingofinformativeflyersinlocalschools,advertisementofmonthlyevents,ordevelopmentofaninternalnewsletter,studentsandfamiliescanbeprovidedtheopportunitytolearnmoreaboutdailylibraryhappenings.Althoughtheoverallsuccessofeventscanbehardtopredict,schoollibrariescanincentivizeparticipationinjoint-venturesbyofferingextracreditforaparticularassignment.

Coordinatingschoolcurriculumwithlibraryprogramscanprovideadditionalsupportforstudentsthroughtheutilizationofavailableresources.AsnotedbyLindaWunderlin,mediaspecialistatNewHavenMiddleSchoolinIndiana:

Whenwehaveaprojecttopicgoingon,Isendanemailtomycontactatthelocalpubliclibrary.Sheputstogetheracollection,sothatwhenthekidscomelooking,theyaredirectedtothealreadypulledcollection.(Squires,2009)

Providingthepubliclibrarywithadequatetimetoalign,plan,andpromoteeventstothelargercommunityisvitalinthesuccessofcollaborativeinitiatives.Similarly,establishingahomeworkclubwithinthelocallibrarycanprovideanencouragingspaceforlearning.ExamplessuchastheTallTreeInitiativeinWestchesterCounty,N.Y.,wherestudentsreceivedhomeworkassistancefromteachersemployedpart-timebythelibrary,enrichestheeducationallearningenvironmentforchildren(Rosenberg,1998).Areasfacingbudgetconstraintscanactivelyrecruitcommunityvolunteersandsupporttocarryoutsimilarefforts.

Resource Sharing

Librariansmaintainasignificantroleinsuccessfulresourcesharingbetweenpublicandschoollibraries.Resourcesharing,asdescribedbyAllenKent,entails:

Amodeofoperationwherebylibraryfunctionsaresharedincommonbyanumberoflibraries.Thegoalsaretoprovideapositiveneteffect:(a)onthelibraryuserintermsofaccesstomorematerialsorservices,and/or(b)onthelibrarybudgetintermsofcost,ormuchmoreservicesatlesscostthanifundertakenindividually.(Kent,1978)

Morerecently,theavailabilityofdatainthe“InformationRevolution”hasforcedlibrariestoundertakeinnovativestrategiesaimedatincreasingtheaccessstudentshavetoavarietyofdatabasesandonlineresources.Establishedthroughaconsortiumofnetworks,resourcesharingcentralizesthelocationandavailabilityofliteraturematerialsbyreducingcommunicationgapsbetweenlibrariesandcostsbyincreasingpurchasingpower.Resourcesharingservices,whichincludetheInterlibraryLoan(ILL),bookexchanges,andonlineshared-catalog,allowforthephysicalandvirtualsharingofrequestedmaterials.

Continuouslydevelopingwaystobetterservetheiraudience,suchinitiativesprovidean“Easywaytoexpandtheresourcesoftheschoollibrarymediacenterwithlittleeffort,andincreasecirculationofthepubliclibrary’scollection”(Fitzgibbons,2000).Moreover,technologicaladvancementshave

expandedlibrarynetworksbeyondthewallsthatpreviouslyconfinedthem.Ruralareas,withlimitedaccesstopubliclibrarybranches,arenowabletoutilizeonlinedatabases,catalogues,ande-collectionsthroughthevirtuallinkageofpublicandcollegiatelibraryinstitutions.Librariesnowpossessaccesstomoreresourcesthanpreviouslyavailable,whileminimizingtheinformationcostassociatedwithdeliveryoflibraryservicesinpreparationofforecastedbudgetconstraints.

Collaboration in Practice: Denver Public Library and the Denver Public Schools

Collaborationassistsinbothhelpingexpandthetypesofprogramslibrariesprovideandmodernizingtheiravailablecollections.Collaborativeeffortstoenhancethedistrict-wideeducationalgoalsbetweentheDenverPublicLibrary(DPL)andtheDenverPublicSchools(DPS)officiallybeganwiththeattainmentofa$262,306LibraryServicesandTechnologyAct(LSTA)grantin2007(ColoradoStateLibrary,2007).Duringatwo-yearperiod,schoollibrarians,mediaspecialists,andteachers“formedprofessionallearningcommunities”tobetterinformandsharetheirinsightregardinghowtobetterservetheneedsoftheirstudents(ColoradoStateLibrary,2007).Recognizingthat34percentofDenver’sK–12studentsareEnglishlanguagelearners,schoollibrariespartneredwithlocalnonprofitstoensurethatyoungchildrencouldhaveaccesstoanumberofculturallyrelevantexperiencesbyprovidingfreeadmissiontovenuessuchastheDenverBotanicalGardensandtheColoradoBallet(Murvosh,2013).Inaddition,thiscollaborationledtothecreationoftheMyDenverCard,incooperationwithUnitedHealthcare,whichservesasbothalibrarycardandrecreationpasstoanumberofongoingeventsyear-round(CityandCountyofDenver,2015).Despitethegrantsconclusionin2009,thecityhascontinuedtosupportsimilarinitiatives.

Limitless Libraries: The Nashville Public Library and Metro Nashville Public Schools

Lookingforwaystobetterleveragethecity’sresources,NashvilleMayorKarlDeanrecommendedaformalpartnershipbetweentheNashvillePublicLibrary(NPL)andMetroNashvillePublicSchools(MNPS)calledLimitlessLibraries.Thecollaborativeprogram,establishedin2009,has“helpedmodernizeandexpandschoolcollectionsbyweedingoutoutdatedbooksandbyusingthecity’spurchasingpowertoefficientlyacquirenewmaterial”(Bengel,2013).Today,LimitlessLibrariesserves81,000publicstudentsthroughoutall128MNPSschools.NPLandMNPSworktogetherincoordinatingbookpurchases,assessingcurrentcollections,andalleviatingthedigitaldivide,inanareawhere90percentofthedistrict’sstudentsareeligibleforfreeandreducedpricelunch.

AreportcommissionedbytheStateofTennesseetoanalyzehowstudentsuseandbenefitfromLimitlessLibrariesproducedthefollowingfindings(Lance,Rodney,andSchwarz,2013):

• SincetheimplementationofLimitlessLibraries,circulationattheschoolshasincreased79percent.

• Today,thereare28,007RegisteredLimitlessLibrariesUsers,ofwhich,nearly43percentofthosestudentshadneverhadalibrarycardbefore.

• Usersweremorelikelythannon-userstobesuccessfulinmeetingthestate’stestedacademicstandards.

Theprogramalsoledtonearly$271,000inestimatedsavingsduetodiscountsnegotiatedwithvendors(UrbanLibrariesCouncil,2016).Suchfindingsconfirmtheimportanceofcollaborativeinitiativesinbothexpandingaccessandincreasingtheutilizationoflibraryresources.ThesuccessofLimitlessLibraryparticipantsinmeetingthestateacademicstandardsbyincreasingthenumberofqualityitemsperstudentsignifiestheusefulnessofdynamicpartnerships(Bengel,2014).

Summary of Developing and Managing Partnerships

Thissectionoutlinedthetoolsneededtocreate,develop,andmaintainpartnershipsbetweenschoolandpubliclibraries.Collaborationcanonlyoccurwhenbothpartiesseethevalueinworkingtogethertoachieveacommongoal.Craftingtimelinestocarryoutsuchinitiativeswillassistin achievingdesiredoutcomes.Recognizingthepotentialchallengesinincreasingcooperativeefforts,aninternaldiscussionwithschooladministrationandleadershipshouldbeconductedpriortoformallyengagingwithpotentialcollaborators.Schoolandpubliclibrariesmustrealizethattheyarenotcompetitors,butrather,membersofthesameteam.Establishingamutuallybeneficialpartnershipcansignificantlyimprovetheeffectivenesswithwhichstudentsareserved—leadingtoimprovedlearningoutcomes(Ziarnik,2003).

Conclusion

Inclosing,theresearchprovidedconveysacompellingargumentofthepositiveimpactthatqualityschoollibrariesandcertifiedlibrarianscanhaveonstudentlearningoutcomes.Thisliteraturereviewincludesacomprehensiveexaminationofthecharacteristicsofqualityschoollibrariesandhowtheyimpactstudentperformance;theroleoftheschoollibrarian;librarytechnology;andthedevelopmentofpartnershipsbetweenschoolandpubliclibraries.Astheresearchhasshown,improvedlearningoutcomesfromstudentscanonlyberealizedifadequatesupportisprovidedtoschoollibraries.Providingthissupportgivesstudentsaccesstoaninfiniteamountofinformation,alongwiththeguidanceandencouragementoftrainedschoollibrarians.

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Lance,C.,Rodney,M.,&Hamilton-Pennell,C.,(2000).MeasuringUptoStandards:TheImpactofSchoolLibraryProgramsandInformationLiteracyinPennsylvaniaSchools.Greensburg,PA.PennsylvaniaCitizensforBetterLibraries.PennsylvaniaDepartmentofEducation

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Lynch,G.(2015,August25).MeetKristinaHolzweiss,SLJ’s2015SchoolLibrarianoftheYear.SchoolLibraryJournal.RetrievedNovember16,2015,fromhttp://www.slj.com/2015/08/industry-news/meet-kristina-holzweiss-sljs-2015-school-librarian-of-the-year/

Marcum,E.(2012,November).TheCognitiveDisadvantagesofE-Books.AALLSpectrum,pp.26-27.

McGill-Franzen,A.,&Allington,R.(2001).LostSummers:ForSomeChildren,FewBooksandFewOpportunitiestoRead.TheCenterforSummerLearningatJohnsHopkinsUniversity.Baltimore,MD

Michaelson,E.(2014,April10).StellarDatabases:SLJReaders’FavoritesandOtherEssentialElectronicResources.RetrievedOct2015,fromTheDigitalShift:http://www.thedigitalshift.com/2014/04/metadata/stellar-databases-slj-readers-favorites-essential-electronic-resources/

Miller,L.(2015,December).OfficeoftheViceProvost,UniversityofDelaware.(A.Keleher,Interviewer)

Murvosh,M.(2013).PartnersinSuccess:Whenschoolandpubliclibrariansjoinforces,kidswin.SchoolLibraryJournal.NewYork,NY

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Nelson,C.(2012).WhateBooksMeanforSchoolLibraries:Part1.RetrievedOct2015,fromEducationWorld:http://www.educationworld.com/a_tech/how-a-school-library-has-embraced-ebooks.shtml

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Appendix B: Delaware School Library Study Survey

Delaware School Library Study Survey 2015

Pleaseselectyourschooldistrict.Value Percent Count

Appoquinimink 10.0% 7

Brandywine 10.0% 7

CaesarRodney 4.3% 3

CapeHenlopen 2.9% 2

Capital 5.7% 4

Christina 8.6% 6

Colonial 4.3% 3

Delmar 1.4% 1

IndianRiver 5.7% 4

LakeForest 2.9% 2

Laurel 2.9% 2

Milford 4.3% 3

NCCVotech 4.3% 3

POLYTECH 1.4% 1

RedClay 12.9% 9

Seaford 2.9% 2

Smyrna 2.9% 2

SussexTech 1.4% 1

Woodbridge 2.9% 2

CharterSchools 8.6% 6

Total 70

Ifyouselected"CharterSchool"or"Other,”pleasespecify.Response Count

AcademyofDoverCharter 1

CampusCommunityCharterSchool 1

CharterSchool 1

MOTCharter 1

OdysseyCharterSchool 1

SussexAcademy 1

Total 6

Pleaseindicatethelibrary/schoollibrarymediacenterinwhichyouwork.Response Count

AlexisI.duPontHighSchool 1

AlfredG.WatersMiddle 1

AppoquiniminkHighSchool 1

BayardMiddleSchool 1

BrandywineHighSchool 1

BrickMillElementary 1

BunkerHillElementary 1

CabCallowaySchooloftheArts 1

ConradSchoolsofScience 1

DelcastleVocational-TechnicalHighSchool 2

DelmarMiddleandSeniorHighSchools 1

Donot-amtheheadofschool-donothaveLibrary/Informationbutgettingreadytohire

FairviewElementary 1

FirstStateMontessoriAcademyCharterSchool 1

GeorgetownElementary 1

GeorgetownMiddleSchool 1

GunningBedfordMiddleSchool 1

H.B.duPontMiddleSchool 2

HanbyElementary 1

HeritageElementary 1

IndianRiverHighSchool 1

JohnBassettMoore 1

JonesElementarySchool 1

KathleenH.WilburElementary 1

LakeForestHighSchool 1

LancashireElementary 1

LewisElementary 1

LombardyElementarySchoolLibrary 1

LordBaltimoreElementary 1

MOTCharter 1

MayB.LeasureElementarySchool 1

MilfordCentralAcademy 2

MiltonElementary 1

MispillionElementary 1

Response Count

MountPleasantHighSchool 1

NellieStokesElementarySchool 1

NewarkHighSchool 1

NorthDoverElementarySchool 1

NorthLaurelElementary 2

OdysseyCharterSchool 1

OldStateElementary 1

PolytechHighSchool 1

PostlethwaitMiddleSchool 1

RichardsonParkElementary 1

RobertS.GallaherElementarySchool 1

SeafordMiddleSchool 1

SilverLakeElementary 2

SmyrnaMiddleSchool 1

SpringerMiddleSchool 1

StGeorgesTechnicalHighSchool 1

TalleyMiddleSchool 1

WBSimpson 1

WestSeafordElementarySchool 1

WTChipmanMiddleSchool 1

WelchElementary 1

WilliamHenryMiddleSchool 1

WilliamPennHighSchool 1

WoodbridgeHighSchool 2

BrandywineSpringsElementarySchool 1

DownesElementarySchool 1

Shue-MedillMiddleSchool 1

Total 67

Pleaseenterthename(s)ofanyadditionalschoolsinwhichyouworkinalibrarycapacity.Response Count

ClaytonIntermediateSchool 1

DunbarElementary 1

TheCharterSchoolofWilmington(housedinthesamebuildingasCabCalloway)

Total 3

Pleaseindicatethegradelevelsservedbythelibrary/mediacenterinwhichyouwork.Response Count

Pre-Kindergarten–5 1

Kindergarten–4 2

Kindergarten–5 15

Kindergarten–6 1

Kindergarten–8 4

1–5 9

2–4 2

5–6 2

5–8 1

5–12 1

6–8 13

6–12 3

7–8 1

9–12 13

9–12&LifeSkills 1

Total 69

Pleaseindicatethegradelevelsservedbythelibraries/mediacentersintheadditionalschoolorschoolsinwhichyouworkinalibrarycapacity.Response Count

5–6 1

9–12 2

K–1 2

Total 5

Pleaseindicateyourjobtitle.Response Count

CTETeacher,MediaSpecialist 1

ElementarySchoolLibrarian 1

HeadofSchool 3

Librarian 22

Librarian(Secondary) 1

Librarian/MediaSpecialist 1

Librarian/TechnologyEducator 1

Librarian/TechnologyTeacherandGiftedandTalentedTeacher

LibraryManager 1

LibraryMediaSpecialist 18

LibraryMediaSpecialist/SpecialEdTeacher 1

LibraryMediaSpecialist/TechnologyTeacher 1

Library/InformationSpecialist 1

Para-Professional 1

Para-Librarian 3

SchoolLibrarian 6

SchoolLibrarian/ContentChairofLibrary/MediaChristinaSchoolDistrict

SchoolLibraryMediaSpecialist 2

SecondaryLibrarian 1

Technology/LibraryTeacher 1

Total 68

Pleaseindicateyoureducationalbackgroundbycheckingalllevelsofeducationyouhavecompleted. Value Percent Count

AssociateDegree 4.4% 3

Bachelor'sDegree 50.0% 34

Master'sDegree 88.2% 60

Doctorate 5.9% 4

Othergraduatelevelstudy 30.9% 21

Total 68

AreyouacertifiedschoollibrarianintheStateofDelaware?

Value Percent Count

Yes 82.6% 57

No 13.0% 9

Other 4.4% 3

Total 69

Ifyouanswered"Other"above,pleasespecifyinthetextboxprovidedbelow.Response Count

CurrentlypursuingdegreeinLMS 1

IhavecompletedmycourseworkandthetranscriptandothermaterialsarebeingsubmittedtoDOEandDistrict

CertifiedinNJ;DEcertexpiredin2014.Iretiredin2012anddidn'tthinkIwouldbeneedingcertificationrenewal.

Total 3

Yes82.6%

Other4.4%

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%

Howlonghaveyoubeenworkingatthislibrary/mediacenter?

Value Percent Count

Lessthan1year 10.6% 7

1–3years 25.8% 17

4–6years 21.2% 14

7–10years 21.2% 14

Morethan10years 21.2% 14

Total 66

Doyouhaveotherinstructionaland/orstaffingresponsibilitiesbeyondthosedirectlyassociatedwithyourjobdutiesinthelibrary/mediacenter?

Value Percent Count

Yes 60.9% 39

No 39.1% 25

Total 64

Lessthan1year10.6%

1–3years25.8%

4–6years21.2%

7–10years21.2%

Morethan10years21.2%

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%

Yes60.9%

No39.1%

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%

If"Yes,"pleasespecifyotherduties/responsibilities.Response CountCoverstudentsinRTIgroupsandforteachersmeetinginPLCgroups. 1

Full-timeCTEteacher.LibraryresponsibilitiesarehandledmostlyasEPER. 1

HomeworkClub,LunchDuty,DismissalDuty 1

Iamassignedfour90-minuteIndependentStudyclasseseveryday. 1

Iamresponsibleforfour90-minuteindependentstudyclasses. 1

Iteachskillsto10thgraders 1

Lobbyduty,lunchduty,plccoverage,classroomcoverage,substitute 1

Lunchduty,busduty 1

Morningannouncements,recessduty,materialsmanagement 1

Morningbusdutiesandwalkkidstotheirparentsatpickup. 1

PLCcoverage.AMCarrider/walkerdutyPM 1

SchoolTestCoordinator 1

SpecialEducationteacher 1

Startingnextschoolyear2015-2016,firstperiodeverydayteachresearchskillsclass. 1

StateTestingAdministrator 1

Wehavenolibrarymediacenter 1

Willbeteachingsomeclasses 1

Yearbook,DataPLC's 1

Actassubstitutewhenschoolcan’tfillallpositions. 1

Testadministrator 1

Co-TechnologyCoordinator,PBSCommittee,lunchdutyhallwayduty,busduty,studentmentor,technologytrainer

CoveringPLCtimesforteacherswithouthavingaccesstothosemeetings.Sevenlunchdutiesatoneschoolandoneattheother.Busduty,breakfastdutytwiceatoneschool.

Iamthebuildingtechnologistformyschool,Iamthedistrictcontentchairoflibrary/mediafortheDistrictandIdoafternoonpickupdutyeverydayforourstudents.

Teachlibraryscienceclassesdaily,cafeteriadutydaily,morningandafternoonduties,scheduleandmaintainfourlaptopcartsandthreeiPadcarts,schedulethreecomputerlabs,teachthreeRTIreadingclassesperweek,teachtwo"activityperiods"perweek.NextyearIamscheduledwithafullteachingload(6classesperday)inadditiontotheresponsibilitieslistedabove.

Iteachfive6thgradelibrary/researchclasseseachday.WeareonanA/Bschedule,givingmeatotalof10gradedclasses.

CafeteriaDutyduringopenblockeachweekBusDutyeverydayatwhicheverschoolIamassigned.YearBookPBSTeamWellnessTeam

IsubstituteforthefrontofficesecretarywhensheisoutandIhavebeenaskedtocover/subinclassrooms

CoverageforProfessionalLearningCommunities6classperiodsforweekthatareadditionaltotheregularlyscheduledlibraryvisitsforeachclassineachgrade(30classes)

Response CountScorekeeper&FieldJudgeforBasketballandTrack/FieldEvents,TeachEconomicsinAdultEdDept.,XSch.Dist.-9thyearAlso,DECertifiedin:SocialStudies(6-12)-HighlyQualified(PRAXISII-rankedtop15%inU.S.)English(6-12)-HighlyQualifiedLibrarian/MediaSpecialist-(K–12)-HighlyQualified

Eachyearmyadditionaldutiesvarydependingupontheneedsoftheschool.ThisyearIwasscheduledtocoveraclassfor90minutesofPLCtimeonceperweek.

ImakesurethatthestudentscompletetheirCareerCruisingStudentSuccessplan.Ischeduleallthecomputerlabs.

Wecurrentlyhaveavolunteerlibrarianasthefundsarenotavailabletohireafulltimelibrary/mediaspecialistthisyear.

Coverageforteachersformeetings,beforeandafterschoolduties,webpagemaintenance,LeadershipTeam,DistrictTechnologyandInnovationTeam

Teacherofgiftedpull-outprogram(grades3-4,3hoursperweek)Screeningforgiftedprogram(primarily2ndgrade,duringlibraryinstructionaltime)Teacheroftechnologyclasses(gradesK–4,9classesor13.75hoursperweek)Breakfastdutyeachmorning

Iamalsothegiftedandtalentedteacheraswellasthetechnologyteacher.Otherdutiesincludehallwayduty,breakfastduty,morninggymduty

AdministerAcceleratedReaderprogrambymonitoringstudentgoalsandgrowthandprovideincentivesforthosewhomeetgoals.MorningandAfternoonAnnouncements.Arrivaldutydaily,lunchdutyweekly.School-widereadingchallengeswithrewardstoencourageliteracy.GuysReadinitiativetoincreasemalereading.Providereadingandmathinterventiontogrades2and5.Hostauthorvisits

Ialsomanagetechnologyinstructionandinventory,whichsomewouldargueispartofbeingaschoollibrarian.

Supervisingkeyboardingclasses,turningoncomputerinlabsnotattachedtothelibrary,coveringteachers'classesdailysotheycanattendgradelevelmeetings

CollegeandCareer-setupallcollegevisitstoschool,inchargeofthewebsiteandfordisseminatinginformationaboutcollegevisits,summerprograms,andscholarships.TestCoordinatorforthebuilding,inchargeofsettingupalltestingschedules,security,teachertrainings,andmakingsureallstudentscompletetherequiredtests.ThetestsincludeSTARELA&Math,SmarterELAandMath,DCASScience,EOCUSHistory,andAltDCAS.DistrictadministratorforFollettDestinyLibrarySystemBuildingadministratorforiSafeInternetSafetyProgram

Teachingremedialreadingandfornextyearalsoteachingmultiplelevelsofcreativewriting.thischangehappenedthisyear(gettingacoupleclasses)andnextyearmyschedulewillbesplitevenmorewithhalflibrary/halfELA.

Maintaining/deliveringlaptopcartsLunchdutydailyMorningandafternoonhalldutyClothesclosetdutySchedulingschoolcomputerlabs(3)andlaptopcarts(3)5"ActivityBlocks"perweek-3RTIblocks

Total 41

Withhowmanyschoolfacultydoyouworkdirectlyinanaverageday?Response Count

Total 62 Librarian/Faculty Interaction

MeanNumberofDailyInteractionswithOtherFaculty 14.33perdayMedianNumberofDailyInteractionswithOtherFaculty 8.00perday

Inwhatcapacityorcapacitiesdoyoutypicallyworkwithfaculty?(Pleasecheckallthatapply.) Value Percent Count

Identifyingexistingresources(alreadyowned/licensed)thatsupportthecurriculum 89.4% 59

Identifyingnewresources(notalreadyowned/licensed)thatsupportthecurriculum 68.2% 45Helpingfacultyimprovetheirsearching/researchskills 51.5% 34Planningotherservices/initiativesthatenhancestudentlearning 78.8% 52Other(Pleasespecify.) 37.9% 25

Total 66

Ifyouanswered"other"above,pleasespecifyinthetextboxprovidedbelow.Response Count

Assistingotherteacherswithstudents 1

Assistingwithtechnology,testing,planning,software,etc. 1

Co-teaching;Helpwithtechnologyissues,textbookissues,aplethoraofotherquestions 1

Collaborativeresearchprojects,bookclubs 1

Handleallthetechnology,laminating. 1

Helpfacultycompleteprofessionaldevelopmentassignedbythedistrict. 1

IcoverTeacherprepperiodswithafixedschedule 1

Idon'tworkwithotherfacultymembers 1

LifeSkillsclassweekly. 1

Planningandimplementingcurriculumsuchasresearchprojectsandliteraturecircles. 1

PlanninginstructionalunitsalignedtotheCCSS 1

Teachinformationliteracyskillsandcriticalinquiry 1

TeamTeachingintheclassroom. 1

Technologysupport 1

Troubleshootingtechnologyissues.Supportingintegrationoftechnologyandinstruction. 1

Planninginstructionalactivitiesforstaff. 1

Schedulinglabs/cartstechnologytroubleshootingco-teaching 1

Checkingbooksinandoutfortheirclasses,gatheringbooksonsubjectstheyareworkingon,goingtothepubliclibrary(closeby)topickupandreturnbooksIhavegottenforthemfromthatlibrary

AsTestingCoordinatorsinceSpringbreakIdealwithaminimumof25facultyadayfortestingissues.IntheFallwithcollegevisits,usually18aday.

Icoverclassroomteachers'planningperiods.Iamoneofthe5"specialclasses"inourelementaryschools.

CollaboratingonlessonstoensuremeaningfulnessandrelevancytostudentsAdministeringSTAR/ARpasswords,reports,etc.RegisteringfacultyforEbooksubscription

Icollaboratewithteachersandco-teachwiththemonlessons.Ialsoteachalotoftechnologytobothstudentsandteachers.

Helpingwithprintersandtechtheycan'tfigureouthelpingwithtestingortestadministration 1

Iworkwiththeteacherandstudentswhocomeintothelibraryonadailybasis.Theteachervariesfromdaytoday.

HallMonitors,CommunityMentors,ADMStaff.Deliveringbookcartservices.CoachingStaff,Custodians

Response Count

Iamtheonetheycalloniftheirclassroomcomputersarenotworking,ItakecareofSmartBoardproblems,Iamabuildinghugger(studentsatriskearnbonustimewithmeiftheyhavehadagoodday),Ihelppreparestudentlaptopsforstatetestingandrepairlaptops,Imaintainthebuildinghumorwall,fixthelaminatorwhenitjams,andIamabuildingmentorforfirstyearteachersiftheyhavequestionsorproblems.

Total 26

Withhowmanystudentsdoyouworkdirectlyinanaverageday?Response Count

100 13

1000 1

Total 61

Librarian/Student Interaction

MeanNumberofDailyInteractionswithStudents 151perdayMedianNumberofDailyInteractionswithStudents 125perday

Inwhatcapacityorcapacitiesdoyoutypicallyworkwithstudents?(Pleasecheckallthatapply.)Value Percent Count

Assistingstudentsinusingonlineresources 84.9% 56

Assistingstudentsinusingprintmaterials 80.3% 53

Teachinginformationliteracyskills 75.8% 50

Teachingbasiclibraryand/orresearchskills 83.3% 55

Checkingphysicalmaterialsinandout 95.5% 63

Other(Pleasespecify.) 33.3% 22

Total 66

Assiststudentsinfindingappropriatebookstoreadforpleasure 1

AssistingthemwithproblemswithPowerPoint,Word,Prezi,GoogleDocs,andprinting. 1

Bibliotherapist,makerspaceoverseer,therapist/friend,etc. 1

Encouragingaloveoflearningandliterature 1

Helpwithwordprocessingandprinting 1

Helpingwithstudentpublishing/printing;photographyforschoolneeds;yearbookinterviews

Ihelpstudentinawidevarietyofways.Iteachalotoftechnologyskills. 1

PAWSandbookclub(literacy)andprinting/proofreading 1

Reader'sAdvisorySupervisingstudentlibraryaides 1

Teachingaclass. 1

Technologyandtypingskills. 1

Assistingstudentwithresearchskills 1

Completingprojects,printing.joborcareersearches,collegeprep.personalneeds. 1

Coverageofregularclassrooms 1

Lunchgroupinmyroom,RTI, 1

Researchprojectsthataredesignedinconjunctiontothecurriculum 1

TeachingreadingRTIoractivityperiodslunchgroups 1

Teachingtechnologyskills-usingWordandExcel,howtosetupemail,savingandfindingdocuments,editingpapers,listeningtostudentsinacounselingcapacity,collegeandcareerguidance

Response Count

AssistHallMonitorduringClassTransitions&Arrival/DismissalEPERwithBasketball&Track/FieldEventsOccasionallyCoveraClassforShortTime

Technologyissues,publishingofwork,Reader'sAdvisory,answeringquestionspertainingtoEVERYTHING

Ihaveanopenlibraryprograminthemorningbeforeclassesstart,Iseestudentsduringafterschoolpickuptime,andIhelpoutwithstudentsathighriskinmybuilding.Ialsoteachalockedscheduleof6eachday.

Teachingstudentstousetechnology;Assistingstudentsinusingtechnology;AssistingstudentsinEnglishLanguageartsskills;Assistingstudentsinre-shelvingbooks;

Ispendtimewithstudentsdoingspecialprojects.IalsohaveaschoolgardenthatIorganizedandcareforwithstudents.Ispendmentoringtimewithstudentsandeatlunchwithstudentsatleast2-3timesaweek.Iorganizedanopportunityforthe4thand5thgraderstoreadtokindergartenstudents.Iranaread-a-thonandraisedmoneyforHeiferInternational.IgiveawayRIFbooks3timesayear.IorganizedamonthworthofactivitiesforILove-to-ReadMonthincludingspecialguestauthorstotalktothestudentsaboutthewriting,publishingandillustratingaspectsofwritingbooks.IhadtheNewCastleCountyLibraryintalkingtoparentsandstudentsabouttheSummerReadingprogramandgivingthemLibraryCardApplications.Iorganizedandhelp80familiesinneedatChristmas.

Assistingwithbookselection,helpingthemwiththeirperformanceandchoicesfortheirreadingprogramcomponentoftheirELAgrade.

Total 24

Howmanycertifiedlibrarymediaspecialistsareemployedinthelibrary/mediacenterinwhichyouwork?Response Count

Total 66

Whatisthetotalnumberofhoursperweek(duringtheschoolyear)workedbycertifiedlibrary/mediaspecialistsinthelibrary/mediacenterinwhichyouwork?Response Count

Response Count

37.5 12

45-55 1

Total 65

Howmanyotherpaidstaffmembersareemployedinthelibrary/mediacenterinwhichyouwork?Response Count

Total 68

Whatisthetotalnumberofhoursperweek(duringtheschoolyear)workedbyotherstaffmembersinthelibrary/mediacenterinwhichyouwork?Response Count

37.5 2

Total 58

Approximatelyhowmanyphysicalitems(booksandmedia/non-print)areinthecollectionofthelibrary/mediacenterinwhichyouwork?Response Count

1,500 1

2,000 3

4,000 1

5,400 1

6,000 1

6,500 1

6,700 1

8,000 2

8,150 1

8,500 1

9,000 1

9,600 1

9,800 1

9,874 1

10,000 5

10,100 1

10,734 1

11,000 3

11,641 1

12,000 3

12,267 1

12,400 1

12,500 2

13,000 5

14,000 3

14,500 1

14,537 1

15,000 5

16,000 3

16,500 1

16,503 1

17,000 2

Response Count

20,000 3

20,716 1

21,000 1

25,000 1

29,000 1

40,000 1

45,000 1

Total 66 Collection Size

MeanCollectionSize 13,256MedianCollectionSize 12,450

Approximatelyhowmanynewitemswereaddedtothecollectionofthelibrary/mediacenterinwhichyouworkduringthepastacademicyear?Response Count

Response Count

500 10

1,000 2

1,182 1

1,200 2

1,223 1

2,000 1

4,000 1

Total 66 Items Added Previous Year

MeanNumberofItemsAdded 460MedianNumberofItemsAdded 300

Excludinggiftsandotherdonationsthroughparents'organizationsandpromotions,howmuchwasallocatedforthepurchaseofnewmaterialsforthecollectionofthelibrary/mediacenterinwhichyouworkduringthepastacademicyear?Response Count

$300 1

$1,000 3

$1,200 2

$1,350 1

$1,500 3

$1,675 1

$1,763 1

$2,000 8

$2,200 1

$2,500 2

$3,000 4

$3,428 1

$3,500 2

$3,632 1

$4,000 2

$5,000 2

$5,500 1

$6,000 3

$6,200 1

$6,500 1

$7,000 1

$8,000 4

$8,321 1

$9,000 1

$9,200 1

$10,000 3

$16,000 2

$24,400 1

$25,000 1

Total 63 Budgeted Allocation For New Library Materials

MeanBudgetedAmountforNewMaterials $4,688MedianBudgetedAmountforNewMaterials $3,000

HowmanyInternetaccessiblecomputersareavailableforstudentuseinthelibrary/mediacenterinwhichyouwork?Response Count

Response Count

Total 67

IsWi-Fiavailabletostudentsinthelibrary/mediacenterinwhichyouwork?Value Percent Count

Yes 64.7% 44

No 35.3% 24

Total 68

Whichofthefollowingbestdescribeslibrary/mediacenteravailabilityforstudentusewithlibrary/mediacenterstaffpresent?

Value Percent Count

Fixedschedule(classesatregularlyscheduledtimes) 40.9% 27

Modifiedfixedschedulewhichprovidessomeopenaccessinadditiontoclasses

16.7% 11

Openaccessthroughouttheschoolday(flexibleschedule) 25.8% 17

Openaccessincludingextendedhoursoutsideoftheschoolday 12.1% 8

Total 66

Exceptduringtesting-thenfixed 1

Extendedhoursasrequestedbystudents,byappointment 1

Openaccessexceptwhenwearetesting 1

Byappointment:(w/teacher)classvisits,(w/oteacher)smallgroups;individualswithpassfromteacher.

Myscheduleismostlyflexible,howeverIamscheduledforone90-minutesessiononceperweektocoverteacher'sPLCtime.

Fixedschedule40.90%

Modifiedfixedschedule

16.70%

Flexibleschedule25.80%

Openaccess12.10%

Other4.60%

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%

Aretheholdingsofthelibrary/mediacenterinwhichyouworkrepresentedinanautomatedcatalogavailableoutsidetheschoolbuilding?Value Percent Count

Yes 80.9% 55

No 19.1% 13

Total 68

Arethematerialsinthelibrary/mediacenterinwhichyouworksharedbetween/amongotherlibraries/mediacenterswithinyourschooldistrict? Value Percent Count

Yes 70.6% 48

No 29.4% 20

Total 68

Haveyoucollaboratedwithpubliclibrariesinyourareainthepast?

Value Percent Count

Yes 42.7% 29

No 57.4% 39

Total 68

Yes42.7%

No57.4%

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%

Ifyouanswered"Yes"above,inwhichofthefollowingwayshaveyoucollaborated?Value Percent Count

Technologyandcomputereducation 10.5% 4

Socialsciences 0.0% 0

Languageeducation 5.3% 2

STEM/STEAMprograms 5.3% 2

Literacyandreadingprograms 68.4% 26

Artsandrecreationprograms 2.6% 1

Historyandgeographyrelatededucation 0.0% 0

Financialeducation 0.0% 0

WehaveNOTworkedwithpubliclibrariesinthepast 21.1% 8

Total 38

BookdonationstoourLibrary-referralsbyourLibrarytoNCCLibraries 1

Representativeatourbookfairfamilynight;info.onsummerreadingprogram 1

Sharinginformationonprogramsandsummerreading 1

Borrowingbooksfromthem 1

Fieldtriptothepubliclibrary 1

Wehaveaskedpubliclibrariestocometoourfamilyeventstoissuelibrarycardsand/orinformation

Total 6

Appendix C: Interview Questions

Delaware School Libraries Master Plan Interview Questions for Building Level Administrators (Principals, Assistant Principals, etc.)

Welcome and Introductions

• Participantsandfacilitators• Thanktheparticipantsfortheirwillingnesstocome• Anyadministrativedetails

Purpose of the Focus Group

YouarebeinginvitedtoparticipateinaresearchprojectthatwillassistinthecreationofamasterplanforDelawareschoollibraries.ThepurposeofthisstudyistogatherinformationaboutschoollibrariesfromschooladministratorstohelpinformthecreationofmasterplanforDelawareschoollibraries.Thisplanwillcreateavisionthatwillinformsolutionsforthedevelopmentofstate-of-the-artschoollibrariesinDelaware.ThisworkisbeingdonewiththeDelawareSchoolLibrariesCouncil,withsupportfromtheDelawareDepartmentofStateandtheDepartmentofEducation.Youwillbeoneofapproximately100participants.

Therearenoriskstoyourparticipationandtheremayisnodirectbenefittoyou.However,yourparticipationisanopportunitytoshareyourexperiences,beliefs,andopinions.Furthermore,yourparticipationwillenableustobetterunderstandtheroleofschoollibraries.

Wewilltakespecialstepstoprotectyourprivacy.Yourresponseswillbeaccessibleonlytotheresearcherteamonthisproject.Aftertheinterview,identifyinginformation(names,schools)willberemovedtoensureyourparticipationwillremainconfidential.Alldatawillbestoredinapasswordprotectedfolderencryptedfilesand/orinlockedfilingcabinet.Thestoreddatawillbedestroyedthreeyearsaftertheconclusionoftheproject.Theresearchteamwillmakeeveryefforttokeepallresearchrecordsthatidentifyyouconfidential.Thefindingsofthisresearchmaybepresentedorpublished.Ifthishappens,noinformationthatgivesyournameorotherdetailswillbeshared.

Takingpartinthisresearchstudyisentirelyvoluntary.Youdonothavetoparticipateinthisresearch.Ifyouchoosetotakepart,youhavetherighttostopatanytime.Ifyoudecidenottoparticipateorifyoudecidetostoptakingpartintheresearchatalaterdate,therewillbenopenaltyorlossofbenefitstowhichyouareotherwiseentitled.Yourdecisiontostopparticipation,ornottoparticipate,willnotinfluencecurrentorfuturerelationshipswiththeUniversityofDelaware.

Ifyouhaveanyquestionsaboutthisstudy,pleasecontactthePrincipalInvestigator,KellySherretz,at(302)831-4271orkscollon@udel.edu.Ifyouhaveanyquestionsorconcernsaboutyourrightsasaresearchparticipant,youmaycontacttheUniversityofDelawareInstitutionalReviewBoardathsrb-research@udel.eduor(302)831-2137.

1) Pleaseprovideaquickovervieworlibrary/mediacenterservicesavailableinyourschoolbuilding.[Size(incomparisontoanaverageclassroom),staffing,budget,etc.](Ifnoschoollibrary/mediacenterisprovidedinthebuildinginquestion,posethefollowingquestionsinaprospectivefashionsuchasaskingwhatroleschoollibrariesSHOULDplayasopposedtoDOtheyplayintheirbuilding.)

2) Schoollibraries/mediacentersserveavarietyofdifferentrolesdependingonthegradelevelstheyserve,availabilityofotherinterrelatedservicesinadistrictanddistrictpriorities.Whatdoyoubelievearethemajorrolesthatschoollibraries/mediacentersplayinyourschool?

3) Budgetallocationsforschoollibraries/mediacentershavebeendecreasinginmanydistrictsthroughoutthenation.Overthepastfiveyears,hasfundingfortheschoollibraries/mediacenterinyourbuildingIncreased,decreased,orremainedlevel?Whatwouldyousayistheprimaryreasonormajorreasonsforchangesintheamountallocatedforlibrary/mediacenterpurposes?

4) Schoollibrarians/mediacenterpersonnelperformavarietyofdifferentfunctions.Lookatthiscard(handthemacardwiththefollowingitemslisted)

a. ReadingMotivatorb. Readers’Advisor/ContentAdvisorc. InstructionalResourcesManagerd. TechnologyInstructore. InformationLiteracyCoachf. In-serviceTrainingProvider(forfaculty)g. Co-Teacherh. Teacheri. Curriculumdevelopmentpartner

Which,ifany,oftheroleslistedaretheprimaryrolesfulfilledbylibrarians/mediacenterpersonnelinyourschool?Whichdoyouthinkisthemostimportantinyourschool?Whatotherroleorrolesdoschoollibrary/mediacenterstafffulfillinyourschool?

5) Areyouresponsibleforconductingformalobservationsand/orforperforminganannualperformanceevaluationofcertifiedschoollibrariansandotherlibrarystaff?Ifyes,whatcriteriaareappliedthatspecificallyreflectlibrary-relateddutiesandresponsibilities?

6) Avarietyofstatewidestudieshaveshownahighcorrelationbetweenhighqualityschoollibraries/mediacentersandperformanceonstandardizedreadingtestsevenwhendifferencesrelatedtosocio-economicfactorsandoverallfundingarecontrolled.Towhatextentdoyoubelievethateducationaloutcomesarecurrentlybeingfactoredintodecisionsrelatedtotheschoollibrary/mediacenterinyourschool?

7) Whatotherservicesorprogramsexistinyourschoolthatsubstantiallycontributetoacademicsuccessinreadingand/orinformationliteracy?

Delaware School Libraries Master Plan Interview Questions for School Librarians/Media Center Staff

Welcome and introductions

• Participantsandfacilitators• Thanktheparticipantsfortheirwillingnesstocome• Anyadministrativedetails

Purpose of the Focus Group

YouarebeinginvitedtoparticipateinaresearchprojectthatwillassistinthecreationofamasterplanforDelawareschoollibraries.ThepurposeofthisstudyistogatherinformationaboutschoollibrariesfromschoollibrarianstohelpinformthecreationofmasterplanforDelawareschoollibraries.Thisplanwillcreateavisionthatwillinformsolutionsforthedevelopmentofstate-of-the-artschoollibrariesinDelaware.ThisworkisbeingdonewiththeDelawareSchoolLibrariesCouncil,withsupportfromtheDelawareDepartmentofStateandtheDepartmentofEducation.Youwillbeoneofapproximately100participants.

Therearenoriskstoyourparticipationandtheremayisnodirectbenefittoyou.However,yourparticipationisanopportunitytoshareyourexperiences,beliefs,andopinions.Furthermore,yourparticipationwillenableustobetterunderstandtheroleofschoollibraries.

Wewilltakespecialstepstoprotectyourprivacy.Yourresponseswillbeaccessibleonlytotheresearcherteamonthisproject.Aftertheinterview,identifyinginformation(names,schools)willberemovedtoensureyourparticipationwillremainconfidential.Alldatawillbestoredinapasswordprotectedfolderencryptedfilesand/orinlockedfilingcabinet.Thestoreddatawillbedestroyedthreeyearsaftertheconclusionoftheproject.Theresearchteamwillmakeeveryefforttokeepallresearchrecordsthatidentifyyouconfidential.Thefindingsofthisresearchmaybepresentedorpublished.Ifthishappens,noinformationthatgivesyournameorotherdetailswillbeshared.

Takingpartinthisresearchstudyisentirelyvoluntary.Youdonothavetoparticipateinthisresearch.Ifyouchoosetotakepart,youhavetherighttostopatanytime.Ifyoudecidenotto

participateorifyoudecidetostoptakingpartintheresearchatalaterdate,therewillbenopenaltyorlossofbenefitstowhichyouareotherwiseentitled.Yourdecisiontostopparticipation,ornottoparticipate,willnotinfluencecurrentorfuturerelationshipswiththeUniversityofDelaware.

Ifyouhaveanyquestionsaboutthisstudy,pleasecontactthePrincipalInvestigator,KellySherretz,at(302)831-4271orkscollon@udel.edu.Ifyouhaveanyquestionsorconcernsaboutyourrightsasaresearchparticipant,youmaycontacttheUniversityofDelawareInstitutionalReviewBoardathsrb-research@udel.eduor(302)831-2137.

1) Pleaseprovideaquickovervieworlibrary/mediacenterservicesavailableinyourschoolbuilding.[Collectionsize,facilitysize(incomparisontoanaverageclassroom),staffing,budget,etc.]

2) Schoollibraries/mediacentersserveavarietyofdifferentrolesdependingonthegradelevelstheyserve,availabilityofotherinterrelatedservicesinadistrictanddistrictpriorities.Whatdoyoubelievearethemajorrolesthatyourschoollibrary/mediacenterplaysinyourschool?WhatroleorrolesdoyouthinkitSHOULDbeplaying?

3) Budgetallocationsforschoollibraries/mediacentershavebeendecreasinginmanydistrictsthroughoutthenation.Overthepastfiveyears,hasfundingforyourschoollibrary/mediacenterIncreased,decreased,orremainedlevel?Whatwouldyousayistheprimaryreasonormajorreasonsforchangesintheamountallocatedforlibrary/mediacenterpurposes?

4) Schoollibrarians/mediacenterpersonnelperformavarietyofdifferentfunctions.Lookatthiscard(handthemacardwiththefollowingitemslisted)

a. ReadingMotivatorb. Readers’Advisor/ContentAdvisorc. InstructionalResourcesManagerd. TechnologyInstructore. InformationLiteracyCoachf. In-serviceTrainingProvider(forfaculty)g. Co-Teacherh. Teacheri. Curriculumdevelopmentpartner

Which,ifany,oftheroleslisteddoyoucurrentlyfulfill?Whichisthemostimportantinyourschoolgiventhemake-upofyourstudentbodyandotherservicesthatareavailableinyourbuilding/district?Whatotherroleorrolesdoyoucurrentlyfulfillinyourschool?

5) Avarietyofstatewidestudieshaveshownahighcorrelationbetweenhighqualityschoollibraries/mediacentersandperformanceonstandardizedreadingtestsevenwhendifferencesrelatedtosocio-economicfactorsandoverallfundingarecontrolled.Towhat

extentdoyoubelievethatyourdistrict/schoolboardhasconsiderededucationaloutcomesindecisionsthathaveaffectedtheschoollibrary/mediacenterinyourschool?

6) Discusstheexistinglevelofinteractionthatyouhavewithteachersinyourschool.Doyouthinkthatthefacultyperceivesyouasa“teachingpartner”intheschool?

7) Doyouserveonkeyschoolcommitteesthatmakedecisionsregardingissuessuchascurriculum,neweducationalinitiatives,grantapplications,etc.?Describeyourroleonthesecommittees.

8) Howwouldyoucharacterizeyourroleinregardtointegratingtechnologyintothecurriculum?Wouldyoucharacterizeyourroleas:

a. Leadershiproleb. Substantivesupportrolec. Generalsupportroled. Peripheralrole

Giveexamplesofyourinvolvementinintegratingtechnologyintothecurriculum.

9) Howwouldyoucharacterizeyourroleinimpartinginformationliteracyskillstostudents?Yourroleinimpartingtheseskillstoteachers?

10) Whatdoyoubelievearethemajorfactorsthatimpactyourabilitytoofferthehighestqualityschoollibraryserviceinyourbuilding?Arethesefactorsthesameordifferentonthedistrictlevel?Ifthefactorsaredifferent,pleaseprovideexamples.

11) Whatelsedoyouthinkweneedtoknowtounderstandthestatusandroleofthelibrary/mediacenterinyourschool?

Appendix D: Delaware School Library Media Specialist Certification Requirements

Source:http://regulations.delaware.gov/AdminCode/title14/1500/1580.shtml

1580 School Library Media Specialist

1.0 Content

1.1ThisregulationshallapplytotheissuanceofaStandardCertificate,pursuantto14Del.C.§1220(a),forSchoolLibraryMediaSpecialist.ThiscertificationisrequiredforgradesKto12.

1.2Exceptasotherwiseprovided,therequirementssetforthin14DEAdmin.Code1505StandardCertificate,includinganysubsequentamendmentorrevisionthereto,areincorporatedhereinbyreference.

2.0 Definitions

2.1Thedefinitionssetforthin14DEAdmin.Code1505StandardCertificate,includinganysubsequentamendmentorrevisionthereto,areincorporatedhereinbyreference.

3.0 Standard Certificate

3.1Inaccordancewith14Del.C.§1220(a),theDepartmentshallissueaStandardCertificateasaSchoolLibraryMediaSpecialisttoaneducatorwhohasmetthefollowing:

3.1.1HoldsavalidDelawareInitial,Continuing,orAdvancedLicenseorStandardorProfessionalStatusCertificateissuedbytheDepartmentpriortoAugust31,2003;and,

3.1.2Hasmettherequirementsassetforthin14DEAdmin.Code1505StandardCertificate,includinganysubsequentamendmentorrevisionthereto;and

3.1.3Hassatisfiedtheadditionalrequirementsinthisregulation.

4.0 Additional Requirements

Aneducatorshallalsomeetthefollowing:

4.1Hassatisfiedatleastoneofthefollowingadditionalrequirements:

4.1.1HoldsaMastersorDoctoraldegreefromaregionallyaccreditedcollegeoruniversityinanAmericanLibraryAssociationapprovedprograminSchoolLibraryMedia;or

4.1.2HoldsaMastersorDoctoraldegreefromaregionallyaccreditedcollegeoruniversityinanyarea;and

4.1.2.1HascompletedaDepartmentapprovedSchoolLibraryMediaprogramwhichmeetsAmericanLibraryAssociationStandards.

7DEReg.632(11/1/03)

Renumberedeffective6/1/07-seeConversionTable

12DEReg.1206(03/01/09)

The University of Delaware is a non-discriminatory, equal opportunity, and affirmative action institution.See www.udel.edu/aboutus/legalnotices.html for detailed policy information.

Institute for Public AdministrationSchool of Public Policy & Administration

College of Arts & SciencesUniversity of Delaware

180 Graham Hall University of Delaware Newark, DE 19716-7380

phone: 302-831-8971 e-mail: ipa@udel.edu fax: 302-831-3488

www.ipa.udel.edu

The University of Delaware’s Institute for Public Administration (IPA) addresses the policy, planning,and management needs of its partners through the integration of applied research, professionaldevelopment, and the education of tomorrow’s leaders.

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