Do School Libraries Really Make a Difference? Read these facts and then decide for yourself.

Do test scores improve with the presence of a certified librarian? In elementary schools with a certified (vs. non- certified) library media specialist, students have significantly higher achievement scores on the 4th grade ELA test. Source: Small, Ruth V., Jaime Snyder, and Katie Parker. New York State’s School Libraries and Library Media Specialists: An Impact Study. Preliminary Report. Syracuse, NY: Center for Digital Literacy, Syracuse University,

Do test scores improve with the presence of a certified librarian? The presence of trained library staff is associated with higher achievement in reading for grade 6 students… approximately 5.5 percentile points higher than the average. Source: Ontario Library Association, Queen’s University, and People for Education. School Libraries & Student Achievement in Ontario. Toronto: Ontario Library Association,

Library Humor! Yes, there is such a thing…

Do test scores improve with the presence of a certified librarian? Students in better staffed programs [i.e., those with more library media specialists and more LMS hours] scored 8.4 to 21.8 percent higher on ACT English tests and 11.7 to 16.7 percent higher on ACT Reading tests compared to students in schools where library media programs had fewer resources. Source: Smith, Ester G. Student Learning Through Wisconsin School Library Media Centers: Library Media Specialist Survey Report

Why do schools need a full-time, certified librarian? In Minnesota schools with above average student scores on the Grade 3, 5, and 8 reading tests, 66.8% were schools where the media specialist worked full-time. Source: Baxter, Susan J. and Ann Walker Smalley. Check It Out! The Results of the School Library Media Program Census / Minnesota School Library Media Programs. Final Report. St. Paul, Minn.: Metronet,

Why do schools need a full-time, certified librarian? (In Minnesota), twice as many schools with above average scores had full-time media specialists. Source: Baxter, Susan J. and Ann Walker Smalley. Check It Out! The Results of the School Library Media Program Census / Minnesota School Library Media Programs. Final Report. St. Paul, Minn.: Metronet,

Why do schools need a full-time, certified librarian? Student reading achievement in elementary and secondary schools is related to increases in school library media program spending. Source: Baxter, Susan J. and Ann Walker Smalley. Check It Out! The Results of the School Library Media Program Census / Minnesota School Library Media Programs. Final Report. St. Paul, Minn.: Metronet,

Why do schools need a full-time, certified librarian? The presence of a teacher-librarian was the single strongest predictor of reading enjoyment for both grades 3 and 6 students. Schools with teacher- librarians could be expected to have reading enjoyment scores that were 8 percentile points higher than average. Source: Ontario Library Association, Queen’s University, and People for Education. School Libraries & Student Achievement in Ontario. Toronto: Ontario Library Association,

Why do schools need a full-time, certified librarian? Students whose library media specialists played an instructional role—either by identifying materials to be used with teacher- planned instructional units or by collaborating with teachers in planning instructional units—tend to achieve higher average test scores. Source: Lance, Keith Curry, Marcia J. Rodney, and Christine Hamilton-Pennell. How School Librarians Help Kids Achieve Standards: The Second Colorado Study. Colorado State Library and Colorado Department of Education, April /ericdocs2sql/content_storage _01/ b/80/16/84/2f.pdf /ericdocs2sql/content_storage _01/ b/80/16/84/2f.pdf

Why do elementary schools need a full-time, certified librarian? Four out of five schools (over 80 percent) with full-time librarians had more students [i.e., average or above] who earned proficient or above proficient test scores on the CAT5 tests for reading, language arts, and mathematics. Source: Lance, Keith Curry, Christine Hamilton-Pennell, and Marcia J. Rodney with Lois A. Petersen and Clara Sitter. Information Empowered: The School Librarian as an Agent of Academic Achievement in Alaska Schools. Revised Edition. Juneau: Alaska State Library, b/80/16/55/0b.pdf 19b/80/16/55/0b.pdf

What impact does a part-time library have on elementary school students? Among [elementary] schools with only part-time librarians, two out of three (over 65 percent) had more high-achievement students—a lower proportion than for schools with full-time librarians, but a higher one than for schools with no librarian at all. Among the latter group of schools, fewer than three out of five (less than 60 percent) had more high-achievement students. Source: Lance, Keith Curry, Christine Hamilton-Pennell, and Marcia J. Rodney with Lois A. Petersen and Clara Sitter. Information Empowered: The School Librarian as an Agent of Academic Achievement in Alaska Schools. Revised Edition. Juneau: Alaska State Library,

More Library Humor…

Why do secondary schools need a full- time, certified librarian? Nine out of ten schools (over 90 percent) with full-time librarians had more students who earned proficient or above proficient test scores. Source: Lance, Keith Curry, Christine Hamilton-Pennell, and Marcia J. Rodney with Lois A. Petersen and Clara Sitter. Information Empowered: The School Librarian as an Agent of Academic Achievement in Alaska Schools. Revised Edition. Juneau: Alaska State Library, b/80/16/55/0b.pdf 19b/80/16/55/0b.pdf

Why should we spend money on a library program? The library media programs in the 25 top scoring high schools [based on tenth grade performance on standardized reading tests] had … 14.9 percent more operating dollars per student [than the 25 lowest scoring schools] ($29.19 vs. $25.40). Source: Smith, Ester G. Student Learning Through Wisconsin School Library Media Centers: Library Media Specialist Survey Report

Why should we spend money on a library program? Students in high school library media programs with larger operating budgets scored [almost eight percent] better on ACT Reading and [more than 18 percent better on ACT] English than students in high schools with library media programs with smaller budgets. Source: Smith, Ester G. Student Learning Through Wisconsin School Library Media Centers: Library Media Specialist Survey Report

Why should we spend money on a library program? [T]he library media programs in the top [25 elementary] schools [based on fourth grade performance on standardized reading tests] had … 7.7 percent more library media program dollars per student [than the 25 lowest scoring schools] ($27.80 vs. $25.80). Source: Smith, Ester G. Student Learning Through Wisconsin School Library Media Centers: Library Media Specialist Survey Report

Why should we spend money on a library program? The library media programs in the 25 top middle/junior high schools [based on eighth grade performance on standardized reading tests] … had … 19.3 percent more operating dollars per student [than the 25 lowest scoring schools] ($24.76 vs. $20.76). Source: Smith, Ester G. Student Learning Through Wisconsin School Library Media Centers: Library Media Specialist Survey Report

Why should we spend money on a library program? Better-funded school library media programs help to close the achievement gap for poor and minority students and poor and crowded schools. There is a positive relationship between total library expenditures in high schools and both PSAE reading scores and ACT scores of eleventh-graders persists, despite community income, per pupil spending, the teacher-pupil ratio, and student’s race/ethnicity. Source: Lance, Keith Curry, Marcia J. Rodney, and Christine Hamilton-Pennell. Powerful Libraries Make Powerful Learners: The Illinois Study. Canton, Ill.: Illinois School Library Media Association,

What impact does a part-time library have on secondary school students? Among [secondary] schools with only part-time librarians, almost seven out of ten (almost 70 percent) had more high-achievement students—a lower proportion than for schools with full-time librarians, but a higher one than for schools with no librarian at all. Among the latter group of schools [i.e., no librarian at all], only about half (just over 50 percent) had more high-achievement students. Source: Lance, Keith Curry, Christine Hamilton-Pennell, and Marcia J. Rodney with Lois A. Petersen and Clara Sitter. Information Empowered: The School Librarian as an Agent of Academic Achievement in Alaska Schools. Revised Edition. Juneau: Alaska State Library,

Any other benefits of having a certified librarian in a school? Library media specialists have an important role to play regarding the use of technology to support teaching and learning in their schools. Seventy-four percent of respondents provide guidance to students in the use of digital resources at least once a week. Source: Small, Ruth V., Jaime Snyder, and Katie Parker. New York State’s School Libraries and Library Media Specialists: An Impact Study. Preliminary Report. Syracuse, NY: Center for Digital Literacy, Syracuse University,

Ever Wondered What “Library Science” Really Is?

Any other benefits of having a certified librarian in a school? Four out of five responding library media specialists reported the occurrence of various activities on at least a weekly or monthly basis. These included: teachers asking the library media specialist for instructional design resources (78%). Three out of five reported … teachers asking for help in learning new information-seeking skills (57%). About half of library media specialists reported that, on a weekly or monthly basis, they provide in-service learning opportunities to teachers (48%). Source: Keith Curry Lance, Marcia J. Rodney, and Becky Russell. How Students, Teachers, and Principals Benefit from Strong School Libraries: The Indiana Study

Does administrative support matter? Across grade levels, better-performing schools tended to be those whose principals placed a higher value on having their library media specialist provide in-service opportunities to classroom teachers Source: Keith Curry Lance, Marcia J. Rodney, and Becky Russell. How Students, Teachers, and Principals Benefit from Strong School Libraries: The Indiana Study

The last word School libraries provide equitable physical and intellectual access to the resources and tools required for learning in a warm, stimulating, and safe environment. Source: American Association of School Librarians. Standards for the 21st Century Learner. Chicago: ALA, pdf

The last word School librarians collaborate with others to provide instruction, learning strategies, and practice in using the essential learning skills needed in the 21st century. Source: American Association of School Librarians. Standards for the 21st Century Learner. Chicago: ALA, pdf

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