Developing and Funding the Modern School Library Media Center Lisa Flanagan Amy Rhoades Diane Tyner MEDT 7485 NO1 Summer 2011 Dr. Snipes, professor

Literacy is learned. Illiteracy is passed along by parents who cannot read or write. 43% of adults at Level 1 literacy skills live in poverty compared to only 4% of those at Level 5 3 out of 4 food stamp recipients perform in the lowest 2 literacy levels 90% of welfare recipients are high school dropouts Low literary costs $73 million per year in terms of direct health care costs. A recent study by Pfizer put the cost much higher (WriteExpress, 2011).

Literacy statistics and juvenile court 85 percent of all juveniles who interface with the juvenile court system are functionally illiterate. More than 60 percent of all prison inmates are functionally illiterate. Penal institution records show that inmates have a 16% chance of returning to prison if they receive literacy help, as opposed to 70% who receive no help. This equates to taxpayer costs of $25,000 per year per inmate and nearly double that amount for juvenile offenders. Illiteracy and crime are closely related. The Department of Justice states, "The link between academic failure and delinquency, violence, and crime is welded to reading failure." Over 70% of inmates in America's prisons cannot read above a fourth grade level (WriteExpress, 2011).

What can be done to improve literacy? Evaluate and weed materials yearly Offer eBooks and eReaders as part of the school library media collection Fully fund the school library media center Provide a wide variety of reading materials for students in variety of formats Provide new and enticing reading materials to the collection every school year Fig. 1 & 2, iPod and Kindle with Book, photograph by Diane Tyner

Provide a Wide Variety of Reading Materials Building book collections Books are still important! Knowing the literature Knowing the “readership”: matching curriculum and personal student interests Weeding outdated materials to prevent: misinformation stereotypes boredom Fig. 3, Kindle with books, photograph by Diane Tyner

Provide New and Enticing Reading Materials to the Collection Maintain accuracy and currency Replace materials that have errors, stereotypes and misinformation Replace worn resources Support the state curriculum Support classroom units Source: Managing and Analyzing Your Collection: A Practical Guide for Small Libraries and School Media Centers. By Carol A. Doll and Pamela Barron, ALA, Chicago, (Page 63) Fig. 4, Books, Microsoft Office Clip Art

Evaluate and Weed Materials Yearly Type of Materials Geography Career Pure Science Replace After 5 to 7 years 5 years Technology General reference Almanacs Computer Science 5 Years 1 Year 3 Years Source: Fundamentals of Collection Development & Management by Peggy Johnson, Chicago, ALA, 2009

Collection Development Goal Develop and direct a continuous collection development and evaluation process that focuses on regular, collaborative assessment of teaching and diverse learning needs and the formats and resources to meet them. Source: Information Power, ALA, Chicago, 1998 Fig. 5, Kindle with books, photograph by Diane Tyner

Why eBooks? Motivate students to read more. Motivate at-risk students to begin reading. Motivate gifted students to seek out more difficult reading material. Expand library holdings without having to expand shelf space. Offer eBooks and eReaders as part of the school library media collection Fig. 6, Kindle amongst books, photograph by Diane Tyner

Motivating Students According to a study by Scholastic: 55% of students 9-17 interested in eBooks. 33% of students 9-17 would read more if they had a “fun” way to access books. Why eBooks? Fig. 7, Boy reading eBook, Microsoft Office Clip Art

At Risk Students Melissa Engle-Unruh implemented a “Kindle club” reading program with at-risk students and saw the following results: 12.1% increase in time these students spent reading. 31.2% increase in number of books read. Why eBooks? Fig. 8, Students using Kindles, photograph by J. Miller

At Risk Students Reason for success: Students enjoyed using the Kindle. The Kindle allowed them to search for books by topic and interest, leading them to books they would really enjoy. Students were able to make use of tools incorporated into the Kindle, such as a dictionary, text to speech, and highlighting to help them better understand what they were reading. Why eBooks? Fig. 9, Kindle, photograph from amazon.com

Gifted Students Gifted students often get bored due to lack of challenging material. eBooks allow access to a great variety of materials at higher reading levels than what can be found in a school media center. Built in dictionary allows them to tackle harder works with harder vocabulary. Why eBooks? Fig. 10, Nook, photograph from Barnes and Noble

Increase Library Holdings Libraries used to be limited by the amount of shelf space available. Shelf space can now be expanded digitally through services like OverDrive. Add electronic books to your collection, set check out times and due dates and circulate them just like print books. Only difference, the book is checked out on a eReader and no physical copy has to be housed. Save money in the long run on repairs, replacing lost books, etc… Why eBooks? Fig. 11, Literati, photograph from desinformado.com

Fully Fund the School Library Media Center Principle 5 : The collections of library media programs are developed and evaluated collaboratively to support the school’s curriculum and to meet the diverse learning needs of students. Principle 6: Ongoing assessment for improvement is essential to the vitality of an effective library media program. Principle 7: Sufficient funding is fundamental to the success of the library media program. Source: Information Power, ALA. Chicago, Information Power!

Source: Illinois School Library Association. [Higher achievement associated with lager and more current collections, bar graph]. Powerful libraries make powerful learners. Retrieved from Illinois School Library Media Association website: Fully Fund the School Library Media Center

Fig , Microsoft Office Clip Art

Fig. 17 & 18, Microsoft Clip Art Fig. 19 & 20, Microsoft Clip Art Fig. 21, New York public school library, photograph by P. Mauss/Esto from Interior Design website Fig. 20, Microsoft Office Clip Art

Link to Wiki containing additional resources pertaining to this presentation Link to the Library Research Service: Research and Statistics about Libraries

American Association of School Librarians. (1998). Information Power: Building Partnerships for Learning (pp ). Chicago, IL: American Library Association. Doll, C. A., & Barron, P. (2002). Managing and Analyzing Your Collection : A Practical Guide for Small Libraries and School Media Centers (p. 63). Chicago, IL: American Library Association. Engel-Unruh, M. (2010). ReKindling an Interest in Reading with At-Risk Students. Library Media Connection, 29(3), Retrieved June 15, 2011 from EBSCOhost. Good, K., & Sinek, S. (2010). New Study on Reading in the Digital Age: Parents Say Electronic, Digital Devices Negatively Affects Kids' Reading Time. Retrieved June 15, 2011 from

Johnson, P. (2009). Fundamentals of Collection Development. Chicago, IL: American Library Association. Retrieved June 30, 2011, from WriteExpress Corporation. (2011). Literacy statistics. Retrieved from research/literacystatistics.html Hastings, J. (2011). School Library Loans Via Kindle. School Library Journal, 57(6), 12. Retrieved June 15, 2011 from ProQuest. Weber, C. L., & Cavanaugh, T. W. (2006). Promoting Reading: Using eBooks with Gifted and Advanced Readers. Gifted Child Today, 29(4), Retrieved June 15, 2011 from EBSCOhost.

Images [Kindle] [Photograph]. (n.d.). Retrieved from Kindle-DX-Wireless-Reader-3G- Global/dp/B002GYWHSQ [Literati] [Photograph]. (n.d.). Retrieved from the-sharper- image-launches-new-line-of-literati-ereaders/ Mauss/Esto, P. (n.d.). [Gluckman Mayner Architects' New York public-school library] [Photograph]. Retrieved from Miller, J. (2011). [Students using Kindles] [Photograph]. Retrieved from [Nook] [Photography]. (n.d.). Retrieved from