1. Strong School Library Media Programs Make a Difference in Academic Achievement

2. Gaver Study, 1963: Academic achievement is higher when: There is a centralized library in the school. The library collection is large and easily accessible.

3. Lance Study Finding, 1993: Academic Achievement was higher in Colorado schools when: There was a professional library media specialist The library media specialist collaborated with teachers to build exciting units of instruction The library collection was very large

4. Three Major Studies: 933 Schools, published 2000 Alaska - 211 schools, Grades 4, 8, 11 Pennsylvania - 435 schools, grades 5, 8, 11 Colorado - 200 schools, grades 4, 7

5. The 21st Century Library Media Center Consists of a quality information-rich environment: Books Multimedia resources Databases Electronic periodical collections Quality Internet sites

6. The New Library Media Center: Is available in the LMC, In the classroom, and On beyond into the Home. Is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

7. Library Media Center Programs: Build capable and avid readers Teach every learner to become effective users of ideas and information Partner with teachers to create exciting learning experiences Prepare learners to compete in the information age

8. Strong Library Media Programs A competent library media professional The human interface Paraprofessional staff Organization/service functions Technical staff Technology support for the school

9. Strong Library Media Specialists: Collaborate with teachers to build quality learning experiences Teach information literacy (finding, using, and communicating information effectively) Promote reading

10. Lance Findings in Two States Pennsylvania (2000)435 schools Colorado (2000)200 schools

11. Comparison of Top 25 Scoring Schools with Lowest 25 Scoring Staffing in Pennsylvania Professional staff hours/week 5h grade 34.31 vs. 29.3617% difference 8th grade 38.40 vs. 37.63 2% difference 11th grade 45.06 vs. 43.25 4% difference Support staff hours/week 5th grade 25.92 vs. 12.48 108% difference 8th grade 30.30 vs. 15.8092% difference 11th grade 49.57 vs. 19.28 157% difference

12. Conclusion in Pennsylvania Support staff was the key difference between strong and weak library media programs. That is, professionals alone cannot make a major difference because of the load of clerical and technical work.

13. Finding in Colorado Total library media staff hours/100 students 4th grade 14.57 vs. 9.38 56% difference 7th grade 13.00 vs. 10.72 21% difference

14. Conclusion for Colorado: The total LMC staff size contributes to academic achievement.

15. Second, Invest in Materials and Technology Create a quality information-rich and technology-rich environment easily accessible by students and teachers.

16. Two Other Study Findings: Done by Krashen (1993), McQuillan (1998) Strong library media programs make a difference in academic achievement. An impact was made on learners who read more from large library media center collections.

17. Research Findings: Rich curriculum-centered collections boost learning. Information technology delivering information to the desktop of the learner enhances learning.

18. Today’s LMC Collections include: Quality Internet sites Electronic periodicals Databases Attractive information books Multimedia collections Materials meeting special needs Materials of high quality

19. Conclusion: Quality collections are expensive, but they earn their way by boosting achievement.

20. Results of the total investment: Scores can be expected to be 10-20% higher than in schools without this emphasis.

21. Results are not explained by: Teacher/pupil ratio Teacher characteristics (education, experience, salaries) Student characteristics (poverty, race/ethnicity) Community demographics (educational attainment, poverty, ethnicity)