2. Teacher- Librarians and School Libraries: A Field Guide Certain materials are included under the fair use exemption of the U.S. Copyright Law. Materials are included in accordance with the multimedia fair use guidelines, and are restricted from further use.

3. Why a field guide?

4. Libraries and librarians are evolving!

5. Many educators and administrators have not seen a working model of today’s dynamic, wired library media center!

6. Today’s Library Information Center  The “brain” of the school  The center of engaged, active, authentic, inquiry-driven learning  Where information professionals, with educational credentials, teach critical 21st century skills

7. Habitat  School building  But the library is not just a place!  The library’s virtual reach is extensive (anywhere, anytime through its Web presence!)  This reach may be long-lasting, and demonstrated in: –Love of reading, viewing, listening –Lifelong, transferable skills relating to information literacy and critical thinking

8. The teacher- librarian is critical in the learning ecosystem!

9. Library is a critical component in an information literate school culture

10. Changes in the learning ecosystem are supported by the evolved library media center!  Explosion in information and communication technologies  Brain research (multiple intelligences)  Constructivism—students creating knowledge  Standards, learning outcomes, evidence- based practice  Differentiating learning  Inquiry-based, resource-based, project/problem-based, interdisciplinary learning, driven by essential questions

11. The teacher-librarian is the point person for:  Knowledge of the whole curriculum  Teaching of literacies for all media  Intellectual property / fair use guidance  Effective pedagogical strategies  Intellectual freedom: assuring access to information  Technology integration  Reviews / suggestions of software and print resources for content areas  Literature in all formats

12. What goes on in today’s library information center? Students:  discover, engage in, discuss, and borrow literature in traditional and emerging formats  learn to effectively use ideas and information  use information technologies to access, evaluate, and communicate information

13. On any given day you might see students... What does this habitat look like?

14.  Preparing multimedia presentations and websites  Learning how to improve their Web searches  Using high quality subscription databases, highlighted on the library website  Learning how to evaluate information sources  Learning how to ethically document resources  Defending a thesis in a thoughtful presentation  Reading books, browsing through magazines, viewing DVDs, listening to audio-books

15. Teacher-Librarians, guided by National and State standards, ensure:  Students develop information literacy skills  Students know how to use current technology applications  Equity! That all students have guidance and access (physical, intellectual, and flexible) to high-quality information sources on- and offline

16. School libraries are where the rubber meets the road— Where all the technology skills learned in computer labs, where all the process skills learned in language arts, are applied in research and communication efforts. Library Media Centers are where skills are applied!

17. NO! Are librarians an unnecessary expense in a digital information landscape?

18. Why not? A good teacher-librarian is one of the best educational bargains in town!

19. In a wired school, teacher-librarians are Information specialists:  website developers  partners in creating instruction— on- and offline  database experts  upholders of intellectual freedom  protectors of intellectual property  technology leaders and scouts  trainers and integrators

20. The Internet cannot replace libraries.  The boxes and wires we put in our classrooms and labs will have little meaning unless information professionals select quality resources for them.  Information technology has little value unless we teach students how to effectively and ethically locate, analyze, evaluate, synthesize and communicate information.

21. But, a librarian cannot do it alone! But I am really good! Even if he or she is really good! Process standards must be integrated and assessed across disciplines and grade levels.

22. It takes a village! Teacher-Librarian Dept. chairs Principal Tech Director Classroom Teachers Community To raise an information literate child! School Library Journal, Nov. 2002

23. How do you recognize the evolved teacher- librarian in action?

24. Roles of this species:  Promoters of literacy  Information professionals  Program administrators  Instructional partners

25. As promoters of literacy, teacher-librarians:  Advocate for intellectual freedom, (intellectual, physical, flexible access for learners)  Motivate students to pursue individual reading interests  Maintain lively interesting collections designed to meet the needs of all learners  Promote lifelong learning  Encourage professional and curricular reading and learning

26. As information professionals, teacher- librarians:  Integrate technology and information literacy into the whole-school curriculum through curriculum design and direct instruction!  Teach information skills critical in an information- rich landscape  Use expertise in information management, and selection, storage, retrieval, and evaluation of electronic resources and service  Train teachers and students to use new and emerging information technologies  Model legal guidelines and information ethics  Are human links between technology and knowledge

27. As Program Administrators, teacher-librarians:  Provide management expertise, planning, and evaluation  Advocate for the library program and for the learners it impacts  Have the knowledge, vision, and leadership to steer the program creatively and energetically in the twenty-first century

28. As Instructional Partners, teacher-librarians:  Collaborate with teachers to design authentic learning tasks and assessments required to meet subject area standards  Teach literacy skills for all media  Analyze learning and information needs and acquire resources to meet those needs  Provide curricular leadership in information literacy  Design professional development  Function as critical member of the curriculum and technology teams

29. Born Free?  A teacher-librarian’s contribution (evolution) is hindered when he or she is tied to clerical duties and regular coverages  Libraries should not be an opportunity to schedule teachers’ prep.  To create effective library programs, administrators must allow librarians to function as professionals by providing support staff and by scheduling classes around students’ needs rather than teacher planning time.

30. Endangered status  Teacher-librarians have been threatened in several states, despite evidence of their importance to the ecosystem  Situation especially critical in poor, urban areas

31. It’s a national problem: [It’s a] “form of theft that is too often irreversible... It is a conscious act of social demarcation: a shameful way of building barriers around a child’s mind, of starving intellect, of amputating dreams.” Jonathan Kozol in Ordinary Resurrections, on New York City Schools dismantling its school libraries.

32. Research shows: Strong school library programs have a measurable impact on student achievement A well-supported school library media center, with an integrated curriculum, is likely to raise reading achievement scores by 10–20 percent. Based on findings of LRS School Library Media Impact Studies http://www.lrs.org/

33. Research also shows:  Professionally-staffed, well-stocked, and well-funded library media programs are critical to the success of schools in helping every child to learn.  Successful schools are those whose library media specialists exercise a strong leadership role, integrate library media resources into a standards-based curriculum, and most importantly, collaborate with classroom teachers.  The more time library media specialists are able to spend teaching teachers as well as students to make more effective use of information resources, the more successful the school will be. “Librarians, Teachers & Principals Agree.” Fast Facts: Recent Statistics from the Library Research Service. ED3/110.10/No. 178. July 1, 2001.

34. School libraries are key to learning! The largest study of its kind to date revealed:  99.4 percent of students indicated that the school library and its services help them learn.  Libraries are dynamic rather than passive agents of learning  The school library has a strong role “as an agent for individualized learning, knowledge construction and academic achievement.” 2004 Ohio study Ross Todd and Carol Kuhlthau http://www.oelma.org/SLFindings.html

35. Libraries count! Effective library media programs—when led by active, involved librarians—can have a discernible positive impact on student achievement regardless of student, school and community demographics. Hartzell, Gary. “Why Should Principals Support School Libraries?” EDO-IR-2002-06. Nov. 2002.

36. Outlook for survival of the species  Some school librarians will thrive! –Critical to the ecosystem –Find resources and support –Information literate school culture valued by instructional team  Some will fade –Not critical to the ecosystem –Unsupported –Undervalued by instructional team

37. So, what is the future of the species? Choose your own scenario!

38. Future School Scenario 1  Library services are under/unfunded, undervalued  Students and teachers use free Web exclusively  No one advocates for students’ broad physical and intellectual access to information  No one visits library. Print is not valued  Information skills are not taught or valued Result: Students go off to college or workforce unprepared to effectively locate, evaluate, analyze, use, communicate information

39. Future School Scenario 2  Teachers and students recognize need for information skills instruction across curriculum  Students and teachers use library’s online databases and presentation resources  School library webpage is dynamic and essential to student success  School librarian is key trainer in development of online instruction  Teachers value and assess process skills: information gathering, evaluation, synthesis, ethical use Result: Learners graduate fully prepared to effectively locate, evaluate, analyze, use information in an information-rich world!

40. Teacher-librarians: Help learners learn! Help teachers teach! Manage knowledge and learning! Are the human links between technology and learning

41. “What a school thinks about its library is a measure of what it thinks about education.” Harold Howe, former U.S. Commissioner of Education

42. For more information on the library’s impact on student achievement:  Library Research Service –http://www.lrs.org/http://www.lrs.org/  Information Power: Nine Information Literacy Standards for Student Learning –http://www.ala.org/aasl/ip_nine.htmlhttp://www.ala.org/aasl/ip_nine.html  Colorado and Texas studies by Lance, Loertscher and Smith, summarized in: Hartzell, Gary. “Why Should Principals Support School Libraries?” EDO-IR-2002-06. Nov. 2002.  Library Research Service –http://www.lrs.org/School_lib.htmlhttp://www.lrs.org/School_lib.html

43. Further Sources Lance, Keith Curry. Proof of the Power: Recent Research on the Impact of School Library Media Programs on the Academic Achievement of U.S. Public School Students. ERIC Digest. (ERIC Document Reproduction Service No. ED 456 861), 2001. –http://ericit.org/digests/EDO-IR-2001-05.pdf Lance, K. C., and David Loertscher. Powering Achievement: School Library Media Programs Make a Difference –The Evidence. San Jose, CA: Hi Willow, 2001. Lowe, Carrie. The Role of the School Library Media Specialist in the 21st Century. ERIC Digest. (ERIC Document Reproduction Service No. ED 446 769). 2000. – http://ericit.org/digests/EDO-IR-2000-08.sht