A Reality Check: The Challenges of Implementing Information Power in School Library Media Programs

How well are school library media programs realizing the mission, objectives and challenges set by Information Power? Teacher-librarians are struggling to realize its ideals in less than ideal circumstances. To gain a broader understanding of their work and success, this paper studies 48 good library media programs in New England Region, U.S. using a combination of qualitative and quantitative methods to ensure the perceived success of participating programs in conforming to the national guidelines.

The United States National Library Power Program: Research, Evaluation and Implications for Professional Development and Library Education

The Library Power Program is a school improvement initiative of the DeWitt-Wallace Reader's Digest Fund that began in 1988. With a total investment exceeding US$45 million, Library Power is the largest nongovernmental funding for school library media programs in over 30 years. It operated in approximately 700 schools and served more than one million students. Library Power sought to create a national vision of public elementary and middle school library media programs through the instructional leadership of the library media specialist, and through partnerships within the district and with the community. An evaluation of the Library Power Program found that the Library Power initiative advanced the notion of a student-centered library media program in a learning community. It showed that given the right conditions, school library media programs can promote positive opportunities for excellence in teaching and learning.

School Librarians as Leaders

With the publication of Empowering Learners: Guidelines for School Library Media Programs in 2009, the American Association of School Librarians articulated a role that school librarians had not been expected to take on before: that of leader. Earlier guidelines documents had embedded a variety of leadership activities within the roles of information specialist, instructional consultant or partner, teacher, and program administrator (American Association of School Librarians, 1988, 1998). Without the expectation of leadership clearly articulated in their guidelines, however, school librarians did not perceive themselves as leaders (Ishizuka, Minkel, & Lifer, 2002; McCracken, 2001; Shannon, 2004, 2008; Vansickle, 2000) and neither did the principals who supervised them (Hartzell, 2002). Since the release of Empowering Learners, some states have begun to require school librarians to demonstrate leadership to obtain or maintain their teacher certification and to retain their positions (Public Schools of North Carolina, 2013). The empirical literature surrounding school library leadership reflects this shift; in the era before the publication of Empowering Learners, few studies were published focusing on leadership in the school library, but since its release, several studies have been published. The literature surrounding school library leadership relies on leadership theories grounded in the concept of shared leadership. It addresses preservice leadership education for school librarians, their ability to implement professional guidelines and standards related to leadership, and their leadership capacity in specific facets of leadership such as collaboration, evidence-based practice, and technology integration.

Wykorzystanie oferty edukacyjnej biblioteki szkolnej przez nauczycieli przedmiotowych — wyniki sondażu

USE OF EDUCATIONAL RES OURCES OF SCHOOL LIBRARIES BY TEACHERS OF VARIOUS SUBJECTS — RESULTS OF A SURVEYThe author of the paper discusses cooperation between teachers of various subjects and school librarians. She stresses that from the point of view of developing information literacy, such cooperation translates into development of the pupils’ skills. She points to the recommendations of American librarian societies in this respect Information Power. Guidelines for School Library Media Programs and Information Power. Building partnerships for learning as well as Polish ministerial recommendations annex to Rozporządzenie Ministra Edukacji Narodowej z 27 sierpnia 2012 r. w sprawie podstawy programowej wychowania przedszkolnego oraz kształcenia ogólnego w poszczególnych typach szkół [Regulation of the Minister of National Education of 27 August 2012 on the core curriculum for kindergartens and general education in various types of schools]. At the same time the author’s analysis of the curricula for various subjects in Poland in the second half of the 20th century demonstrates that the problem was marginalised with the exception of Polish language curricula. The aim of the author’s study was to establish whether teachers of selected subjects used the potential of school libraries in line with the ministerial recommendations. In addition, the author was looking for a link between the type of the subject taught at school and use of educational resources of the school library. The author discusses the results of her diagnostic survey N=244. The statistical conclusions are based on the results of chisquared tests. The results show unequivocally that teachers of Polish are statistically more likely, than teachers of other subjects included in the study, to use the educational resources of the school library, to suggest that they should be expanded and to collaborate with the librarian.