Competency 5: Tagging/Indexing/Cataloging

Librarything tags: Advocacy(1) Authored works(1) education(1) learning(1) libraries(2) office(1) Pro(1) professional(1) research(1) school library(1) teaching(1)

Librarything Link: http://www.librarything.com/work/606512

The Impact of School Library Media Centers on Academic Achievement by Keith Curry Lance discusses different facets of school library media centers, and how they can have a positive effect on academic achievement. Several factors that are looked at include: collection size, staff, funding, the instructional role librarians provide, and the collaboration between librarians and teachers.

This book caught my attention because its research focuses on my area of interest: school libraries and how they effect academic achievement. I believe Lance's findings can provide insightful and practical approaches both school librarians and teachers can utilize to aid their students' academic success.

Competency 4: RSS Feed

The School Library Journal offers a wide variety of RSS feeds regarding school libraries. I added the feed, "K-8 News," which contains articles about interesting reads for students, interviews with authors, suggestions on ways to promote reading, etc. Because I intend to work in a school atmosphere, this RSS Feed will let me know which books are most interesting to young readers, as well as any current news in school libraries.

Competency 3: Podcasts

Using the search engine Google.com, I found a wonderful website titled Library Beat. This website showcases articles, video clips, and podcasts related to the world of school librarianship.

In the podcast, "Longshots #87 - Keith Curry Lance," Sarah Long interviews Keith Curry Lance on his research findings regarding the correlation of strong school libraries and higher test scores. This podcast can be found in the following URL: http://www.librarybeat.org/longshots/play/87

Lance explains how school libraries with longer hours, more staff, bigger collections, and more computers and funding receive higher scores on standardized tests. Interestingly, Lance also reported if school principals and teachers merely perceive having a good relationship with their school librarian, the school obtains higher test scores. This was explained because librarians, in these schools, were thought of as collaborators in the "design and delivery" of instruction. Here, librarians' role were considered as "fellow teachers," "curriculum designers," and "leaders."

Competency 2: Related Blog

Using the Yahoo blog directory, I found a blog written by a school librarian titled Teacher Librarian...adventures at an urban middle school.... The post I am focusing on is titled "School Librarians and Evidence-Based Practice." http://www.teacherlibrarian.org/2008_04_01_archive.html

I selected this particular blogger because she focuses on both serious and fun topics related to school libraries. In this particular blog post, she writes how studies suggest school libraries play an important role in students' academic success and voices her frustration because librarians constantly must validate their very existence.


Sometime it bothers me that we as teacher-librarians constantly have to prove our worth. So many studies have come out showing that school libraries have a positive influence on student learning. Why do we always have to justify our very existence? Rarely is there a study announcing that students learn more math when they attend a school that employs math teachers. Unfortunately, at least in California, school librarians are seen as "extra", and often the first to go when the inevitable budget crunch hits. It can be a bit depressing to be part of a profession where advocacy sometimes seems more pressing than our actual jobs.