Looks at definitions and roles of the school library and the school librarian and follows the development of standards and guidelines for school libraries from 1845-2009. Considers also the radical new definition set out by R. David Lankes.

1. Outdated book centers or vibrant centers of learning?
Spring 2015
WHAT ARE
SCHOOL LIBRARIES
AND SCHOOL LIBRARIANS?

2. 2
What is a school library?

3. 3
Frank Zappa on libraries
From the liner notes to his first
album, Freak Out! (1966)
HUNGRY FREAKS, DADDY was written for Carl
Orestes Franzoni. He is freaky down to his toe nails.
Some day he will live next door to you and your lawn
will die. Drop out of school before your mind rots from
exposure to our mediocre educational system. Forget
about the Senior Prom and go to the library and educate
yourself if you’ve got any guts. Some of you like Pep
rallies and plastic robots who tell you what to read.
Forget I mentioned it. This song has no message. Rise
for the flag salute. [Emphasis added]
• Comments on the song “Hungry Freaks, Daddy” reproduced on website
Information is Not Knowledge

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History of School Libraries
Not very well known!
Although the American public school library is
one of this nation’s most ubiquitous educational
institutions, we know very little about its history.
• First sentence of:

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Vintage ads for school libraries

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Roles of the school library in history
Laurel Ann Clyde (born in Australia, became
library educator in Reykjavik, Iceland):
1. the school library established to support
the teaching and learning activities of the
school
2. school library established to provide
recreational reading
3. the library established to serve both the
school and the community
4. school library established as a scholars’ library to serve the
needs of a particular group within the school
5. the school library established as a memorial
• Based on Clyde, Laurel A. (1981) The magic casements: a survey of school library
history from the eighth to the twentieth century. PhD thesis, James Cook University as
summarized in Laurel A. Clyde -- Thesis
L. Anne Clyde
1946-2005

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Clyde’s conclusion 1
Purpose of school libraries hasn’t changed much
http://murraylib600.org/ScholeLybrarie.htm

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The library as center of the school?
http://heartoftheschool.edublogs.org/
http://stephanieharvey.com/home

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Clyde’s conclusion 2

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Support teaching and learning?
Appears in several mission statements:

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A supporting role only?
What about enhancing?


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The Instructional Role of the Media Specialist
Has it changed much?
It is evident from an analysis of two data sources
that an evolution in the instructional role of the
library media specialist did occur from 1950 to
1984. A clear pattern of progressive development
of the instructional role has persisted in the
standards and the literature. The changes in the
library media specialist’s role from study hall
monitor to curriculum designer can certainly be
termed substantive.
• Craver, K. (1986, Summer). The Changing Instructional Role of the High School Library
Media Specialist, 1950–84: A Survey of Professional Literature, Standards, and Research
Studies. School Library Media Quarterly, 14, 4: 183-91. Also available in print in The
emerging school library media program. Libraries Unlimited, 1988

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1945 Benchmark
First set of national standards for school
libraries K-12
School Libraries for Today and Tomorrow
published by the American Library Association
These standards linked the quality of school
libraries to the size of book collections and the
frequency of classroom teacher use of the
library. Further, the school librarian was
beginning to be seen as an instructional leader
for the “mental, emotional and social growth of
young people.”
• Underwood, L. J. (2003). A case study of four school library media
specialists’ leadership in Louisiana ,” EDD dissertation, W. VA
University, p. 23. Available online from WVU.

14. 14
Tracing the evolution
The Fifties
The decade between the close of World War II
and the mid-fifties was termed by many
educators as a decade of American complacency.
Americans had emerged victorious from a world
war and were exulting in their acknowledged
super-power status. School librarians
floundered in a wave of anti-intellectualism and
the conformity that was precipitated by
technological democracy and the Cold War.
Teaching, despite the noticeable increase in
audiovisual services offered by school libraries,
was still dominated by the textbook.
• The Changing Instructional Role of the High School
Media Specialist

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The advent of the space age
1957
The launching of Sputnik in 1957 was the
catalyst that halted America’s
complacency and expedited the
educational process.
At this point, federal funds were made
available for the purchase of the school
library as a resource center, and not
merely a depository. By the late 1950s,
schools began to focus on learning rather
than teaching, and on curriculum
methods that permitted a broader
instructional role for the school librarian.
• The Changing Instructional Role of the High
School Media SpecialistTelemetry from Sputnik I as it passed overhead

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A new benchmark
Standards for School Library Programs
(American Association for School Librarians, 1960)
Published in collaboration with the
Department of Audiovisual Instruction
(DAVI) of National Education Association
• School Libraries, Gale Education Encyclopedia
Specified the collaborative leadership
responsibilities of the school librarian with
teachers regarding curriculum development
and textbook selection.
• Underwood, “A Case Study of Four School Library
Media Specialists’ Leadership in Louisiana”

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The decade of ferment
The Sixties
In school library development and education in
general, the 1960s can be described as a decade
of ferment. “rhetoric and ideas abounded as to
what education would do to solve a number of
pressing social issues—from integrating the
schools racially to promoting a love of reading
among the disadvantaged or disinterested.”
The school’s new emphasis on “diversified
learning materials—both printed and
nonprinted—for all subjects and levels of
ability” finally brought to school librarians the
opportunity for [a] greater instructional role.
• The Changing Instructional Role of the High School
Media Specialist

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A major project
Knapp School Libraries Project (1963-1974)
The Knapp Foundation supported
curricular innovations that included
collaborative teaching with the school
librarian. For the first time, the role of the
school librarian changed from a keeper of
materials to an active participant in the
academic process. Thus, the Knapp
Foundation recognized the importance of
the school librarian as an active
participant in schools that embraced the
new reforms.
• Underwood, “A Case Study of Four School Library
Media Specialists’ Leadership in Louisiana”
Peggy Sullivan
As director of the Knapp School
Libraries Project, she helped play an
important role in convincing the
public of the need for high quality
school library media programs.
Newberry.org

19. 19
New standards and new title
Standards for School Media Programs (ALA, 1969)
ALA and the DAVI of NEA publishes Standards
for School Media Programs, national guidelines
that unify the roles of librarians and audiovisual
personnel under the terminology of library media
program and library media specialist.
• School Libraries, Education Encyclopedia
School library media specialists were now
responsible for non-print materials such as tape
recorders, records, filmstrips, and film loops,
which required expertise in technology.
• Underwood, Case Study

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A decade of action
The Seventies
This period witnessed an actual, rather than
merely a proposed, change from passive
learning on the part of students to an
environment in which students and teachers
actively participated together in projects and
activities that served to convey information
previously provided by a textbook or a teacher.
Within this environment of change, the school
library finally receives assurance that its
educational goals and objectives, which in many
cases were ahead of the times, were now
appropriate.
• The Changing Instructional Role of the High School
Media Specialist

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New standards again
Media Programs: District and School
(AASL and Association for Educational
Communications and Technology (DAVI of NEA
became AECT in 1971))
The 1975 standards . . . gave more
attention to systematic planning
providing guiding principles for both
site-level and district-level decision-
making. By this point, the school library
specialist was seen as an integral part of
the total instructional program.
• Program Standards School Library Media
Specialist Preparation (AASL and NCATE,
2003), p. 5.

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A mercurial environment
The Eighties
While the instructional role of the school
library media specialist from 1980 to 1984
could be characterized as a period of
adjustment concerning the implementation of
instructional design activities, the introduction
of computers presented library media
specialists with a new set of problems.
There is evidence that more systematic
approaches were being followed for instruction
and that library media specialists were being
urged to consider their educational role within
the framework of the total program.
• The Changing Instructional Role of the High School
Media Specialist

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Response to A Nation at Risk (1983)
Alliance for Excellence: Librarians
Respond to a Nation at Risk (1984)
Four basic concepts presented:
• Learning begins before schooling.
• Good schools require good school libraries.
• People in a learning society need libraries
throughout their lives.
• Public support of libraries is an investment in
people and communities.
– Shirley Fitzgibbons, School and Public Library
Relationships: Essential Ingredients in Implementing
Educational Reforms and Improving Student Learning
School Library Media Research Volume 3 (2000)

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The Information Power Era
Information Power: 1st edition (1988)

25. 25
Another major project
Library Power (1988-98)
Inspired by the vision of Information Power (1988)
Library Power programs established in 700 schools in
19 communities nationwide
“Faithful adoption of Library Powers core practices,
along with widespread acceptance of these practices,
can lead to permanent change; similarly, as similar
policies are implemented elsewhere
institutionalization of these practices is more likely.”
• “What Works”: Research You Can Use: The National
Library Power Project
Teacher Librarian, 27 (2) (1999, Nov-Dec).
• See also Library Power Executive Summary: Findings from the
National Evaluation of the National Library Power Program

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Affirmed that
“Student
Achievement
IS the Bottom
Line”
Information Power 2nd ed., 1998

27. 27
Information Literacy Standards 1998
http://umanitoba.ca/libraries/units/education/media/InformationLiteracyStandards
_final.pdf
From
Information Power 2nd ed., 1998

28. 28
New 21st Century standards, 2007
http://www.ala.org/aasl/standards-
guidelines/learning-standards

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Applying the standards
Standards for the 21st-Century Learner in
Action
This publication from AASL takes an
in-depth look at the strands of the Standards
for the 21st-Century Learner and the indicators
within those strands. It also answers such critical questions
as, How do the strands—the skills, dispositions in action,
responsibilities, and self-assessment strategies—relate to one
another?
Benchmarks are provided along with examples that show
how to put the learning standards into action. This is a
practical book with examples of how to maximize the
application of the learning standards at different grade
levels.

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Empowering Learners: Guidelines for
School Library Programs
Empowering Learners advances school
library programs to meet the needs of
the changing school library environment and is
guided by the Standards for the 21st-Century Learner
and Standards for the 21st-Century Learner in Action.
It builds on a strong history of guidelines published
to ensure that school library program planners go
beyond the basics to provide goals, priorities, criteria,
and general principles for establishing effective
library programs.
New Guidelines 2008
http://www.ala.org/aasl/standards-
guidelines/program-guidelines

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A leadership role?
Essential for 21st century learning


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Leadership in AASL guidelines
Empowering learners:
 Chapter IV
Empowering learning through leadership:
• Guideline: The school library media
program is built by professionals who
model leadership and best practices
for the school community

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Leadership for pre-service librarians
ALA/AASL Standards for Initial
Preparation of School Librarians (2010)


35. 35
International guidelines
http://www.ifla.org/files/school-libraries-
resource-centers/publications/school-library-
guidelines/school-library-guidelines.pdf

36. 36
A recent international statement
 International Association of School Librarianship -
What is a school library? International Guidelines
developed by IASL Research SIG.

37. 37
An international initiative
School Library Proclamation: A Library
for Every School (2010) [115Kb 4 pages]
Also on Facebook!
http://www.facebook.com/EnsilEurope#!/ALibraryInEverySchool

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A school library advocacy resource
that’s 21st century!
http://www.scoop.it/t/school-libraries-around-the-world
Lourense Das,
Chair and
Coordinator

39. 39
A 21st Century Vision for School
Libraries
http://www.accessola.com/
data/6/rec_docs/677_OLA
TogetherforLearning.pdf

40. 40
More on Learning Commons
Origins
The foundational ideas for the
transformation of a school library and
computer lab into a learning commons
was first set forth in Loertscher,
Koechlin, and Zwaan’s book:
The New Learning Commons:
Where Learners Win (2008).
Foundational article:
The Time is Now: Transform Your School Library into a
Learning Commons by Carol Koechlin, Sandi Zwaan, and David
V. Loertscher
• From Learning Commons Treasury, ed. by David Loertscher and Elizabeth
“Betty” Marcoux
See also Learning Commons with Loertscher and Koechlin

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Do school librarians make a difference?
One of the Latest Studies:
A full-time school librarian makes a critical
difference in boosting student achievement
This study [from Pennsylvania] adds to the evidence
that all K–12 students need and deserve quality school
library programs with full-time certified staff. Students
are more likely to succeed when they have library
programs that are well staffed, well funded,
technologically well equipped, well stocked, and more
accessible. And, the neediest learners may benefit the
most from trained librarians and quality library
programs.
• By Debra E. Kachel and Keith Curry Lance on March 7, 2013

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School libraries in Kentucky
http://www.lrc.ky.gov/KRS/158-00/102.PDF

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A Challenging question
Do we still need
school libraries
and librarians?
http://www.nais.org/Magazines-Newsletters/ISMagazine/Pages/The-New-
School-Library.aspx

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A School Library or a Project & Research
Center?
Changes in Owensboro:
Estes Elementary School
curriculum facilitator Ryan
Williams explains the
school’s new plans for
converting the library into a
new project research center
Wednesday in his office. “I
would personally like to see
3D printing, fabrication and
computer programing,” he
said. “I want this to be the
crown jewel of the school.”
What happened to
the school library as
the crown jewel of
the school?

45. 45

46. 4646
http://www.slideshare.net/
SarahNewbutt/the-school-
librarian

47. 47
What is a school librarian?

48. 48
Essential reading
Joyce Valenza’s Manifesto
Manifesto for
21st Century School
Librarians
Joyce Valenza has basically compiled a list of all
the possible activity you could be expected to
create/ initiate/ manage and support, as a TL.
[Teacher Librarian]
. . . she says that the library is “not a grocery
store, but a kitchen!”, meaning that, rather then
being just a place to come and get stuff
(i.e. information), it is a place where people
come to collaborate and create.
Educators
That Rock!:
Joyce
Valenza

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A radical redefinition?
R. David Lankes is a professor
and Dean’s Scholar for the New
Librarianship at Syracuse
University’s School of
Information Studies and
director of the Information
Institute of Syracuse.
See also “Expecting More:
School Librarians & Change,”
06 Feb 2015, Saskatchewan
School Library Association.
Webinar
http://quartz.syr.edu/blog/?p=7431

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Expecting More: School Librarians & Change
R. David Lankes

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In Expect More: Demanding Better
Libraries For Today’s Complex World,
David Lankes, winner of the 2012 ABC-
CLIO/Greenwood Award for the Best
Book in Library Literature, walks you
through what to expect out of your
library. Lankes argues that, to thrive,
communities need libraries that go
beyond bricks and mortar, and beyond
books and literature. We need to expect
more out of our libraries. They should
be places of learning and advocates for
our communities in terms of privacy,
intellectual property, and economic
development.
By making the digital version of the
book freely available it is hoped that
more librarians can use the book to
engage their boards, principals, and
provosts in a constructive conversation
about the future of their libraries.