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IASL Annual Conference 2010 -- Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
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School libraries make a difference! The impact of school libraries on student achievement
IASL's Picture Gallery of School Libraries. Submissions are welcome!
Getting Started: Ideas and Procedures for starting a School Library Association or Section
Dr L. Anne Clyde, University of Iceland
THE SCHOOL LIBRARY WEB SITE:
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ABSTRACTThis presentation forms part of the Third International Forum on Research in School Librarianship, itself part of the joint IASL/AASL conference. It describes a longitudinal study of school library Web pages/sites, the ultimate aim of which is the development of quality indicators for school library Web pages/sites. The work began in 1996 with a content analysis of 50 randomly-selected school library Web pages/sites; the results have been published in The Electronic Library (volume 14, number 6, December 1996) and Scan (volume 15, number 4, November 1996). The study showed that, among other things, school libraries generally seemed to have very different aims or purposes in creating their Web pages/sites, and there was little consensus on content or organization of the pages/sites. In addition, a significant number lacked even the most basic features such as the name of the library and/or school and contact information. A follow-up analysis of the Web sites, carried out this year (1999), will be discussed in the conference presentation. It seems that many of the problems identified in the 1996 analysis remain. In addition, the Web pages/sites, a diverse group in 1996, were even more so in 1999, with the emergence of new purposes for a school library Web page/site. Of these, the most significant was the use of the school library Web page/site to provide remote access to the library catalog and/or commercial databases available online or on CD-ROM. The presentation will incorporate a discussion of current theory and practice related to the evaluation of school library Web pages/sites (as distinct from curriculum/related pages/sites and recreational pages/sites) and relate this to the findings of the 1996 and 1999 analyses. See below for the summary tables from the conference presentation. See also:
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LINKS FOR THE CONFERENCE PRESENTATION
Evaluation Models Based in Librarianship
Evaluation Models Based In Education
Other Evaluation Sites |
SUMMARY TABLES FROM THE CONFERENCE
PRESENTATION
Table 1: Why is it necessary to evaluate a school library Web site?
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Table 2: Countries represented in the survey of school library Web sites
| COUNTRY | 1996 | 1999 |
| United States of America | 27 | 22 |
| Australia | 7 | 4 |
| Canada | 7 | 4 |
| Sweden | 3 | 2 |
| Singapore | 2 | 1 |
| Iceland | 1 | 1 |
| Kuwait | 1 | 1 |
| New Zealand | 1 | 1 |
| Norway | 1 | 1 |
| TOTALS | 50 | 37 |
Table 3: School library Web sites in the survey, by type of school
| TYPE OF SCHOOL | 1996 | 1999 |
| Primary/elementary | 11 (22%) | 10 (27%) |
| Secondary/high | 26 (52%) | 19 (51.4%) |
| Other (including middle schools, K-12 schools) | 13 (26%) | 8 (21.6%) |
| TOTAL | 50 (100%) | 37 (100%) |
Table 4: Changes in school library Web sites, 1996-1999
| CHANGES | NUMBER |
Sites that became more sophisticated
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29 |
| Sites on which there was little change | 4 |
| Sites on which there was no change | 3 |
| Sites that had declined | 1 |
| Sites that disappeared between 1996 and 1999 | 13 |
Table 5: Contents of school library Web sites, 1996 and 1999
| FEATURE | 1996 (50 sites) | 1999 (37 sites) | % Change 1996 to 1999 |
| Name of school and library | 41 (82%) | 31 (83.78%) | 1.78% |
| Links to selected resources on the Internet | 31 (62%) | 25 (67.56%) | 5.56% |
| Information about the school library | 29 (58%) | 25 (67.56%) | 9.56% |
| Interactive email contact address | 28 (56%) | 25 (67.56%) | 11.56% |
| Link to a school home page | 24 (48%) | 20 (54.05%) | 6.05% |
| Date of the last update of the page | 19 (38%) | 20 (54.05%) | 16.05% |
| Links to Internet search engines | 15 (30%) | 21 (56.76%) | 26.76% * |
| Address of the school/library | 14 (28%) | 16 (43.24%) | 15.24% |
| Counter | 11 (22%) | 9 (24.32%) | 2.32% |
| Information about Internet projects undertaken in/through the library | 9 (18%) | 3 (8.1%) | -9.9% |
| Research skills information, e.g. the "Big 6", "Be Definite", research guides | 8 (16%) | 9 (24.32%) | 8.32% |
| Links to Internet resources for teachers | 8 (16%) | 12 (32.43%) | 16.43% |
| Links to Internet resources for school librarians | 8 (16%) | 9 (24.32%) | 8.32% |
| List of CD-ROMs in the school library | 8 (16%) | 6 (16.22%) | 0.22% |
| Book reviews, lists of books recommended by students, school book club choices, etc | 7 (14%) | 10 (27.03%) | 13.03% |
| Photograph of the school library | 6 (12%) | 12 (32.43%) | 20.43% * |
| Information (or links to information) about citing Internet resources in bibliographies | 6 (12%) | 5 (13.51%) | 1.51% |
| Links to HTML guides or information about creating a Web page | 5 (10%) | 4 (10.81%) | 0.81% |
| Links to resources about the local area/region | 5 (10%) | 2 (5.4%) | -4.6% |
| News about the library or library activities | 4 (8%) | 2 (5.4%) | -2.6% |
| Information about the Internet for library users | 4 (8%) | 8 (21.62%) | 13.62% |
| Internet tutorial | 4 (8%) | 7 (18.92%) | 10.92% |
| Online reference desk for email enquiries | 3 (6%) | 1 (2.7%) | -3.3% |
| Information about Internet access and policies in the library | 3 (6%) | 4 (10.8%) | 4.8% |
| The library rules | 2 (4%) | 2 (5.4%) | 1.4% |
| Electronic magazines | 1 (2%) | 0 (0%) | -2.0% |
they are not necessarily the features that might be most desirable or most important for users.
Table 6: Contents of school library Web sites,
Additional features in 1999 (not present in 1996) (n=37)
| FEATURE | NO. OF SITES | % OF SITES |
| Links to online indexing, information, and current news services | 12 | 32.43% |
| Links to the school library OPAC | 12 | 32.43% |
| Links to other library catalogues | 11 | 29.73% |
| Links to online encyclopedias, reference works | 8 | 21.62% |
| Mission/goals of the school library | 8 | 21.62% |
| Classroom/library projects (not Internet-based) | 7 | 18.92% |
| Link to the home page of the school librarian/media specialist | 7 | 18.92% |
| Information/links for parents | 6 | 16.22% |
| IT awards or citations won by the school library or Web site | 6 | 16.22% |
| Information about courses run through the school library | 5 | 13.52% |
| Information about the school/library computer network | 5 | 13.52% |
| School library club activities | 5 | 13.52% |
| Virtual tour (in photos) of the school library | 5 | 13.52% |
| The Dewey Decimal Classification outline | 3 | 8.1% |
| Links to school/library intranet | 2 | 5.41% |
| Online guestbook | 2 | 5.41% |
| Links to recreation resources for kids/teens | 2 | 5.41% |
| Access to email for library users | 2 | 5.41% |
| Links to online news stories featuring the school library | 2 | 5.41% |
| Distance learning | 2 | 5.41% |
| Pages for author visits | 2 | 5.41% |
| Annual report of the school library | 1 | 2.7% |
| Access to the library's CD-ROMs | 1 | 2.7% |
| Site map | 1 | 2.7% |
| Student librarians' page | 1 | 2.7% |
| Homework help | 1 | 2.7% |
| Online form for teachers to submit assignment information | 1 | 2.7% |
| Internet evaluation checklist (for students to fill out for each site visit) | 1 | 2.7% |
Note that the features in this table reflect the content analysis
of the school library Web sites;
they are not necessarily the features that might be most desirable or most
important for users.
Table 7: Content of school library Web sites:
Major new features in 1999 (n=37)
| FEATURES | NO. OF SITES |
Links to online resources outside the school library media center
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16 |
| Links to the school library OPAC | 12 |
Table 8: Online access --
Services used by the school libraries through their Web sites, 1999
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Table 9: Intended users of the school library Web sites
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Note that some school library Web sites were
intended for more than one group of users
Table 10: Purposes of the school library Web sites, 1999
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Note that some school library Web sites were intended to serve more than one of these purposes
Note:
The paper on which the conference presentation was based, was
published in:
Lighthall, Lynne and Eleanor Howe (1999). Unleash the Power!:
Knowledge -- Technology -- Diversity, Papers Presented at the Third
International Forum on Research in School Librarianship, 28th Annual
Conference of the International Association of School Librarianship,
Birmingham, Alabama, USA, November 10-14, 1999. Seattle, WA: International
Association of School Librarianship, pp.227-237.
This paper provides a review of the literature on the evaluation of Web sites, and discusses the research methodology and data collection. It does not, however, include the data analysis, which was completed after the paper was prepared for publication but before the conference. Thus the tables on this page have not yet been published in print form. When they are published, a notice will appear here.
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Pages created by Dr Anne Clyde
Last Updated 23 November 1999 (LAC)