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SCHOOL LIBRARIES WORLDWIDE

Volume 13, Number 1, January 2007

Editorial [Members and subscribers only]
Change is the Only Constant
Dianne Oberg

Senior Management and the Provision of Independent School Libraries in England and Wales [Public access document -- PDF]
Richard Turner, Graham Matthews, Linda Ashcroft and Janet Farrow
This article is based on research carried out for an ongoing doctoral project at Liverpool John Moores University about the management of school libraries in independent schools in England and Wales. Findings are based on surveys conducted of school library managers and senior management in independent schools, as well as interviews with practitioners and anecdotal evidence from networks of school librarians. In countries such as Canada, United States, and Australia, the importance of head teachers' support for the library has long been acknowledged, but in the United Kingdom, this is more recent. Current guidelines for best practice in school library management have recently started to emphasize the importance of the support of school senior management. The surveys separately sought the opinions of both librarians and senior management on a range of library-related issues, and these are analyzed in this article. The findings demonstrate that school library managers understand the importance of the role of senior management and that senior management is starting to appreciate the importance of the library for improving learning, teaching, and attainment.

Theme Section: Principal Support for Collaboration

Principal Support for Collaboration [Members and subscribers only]
Theme editor, Betty J. Morris

Collaboration: Critical Success Factors for Student Learning [Members and subscribers only]
Ken Haycock
Several studies identify collaboration between classroom teachers and teacher-librarians as a key factor that affects student achievement. Studies in teacher-librarianship have established procedures and processes for effective collaboration. This study examines collaboration from a broader theoretical and research perspective, beginning with 20 factors that specifically influence successful collaboration. These are clustered in six areas: factors related to the environment, to membership characteristics, to process and structure, to communication, to purpose, and to resources. Research from teacher-librarianship is then applied to substantiate and reinforce the factors and provide context for successful collaboration and thus effect on students' learning in schools.

The Principal's Support of Classroom Teacher-Media Specialist Collaboration [Members and subscribers only]
Betty J. Morris and Abbot Packard
This project was designed to determine how well the principal supports collaboration in exemplary media program schools in Georgia from the viewpoints of media specialists, classroom teachers, and principals. A pilot study was conducted to develop a survey instrument that could be used as the foundation for the exemplary school media program study. Collaboration is well covered in the literature, but information about principals and their influence on collaboration is beginning to be a discussion of concern. The purpose of the descriptive survey study was to determine the existing situation regarding how supportive principals are for collaboration to occur between classroom teachers and media specialists in schools where the media programs are considered exemplary. A questionnaire was mailed to principals, teachers, and media specialists in 12 schools designated as having exemplary school library media programs in Georgia by the State Department of Education. The findings for the study supported the researchers' expectations that media specialists and classroom teachers in exemplary school library media program schools receive support from the principal for collaboration. The assumption of the study was that principals in schools that are considered to have exemplary media programs provide support for collaboration for classroom teachers and media specialists.

Principals: Catalysts for Collaboration [Members and subscribers only]
Lesley Farmer
Because principals are the main decision-makers and chief catalysts for collaboration, teacher-librarians need to align their efforts with the schools' mission and the principal's vision. Principals have strong academic backgrounds and professional standards. As they are held accountable for the successful workings of their school sites, effective principals use broad-based governance systems. Teacher-librarians need to make known to principals their unique and collaborative contributions to students' success. Several strategies for mutual collaboration between principals and teacher-librarians are described. Assessment of such collaboration is also the key to sustained efforts.

Indexed in Bibliothek Forschung und Praxis, Children Literature Abstracts, Contents Pages in Education, Educational Resources Information Clearing house (ERIC), Library Literature, and Library and Information Science Abstracts (LISA).

Last Updated 26 June 2007 (KSB)