International School Library Month -- October 2008. The theme is: Literacy and Learning at Your School Library
Home > Publications > IASL: School Libraries Worldwide - July 2000
Guest Editor: Julie Tallman
Editorial: School Library Education
Julie Tallman
How Pre-Service Media Specialists Perceive the Responsibilities and Duties
Associated with the School Library Profession
Sharon Vansickle
The leadership role of the library media specialists is the most important
factor in establishing the viability of the school media program. The
purpose of this study was to determine how pre-service media specialists in
the United States perceive leadership responsibilities and certain tasks
associated with the school library media profession. One hundred-fifty
pre-service media specialists enrolled at five universities in the
southeastern United States were asked to participate in this study. Data
indicated that many of the pre-service media specialists in this study
viewed themselves as support personnel rather than school leaders. For the
most part, this research establishes the need to include leadership
development courses in the degree programs offered to pre-service media
specialists.
Training Needs of School Library Staff for Service Delivery to Disabled
Students
Jan Murray
Staff development programs dealing with library service to students with
disabilities are scarce. A four-year study that evaluated school library
services offered to disabled students in two Australian states considered
staff development needs. The study assessed the availability of staff
development activities for school library staff that would assist them in
teaching, communicating and providing for the information needs of disabled
students. Results showed that there were limited opportunities for school
librarians to participate in such programs, beyond those offered in
individual schools to the teaching staff as a whole. There is a need for
library-specific staff development programs that cover policy formulation,
collection development and adaptive technology aspects of library services
for disabled students. Professional education courses should also cover
this area as an integrated element of the core curriculum. A model for
staff development programs is suggested.
Community Junior Secondary School Libraries in Botswana
Andrew J. B. Metzger
A school library program needs to have certain basic elements if it is to
function effectively. These elements are: the facility to house the
information sources or instructional materials; a wide range of information
sources to support the school's education program; adequate furniture and
equipment for the utilisation of the information sources; adequate finance
to support the operations and services of the library; and adequate
staffing to permit the facilities and information sources to be used to the
maximum degree of effectiveness. This paper presents a summary of the major
findings and recommendations of a study of the library facilities in
community junior secondary schools (CJSS) in Botswana.
Community Junior Secondary School Libraries in Botswana: A Case Study of
their Programs and Needs for Teacher-Librarian Training
Julie I. Tallman, Andrew J.B. Metzger, and Boemo N. Jorosi
The authors report on the status of the school library and its place in the
curriculum in thirteen Botswana community junior secondary schools located
in northern and northeastern Botswana. During November of 1999, the study
took place during site visits to the schools that had a teacher-library
intern receiving training through the School Library Certificate Program in
the Department of Library and Information Studies at the University of
Botswana. The authors used semi-structured interviews, observations, and
journals to provide the data for the descriptive qualitative study. This
paper is a report of the findings and the recommendations to the Department
for changes in the school library curriculum.
Preparing Personnel to Staff School Libraries in Botswana: The National
Library's Input
Margaret BaffourAwuah
The development of school libraries in Botswana is the responsibility of
the Educational Libraries Division of the Botswana National Library Service
(BNLS). The Educational Libraries Division carries out its school library
development mandate primarily through workshops for school library
personnel. Workshops, usually four days in length, are often held at one of
the fourteen Education Centres located across the country. Workshops focus
on topics such as: how to set up a school library; basics of library
classification; maintenance of the card catalogue; development of library
manuals and guides; development of circulation policies; and library budgeting.
Poised for Change: Effects of a Teacher Education Project on Pre-Service
Teachers' Knowledge of the School Library Program and the Role of the
Teacher-Librarian
Marlene Asselin
Pre-service teachers are a greatly overlooked group of instructional
partners. This article describes a project in a teacher education program
that supports new teachers' personal and practical knowledge of school
library programs and the role of the teacher-librarian. In the second year
of the project, reported here, qualitative analysis was conducted on
students' pre- and post- writings about three focal concepts. Results
showed that pre-service teachers expanded their understandings of
information literacy, critical thinking, and resource-based learning to
reflect several key aspects of these concepts consistent with the
literature. Students' additional unsolicited post-writings about the role
of the teacher-librarian indicated formation of new insights about
teacher-librarians' responsibilities as teacher, instructional partner, and
information specialist. While major findings suggest that teacher educators
can play an important advocacy role, the degree to which their efforts will
be effective depends on support of this new knowledge when pre-service
teachers enter the field.
Web-Based Instruction for School Library Media Specialists: Unleash the
Instructional Power of the Internet
Mary Ann Hindes
A Web-based distance learning course developed with World Wide Web
Courseware (WebCT) is the focus of this article. The course, Advanced
Reference: Online Searching Techniques, concentrates on assisting students
in developing information literacy skills. Results from a preliminary study
indicated that participants' attitudes towards Web-based instruction are
positive and that Web-based instruction provides a learning environment in
which participants can develop electronic literacy skills and share their
ideas and projects. Building on the findings of the preliminary study, the
course was modified and updated to take advantage of the enhancements in a
new version of WebCT. The second iteration of the course incorporated
Web-based activities to strengthen the information literacy competencies of
the participating students. The unique capabilities of Web-based delivery
in combination with sound instructional design guidelines created an
active, learner-centered experience for the participants.
Of Special Interest:
Bibliotherapy in School Libraries: An Israeli Experiment
Shifra Baruchson-Arbib
The concept of bibliotherapy has been known since ancient times. Despite
the concept's direct connection to books and libraries and despite its
potential as a means of support and aid, it has reached a clear status
within library science. The therapeutic nature of bibliotherapy does not
allow its full application in libraries, but the author suggests focusing
on the developmental aspect of bibliotherapy and defining it with a new
term--Supportive Knowledge. An experiment to implement these ideas was
carried out in two schools in Israel by building a special "self-help
section" in the libraries. There was an increase in reading, mainly among
boys. The pupils were interested in books that represented their own
personal problems, such as: teenage dilemmas, drugs, sex, death and
violence. They began to openly discuss these issues among themselves and
with the librarians. In addition, a close collaboration was created between
the school administration, the teachers and the librarians.
Last Updated 17 March 2003 (LAC)