Home > Publications > IASL: School Libraries Worldwide - July 2000

SCHOOL LIBRARIES WORLDWIDE

Volume 6, Number 2, July 2000

Theme: School Library Education

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)