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SCHOOL LIBRARIES WORLDWIDE

Volume 12, Number 2, July 2006

Editorial
Dianne Oberg

Science-Related Topics in School Library Media Periodicals: An Analysis of Electronic Citation Content from 1998-2004
Marcia A. Mardis
Improving student achievement in science is a major thrust of current educational policy in the United States. Can US school library media specialists use articles in recommended school library media publications to approach science-related topics in collection development, collaboration, professional learning, and curriculum integration and be effective partners in achieving this educational imperative? Many school library media specialists use professional periodicals to stay current with new resources and learn role-enhancing strategies, but science topics represented a small number of total citations of these publications. This study used citations in two major subscription periodical databases and analyzed them for selected aspects of frequency. Few citations described articles about collaboration with science teachers and curriculum involvement. Although professional reading can improve service, the findings of this study indicate that the small number of science-related citations were to articles that tended not to promote deeper involvement with science education.

An Inquiry-Based Approach to Library Instruction
David Wray
The work described in this article was founded on a philosophy that foregrounds the importance of students developing their own inquiry questions as an essential precursor to learning the complex skills of accessing, reading, and writing information texts. In the article, I outline how such an inquiry question was used to focus the work of 6-year-old students, involving them in the use and development of a variety of library and study skills. I refer to these students as "young inquirers" and show how, with the support of their teacher, they were able to approach their inquiry with an actively questioning mindset that led them to some often surprising insights into the process of finding and using information.

Theme Section: Evidence-Based Practice

School Libraries and Evident-Based Practice: An Integrated Approach to Evidence
Theme Editor, Ross J Todd

Principal's Evaluation of School Librarians: A Study of Strategic and Non-strategic Evidence-based Approaches
Nancy Everhart
Principals had a range of strategic and nonstrategic approaches available them that they could potentially employ to gather evidence to evaluate school librarians. This study surveyed principals on how frequently they used each of these possible forms of evidence. Results show that principals are proactive, deliberate, and strategic in seeking the evidence they use to evaluate their school librarians. They are more likely to use their own observations, interviews, and data analysis than to rely on evidence provided to they by the school librarian, particularly in the form of reports.

Implications of Using Focus Groups to Improve Library Services
Deborah K. Wilson-Matusky
Focus groups have been used to improve services in a variety of arenas. In educational settings, they have been used in improving classroom teachers' performance, in general professional development, and in addressing areas of concern in the school setting. This research explores the effectiveness of focus groups in a school library media setting to improve library services to users, with particular emphasis on prioritizing concerns and generating solutions. Recommendations of the focus groups were compared with recommendations from the school librarian based on analysis of the data. As a result, a combined action plan was developed for guiding the future practices of the school library.

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 12 March 2007 (KSB)