IASL Research Abstracts

IASL Research Abstracts: 155

Findings: The majority of researchers in school librarianship publish in English; are from the U.S., Canada and Australia; and hold university or college positions. Nearly three quarters of the field's researchers are "less active", publishing once over a 5 year period, and 13% are "more active" producing three or more publications over this period. Pressing issues facing the development of a strong research base in school librarianship concern the relatively modest amount of research productivity compared to other fields, quality of methodology, the need to reach a wider audience, and the lack of time and funding to carry out research.

Abstract: This paper reports results of one part of a larger study of researchers in school librarianship. Data collection used a questionnaire survey of "current researchers" who have published research articles or paper in the field of school librarianship in English from 1999-2003. Questions addressed (1) who are the researchers in the field? (2) number of researchers, (3) characteristics of researchers, (4) issues and barriers to doing research? See:

Clyde, A. (2005). Supporting information literacy in a culture of change: Researchers in school librarianship. In S. Lee, P. Warning, D. Singh, E. Howe, L. Farmer and S. Hughes (Eds.) IASL Reports 2005: Information leadership in a culture of change. Erie, PA: International Association of School Librarianship.

Subject Categories: 6