Resources for School Librarians - Index

School Library Standards and Evaluation, Pt. 2

Menu: School Library Standards | Job Descriptions | Evaluation Forms | School Library Mission Statements | Action Plans for Library Improvement | Conducting Action Research | Annual Library Reports | School Library Statistics |

Today it seems that accountability is the hot topic in educational reform. It will become increasingly important for school library media specialists to demonstrate the importance of their media center to the school, and also be able to demonstrate how effectively they are doing their job. Busy adminstrators like numbers and well organized reports to demonstrate progress.

School Library Mission Statements

Your mission statement declares what you propose to achieve.

• Vision, Mission, Goals and Objectives for School Library Media Centers and What's the Difference - If you are a bit confused about what all these terms mean, take a look at this slide show by Johan Koren.
• IFLA/UNESCO School Library Manifesto - The school library in teaching and learning for all.
• The Library Bill of Rights and its Interpretations - The American Library Association
• The Australian School Library Association Bill of Rights
• Tehiyah Day School Library - El Cerrito, CA.
• Coral Gables Senior High School Library Media Center - Coral Gables, FL.
• Whittier Elementary School Library - Frederick, MD
• Mission Statement for the Howard County (MD) School Library Media Program
• Pingry Lower School Library - Short Hills, NJ
• Arrowhead Elementary School Library - Collegeville, PA
• St. John Neumann Regional Academy - Williamsport, PA
• Dessau Middle School Library - Austin, TX
• Berta Cabaza Middle School - San Benito, TX
• Illinois School Library Media Association
• The Pittsburgh Public Schools Library Network - Vision statement and mission statement for the teacher librarians and administrative staff of the Library Services department of the Pittsburgh School District.
• Internet Public Library - Mission statement for a digital reference service.

Action Plans

Action plans detail the steps needed to achieve your mission and defines how you will evaluate your progress.

• Program Planning and Development - From the Georgia School Library Media Specialist Handbook.
• School Library Media Center Long Range Planning Template- by the Massachusetts Board of Library Commmissioners. This template takes you from writing the mission statement to defining goals and objectives and how they will be reached.
• Long Range Plans - Plans from several member of the Massachusetts Library Association.
• Planning Resources for School Library Media Programs- Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction.
• School Library Program Planning- extensive information on program planning and data collection.
• Danvers School Library Media Center Long Range Plan 2011-2016 - This includes the plan and questionnaires for students and faculty. This is a pdf file.
• Fountain Valley CA District Library Plan 2009-2012 - This is a pdf file.
• Westwood MA Public School Libraries Long Range Plan 2009 - 2014
• Pentucket Regional High School Library - There is a long range plan for 2012 - 2016, and also results of student and staff surveys. West Newbury, MA

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Action Research

• Teacher-As-Researcher - Definition of action research. An ERIC document.
• The School Library Program - Materials for a course for school library media specialists by Larry Johnson and Annette Lamb. Note that the menu leads to information and links for data collection and evaluation.
• The Teacher Librarian's Toolkit for Evidence Based Practice - byThe Ontario School Library Association.
• Action Research - An article by Daniel Callison in School Library Monthly, June, 2007.
• Usage and Usability Assessment: Library Practices and Concerns - An analysis of digital library use by Denise Troll Covey. It has a lot of useful information about methods for studying the use of any library.
• The Evidence-Based Manifesto for School Librarians - An article by Ross Todd in School Library Journal, April, 2008. "If school librarians can't prove that they make a difference, they may cease to exist".
• Action Research - Stop Wasting Money - A project by Brenda Anderson at the PSLA conference, 2009. A comparison of the prices of book vendors.
• Booktalks Increase Circulation of Special Sections in the Library - A project by Angie S. Jones, Spring, 2009.
• Collecting the Data: Templates and Data for the School Library Media Specialist - Downloadable forms for monitoring the use of the library and its resources. By Nancy McGriff, Leslie Preddy, and Carl L. Harvey.
• Sample Size Calculator - Helps to find out how large a sample you need for your research.

Annual Library Reports

Annual reports provide a very effective way to demonstrate to the adminstration that you are improving the educational process.

• The Annual Report as an Advocacy Tool - A short introduction to getting started on your annual report. From the Kansas Association of School Librarians.
• The Importance of Creating an Annual Report - From the Library Grits blog by Diane McKenzie.
• Annual Report Template - This will give you some ideas for writing your own report. This is from the State Library of Iowa and is a Microsoft word document.
• The Annual Report Guide - By Debra Kachel. A chart which will give you good ideas about what to include in your report. This is a pdf file.
• Palisades High School Library Annual Report 2011 - 12
• Hopkinton Middle/High School Annual Report 2012
• Montville High School Library Media Center Annual Report, 2012
• Creekview High School Annual Report, 2010 - 2011 - This is a multimedia report.
• Springfield Township PA High School Annual Report, 2011
• Hudson High School Annual Report 2010 - 2011
• Shutesbury Elementary School Library Annual Report 2010
• The Dorman High School Library Annual Report 2010.
• Jesse Boyd Elementary School Library Annual Report 2009
• School Library Annual Reports - This is a list from the School Library Web Sites Wiki.
• Facts About Maryland's Library Media Programs 2010 - 2011 - An annual statewide report for school libraries by the Maryland Department of Education. This is a pdf file.

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This site is maintained by Linda Bertland, retired school librarian, Philadelphia, PA. Please address any comments, additions, or corrections to info@sldirectory.com.