Gail K. Dickinson

The Access Gap: Poverty and Characteristics of School Library Media Centers

Stephen Krashen believes that schools can counter the effects of poverty in at least one area: access to books. However, little research has been done to determine whether students living in poverty have access to school library services comparable to those attending schools with low concentrations of students living in poverty. We examined the school library access gap; namely, the differences in school library characteristics (staffing, books added to collection, schedule, and number of days closed) in schools with various concentrations of students living in poverty. Alarmingly, we found that the students in most need—those attending schools with the highest concentrations of students living in poverty—had the fewest school library resources to draw on. Findings suggest that if we hope to close achievement gaps between high and low socioeconomic groups, we must attend to the access gap in school libraries in high- and low-poverty schools.

Common Core and Common Good: Educational Standards and the Future of Libraries

The Common Core State Standards (CCSS) initiative for K–12 education has been adopted by 45 states and will have a broad impact on American educational institutions, including libraries. The CCSS focus on close reading of informational texts, inquiry learning, and college and career readiness with an emphasis on assessment and accountability. This research study used a focus-group approach to provide a framework for asking school librarians from two states about the future of teaching and learning and the types of challenges they envision for the future. The data collected were then aligned with CCSS to better understand the potential impact for patrons of all types of libraries.

Community of Practice Application in Knowledge Management

Knowledge Management KM on its surface may appear to be a dichotomous dis-synchronization with Community of Practice CoP development. KM is systematic and intentional, and presumes the defined body of facts. CoP, on the other hand, is based, as its name intends, on skill-based practice. It is the above over-simplified definition, though, that prompted the case study referred to herein. CoP based on and drawing from KM principles can be a strong foundation for CoP community development. This article uses findings from previous case study research to apply findings to the library professional / paraprofessional negotiated CoP.

The Cultural Commons of Teen Literacy

While we have placed an emphasis on identifying the skills we should teach teenagers to become information literate (Standards for the 21st century learner, American Association of School Librarians/American Library Association, 2007), there is a gap in our understanding of what literacies teens immersed in an age of unfiltered Internet, cell phones, and social media, already possess. In this study, we looked at teen behaviors in public spaces outside of school. Twenty-one students who were enrolled in a graduate school library course were asked to unobtrusively observe teens in various public locations outside of school. This study analyzed those “snapshots” to uncover patterns regarding teen behaviors. Results present new findings on how teens communicate with each other and the world around them.

Access issues in school library media centers: Examining library schedules, library closures, and poverty.

A hallmark of best practice in school libraries is for students and faculty to have maximum access to library resources and services. However, findings from a recent quantitative study indicate that this is not always the case. The researchers surveyed school librarians in North Carolina and Virginia to determine the effects that scheduling, library closures, and poverty had on access to school libraries. There were three major findings from the study. First, the results revealed a direct relationship between flexible scheduling and an increase in per-pupil book circulation in elementary schools. Next, the findings showed that school libraries were closed, while students were in session, an average of 17 full days in an academic year. Finally, the study demonstrated that K-12 school libraries serving large proportions of children living in poverty were open fewer days and had fewer resources than schools that served small proportions of students living in poverty.

From Research to Action in School Library Media Programs

The research on the school library media center program has been developed over a period of decades. School library media researchers over the years have used different strategies to achieve the goal of creating excellence in school library media programs. The degree to which that research has changed the building-level program, however, is questionable, and the amount of time that passes between proven strategies and implementation of those strategies is frustrating.