School Libraries Count! personalized reports available for AASL survey participants

CHICAGO – Personalized reports are now available for participants in the American Association of School Librarians’ (AASL) School Libraries Count! longitudinal survey. Participants in the 2011 survey can access their reports by visiting www.ala.org/aasl/slcsurvey.

These personalized reports complement AASL’s suite of advocacy tools, including an online module for implementing AASL’s learning standards and program guidelines, “A Planning Guide for Empowering Learners.” By using the School Libraries Count! personalized report in tandem with the results generated, under the rubric in the Planning Guide, school librarians will be able to present a more complete case when advocating for their school library programs and community needs.

"With School Libraries Count! reports, school libraries can compare their library program with those in similar schools across the country," said Gail Dickinson, research and statistics committee chair. "School librarians are using these individualized reports to provide evidence-based data to support school-wide student learning with data on teaching, collaborative planning, and resource provision. In addition, school librarians are using School Libraries Count! reports to lobby for increased access to resources within and without the school library, as well as budget, staffing, and access issues."

Participants are encouraged to view the AASL webinar demonstrating how to use their data to advocate for their school library program and draw connections between the data outputs generated using the Planning Guide module and their personalized reports. The webinar is available at www.ala.org/aasl/planningguideresources.

The School Libraries Count! National Longitudinal Survey of School Library Programs aims to gather data on changes in the field to gain understanding of the state of school library programs nationally. The 2011 survey had 4,887 respondents. Data on this and previous School Libraries Count! longitudinal studies can be found at www.ala.org/aasl/slcsurvey.

The American Association of School Librarians, www.aasl.org, a division of the American Library Association (ALA), promotes the improvement and extension of library services in elementary and secondary schools as a means of strengthening the total education program. Its mission is to advocate excellence, facilitate change and develop leaders in the school library field.