New articles published in School Library Research

CHICAGO — Three new research articles covering the topics of information literacy, professional development and collaboration and the impact of staffing levels on student achievement are now available online as part of the American Association of School Librarian’s (AASL) peer-reviewed online journal, School Library Research.

In “Assessing Information Literacy: A Case Study of Primary 5 Students in Hong Kong,” Samuel Kai Wah Chu reports on an investigation of the information-literacy levels of primary 5 students in Hong Kong. In the investigation, primary 5 students from four Hong Kong schools completed a 14-item information-literacy assessment (ILA), which was adopted and modified from questions on the sixth-grade version of the Tool for Real-time Assessment of Information Literacy Skills (TRAILS). In his article, Chu shares the findings, including a positive and significant relationship between students’ information literacy and reading ability.

Patricia Montiel-Overall and Anthony C.R. Hernández describe preliminary results of a study with elementary school teachers and librarians in their article, “The Effect of Professional Development on Teacher and Librarian Collaboration: Preliminary Findings Using a Revised Instrument, TLC-III.” In their study, professional-development intervention workshops were conducted to improve teacher and school librarian collaboration to integrate library and subject content. To evaluate teachers’ and librarians’ perceptions of their collaborative endeavors, a revised 24-item teacher and school librarian collaboration instrument (TLC-III) was used as a pre- and post-workshop measure. The preliminary findings indicate that professional-development workshops can significantly change teachers’ perceptions about collaborating with school librarians.

“School Librarian Staffing Levels and Student Achievement as Represented in 2006–2009 Kansas Annual Yearly Progress Data,” an article by Mirah J. Dow, Jacqueline McMahon Lakin and Stephen C. Court, looks at the writers’ study using analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) to investigate staffing levels for library media specialists and student achievement at the school level. Five subject areas - reading, mathematics, science, history/government and writing - were examined over a four-year period, and the researchers found that where schools maintained higher and more stable library media specialist staffing levels, the Annual Yearly Progress (AYP) data revealed higher proficiency rates.

“New studies just published in Volume 15 of School Library Research address topics that have particular and timely relevance to building-level school librarians,” said Jean Donham, editorial board chair. “The editorial board is happy to see research that informs our practice so directly, whether the topic is technology integration, Response to Intervention or librarians' collaboration with teachers.”

School Library Research (ISSN: 2165-1019) is the successor to School Library Media Research (ISSN: 1523-4320) and School Library Media Quarterly Online. The journal is peer-reviewed, indexed by H. W. Wilson's Library Literature and by the ERIC Clearinghouse on Information & Technology, and continues to welcome manuscripts that focus on high quality original research concerning the management, implementation and evaluation of school library programs.

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.