AASL webinar examines the effects of school libraries on students' test performance

CHICAGO – Participants will explore national education data sets and learn about major predictors of student performance during a new webinar from the American Association of School Librarians (AASL). Presented by Denice Adkins, “Rich Student, Poor Student, & the School Library: What the PISA Exam Tells Us about Our Value” will take place at 6 p.m. Central on Thursday, Feb. 5. For more information and to register, visit ecollab.aasl.org.

During the webinar, Adkins will break down the results of the 2009 Programme for International Student Assessment which provides insight into challenges a school librarian might face in providing equitable services for all students. The assessment results also provide evidence that school library “adequacy” plays a role in student performance. The webinar complements Adkin’s School Library Research paper, U.S. Students, Poverty, and School Libraries: What Results of the 2009 Programme for International Student Assessment Tell Us.

Denice Adkins is associate professor for the School of Information Science & Learning Technologies at the University of Missouri. She is a past president of REFORMA, the National Association for Library and Information Services to Latinos and the Spanish-Speaking. Her research interests are Latino library services, public libraries and services to children.

Attendance during the live presentation of “Rich Student, Poor Student, & the School Library” is open to all. Only AASL members and AASL eCOLLAB subscribers will have access to the webinar archive. A seat in the live webinar is guaranteed to the first 100 attendees. To register, visit “Upcoming Webinars” at ecollab.aasl.org.

eCOLLAB | Your eLearning Laboratory: Content Collaboration Community, a repository of AASL professional development, provides members and subscribers with a central location to find and manage their elearning as well as to connect with others in the learning community. eCOLLAB contains webcasts, podcasts and resources from various AASL professional development events, as well as access to a read-only version of the latest issue of Knowledge Quest. To begin utilizing eCOLLAB or to subscribe, visit ecollab.aasl.org.

The American Association of School Librarians, www.aasl.org, a division of the American Library Association (ALA), empowers leaders to transform teaching and learning.