Impact on Reading and Literacy

Technology was a component of School Library Media Center Services… [T]his component was composed of six variables concerning technology availability and usage. This analysis shows that the component of Technology was significantly correlated with student achievement, represented by the Overall Weighted Average Map Index, when other variables were not present.

… The Librarian Qualifications component was computed by aggregating the relevant questions of the questionnaire. The questionnaire asked a series of questions pertaining to the highest level of education and certification the paid library staff had obtained. The component was composed of one variable for a librarians’ education and experience weighted by the work hours. This analysis shows that the Librarian Qualifications component was significantly correlated with student achievement, represented by the Overall Weighted Average Map Index, when other variables were not present.

Increases in eleventh grade reading scores are usually reported by Michigan high school libraries that have: higher numbers and weekly hours of librarian and total library staff; more total weekly hours of operation, and more weekly hours for flexible access/scheduling; librarian spending more time supporting school computer networks; larger collections of print volumes and video materials; and access to more computers—both in the library and throughout the school—that provide links to Access Michigan, library catalogs and licensed databases, and the Internet and the World Wide Web; and more frequent individual visits to the library [#9, #10]; and more money for library operations [#13].

The school library, when one exists, is for many disadvantaged children a major source of exposure to books, magazines, and the newer media—learning materials that stimulate their thinking, creativity, learning, reading, and enjoyment. Our survey data suggest that children from a lower socioeconomic stratum who have a school library obtain a higher mean MCAS score than do similar children from schools that do not have such a program.