International Trends and Developments in School Librarianship

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International Trends and Developments in School
Librarianship

• Dr L. Anne Clyde ProfessorFaculty of Social
  ScienceUniversity of Iceland

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School Library Manifesto
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School Library Manifesto
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School Library Manifesto

• The IFLA/UNESCO School Library Manifesto
• Available in the following languages (April
  2005)
• Afrikaans Hebrew Portuguese
• Amharic Hungarian Portuguese-Brazilian
• Arabic Icelandic Russian
• Catalan Italian Setswana
• Croatian Khmer Slovenian
• Czech Kiswahili Spanish
• Dutch Latvian Swedish
• English Lithuanian Turkish
• French Nepalese Vietnamese
• German Norwegian Xhosa Chinese
• Greek Polish Korean

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School Library Manifesto
The School Library in Teaching and Learning for
All The school library provides information and
ideas that are fundamental to functioning
successfully in todays society, which is
increasingly information and knowledge-based. T
he school library equips students with lifelong
learning skills and develops the imagination,
enabling them to live as responsible citizens.
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School Library Manifesto
The Mission of the School Library The school
library provides learning services, books
and resources that enable all members of the
school community to become critical thinkers and
effective users of information in all formats and
media, with links to the wider library
and information network according to the
principles in the UNESCO Public Library
Manifesto. The library staff support the use
of books and other information sources, ranging
from the fictional to the documentary, from print
to electronic, both on-site and remote. The
materials should complement and enrich textbooks,
teaching materials and methodologies.
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School Library Guidelines
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School Library Guidelines

• IFLA UNESCO School Library Guidelines
• Available in the following languages (April
  2005)
• Bahasa Malaysia English
• Czech French
• Italian Lithuanian
• Portuguese (Brazilian) Spanish
• Swedish

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School Library History
School libraries are not new School libraries
have existed in English schools since at least
the eighth century, and England was not the only
country that had school libraries more than 500
years ago. What is new is a curriculum focus on
preparation for lifelong learning, resource-based
learning and inquiry learning, all of
which depend to a considerable degree on
students access to information resources and
services and the development of their literacy
and information literacy skills
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School Library Documents USA
Information Power Partnerships for Learning
(1998) American Library Association
and Association for Educational Communications
and Technology Position Statement on Staffing
for School Library Media Centers (2000) American
Library Association
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School Library Documents Canada
Position Statement on Effective School Library
Programs in Canada (2000) Canadian School Library
Association (CSLA) Students Information
Literacy Needs in the 21st Century Competencies
for Teacher-Librarians (1997) Association for
Teacher Librarianship in Canada (ATLC)
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School Library Documents Australia
Learning for the Future Developing Information
Services in Schools (2000) Australian School
Library Association (ASLA) and Australian Library
and Information Association (ALIA) Standards of
Professional Excellence for Teacher Librarians
(2004) Australian School Library Association
(ASLA) and Australian Library and Information
Association (ALIA)
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More Information The IASL Website
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School Libraries Make a Difference
The IFLA/UNESCO School Library Manifesto The
Mission of the School Library It has been
demonstrated that when librarians and
teachers work together, students achieve higher
levels of literacy, reading, learning,
problem-solving and information and communication
technology skills.
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School Libraries Make a Difference (2)
"A substantial body of research since 1990
clearly demonstrates the importance of school
libraries to students education. Whether
student achievement is measured by standardized
reading achievement tests or by global
assessments of learning, research shows that a
well-stocked library staffed by a certified
library media specialist has a positive impact
on studen achievement, regardless of the
socio-economic or educational levels of the
community. Scholastic Research Foundation Paper
(2004)
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School Libraries Make a Difference (3)
Keith Curry Lance and Colleagues The Colorado
Study (1993) Keith Curry Lance and
Colleagues Alaska (2000) Pennsylvania (2000) New
Mexico (2002) Baxter and Smalley Minnesota
(2003)
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School Libraries Make a Difference (4)
Mapping Literacy Achievement Australian Council
for Educational Research (1997) Assessment of
School Library Service in a Local Government
Area, Lagos State, Nigeria A.S. Obajemu
(2002) Effective Schools in Reading International
Association for the Evaluation of Educational
Achievement (1992)
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Information Literacy
What do we mean by information literacy? Informa
tion literacy is the ability to find, evaluate
and disseminate information using traditional,
currently available and evolving technologies for
the purposes of investigation, education and the
solving of real world problems (Canning,
1999) The American Library Association (1998)
defines an information literate student as one
who accesses information efficiently
and effectively, evaluates information critically
and competently, and uses information accurately
and creatively.
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Information Literacy (2)
Authors and Documents Ross Todd (1995) Carol
Kuhlthau (1993) Mike Eisenberg The Big
6 Focus on Inquiry A Teachers Guide to
Implementing Inquiry-Based Learning (Alberta
Learning, 2004) Dianne Oberg and Jennifer Branch
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Literacy and Reading
The Literacy Trust (United Kingdom) IFLA Section
of School Libraries and Resource Centres IFLA
Section on Reading Literacy for Life, IFLA 2005
Preconference Oslo, 12 August 2005 Independent
reading has been identified as one of the
major sources of building reading and writing
fluency. Avid readers typically engage in twenty
times more independent reading than do less
frequent readers (California School Library
Association, 2001)
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School Libraries and Social Inclusion
The IFLA/UNESCO School Library Manifesto Access
to services and collections should be based on
the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human
Rights and Freedoms, and should not be subject to
any form of ideological, political or religious
censorship, or to commercial pressures. School
library services must be provided equally to all
members of the school community, regardless of
age, race, gender, religion, nationality,
language, professional or social status. IFLA
Internet Manifesto Users should be assisted
with the necessary skills and a suitable
environment in which to use their chosen
information sources and services freely and
confidently.
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Important Developments (1)
Information Technology and School
Libraries Access to information in the school
library Library automation SCIS (Australia and
International) Access to information outside the
school library (Internet) Consortia for
purchasing access to online services Iceland
Hvar?is Western Australia WASLA Organising
information -- Working with information Presenting
information (the school library web site) A
basis for new services
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Important Developments (2)
Evidence-Based Practice As a means for improving
professional practice in school libraries Using
evidence from research, from best practice, and
from documented professional practice as a basis
for planning school library services and for
advocacy
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For More Information

• Both the Manifesto and the Guidelines are
  available on IFLANET at http//www.ifla.org/
• See the IFLA Section of School Libraries and
  Resource Centres pages on IFLANET at
  http//www.ifla.org/
• The IASL web site School Libraries Online
  provides material in support of the Manifesto and
  Guidelines, see http//www.iasl-slo.org/
• See also my own web site at http//www.hi.is/anne
  /