Category Archives: Research

Research on school librarians and reading promotion

The promotion of reading appreciation is one of the many responsibilities of school librarians. Different strategies have been used in elementary and middle schools to achieve this, and these strategies need to meet the students’ interests. This article presents the results of a study that was conducted to identify the different strategies elementary and middle school librarians in Puerto Rico are currently using to promote reading appreciation. … …  Some of the conclusions indicate that school librarians consider Library Week a key activity for the promotion of reading appreciation, and the Internet as a key resource for the implementation of the different activities they design. The conclusions also acknowledge that school librarians face different challenges, the most difficult being collaboration and support from the students’ parents.

Read more at: Domínguez, N. et. al. (2016). The school librarian as motivational agent and strategist for reading appreciation.  Journal of Librarianship and Information Science 48(3), 236-246

Report about multicultural multilingual youth

The following report (from Western Australia) may be of interest to those  who work in multicultural multilingual school libraries and are interested in Global Literacy.  https://gallery.mailchimp.com/61efdfe9e3c03ed2d6188fdb1/files/Children_and_Young_People_from_Culturally_and_Linguistically_Diverse_Backgrounds_Speak_Out_Web_version_February_2016.pdf
One particularly interesting thing about this report is that the children themselves have been interviewed.   
(information submitted by Helen Boelens)

School Libraries Work!

The new edition (2016) of School Libraries Work!: A compendium of research supporting the effectiveness of school libraries, by Scholastic has been launched.

You can download your own copy via this link: http://www.scholastic.com/SLW2016/

This is a powerful advocacy tool, which provides a wealth of recent research into school libraries.

While it is entirely based on US data, it nevertheless provides arguments and data for the value of school libraries as well as some practical ideas.

Room to Read Impact

The International Association of School Librarianship congratulates Room to Read on its milestone in improving the education of 10 million children through the provision of school libraries, children’s publishing in their own languages and through girls’ education scholarships.

Room to Read shares many of IASL’s goals. Room to Read works in Asia and Africa to achieve these. The co-founder Erin Ganju points to 17,500 transformed government schools, 10,000 teachers trained every year in reading and writing instruction and library management, and more than 30,000 girls who have been able to pursue an education with the aid of Room to Read.

Room to Read continually evaluates data on how they are achieving their goals. As part of its milestone, Room to Read has released a document based on their data which may be of interest to IFLA members and friends, What we’ve learned works in global education after educating 10 million children. The main points are:

1.     Children’s speed of reading and comprehension is raised through systematic reading instruction focusing on phonics

2.     Children’s likelihood of learning to read is much greater when their teachers have been trained in how to conduct reading activities, such as reading aloud and shared reading

3.     Children have a preference for illustrated fiction books, e.g. folklore and fantasy

4.     The operation of school libraries is more effective when they are consistently evaluated and monitored

5.     Students’ interest in reading both at school and at home is affected by access to a school library

6.     Transparency is important and results in greater community participation

7.     Working in partnership with local governments is crucial for advocacy and improving instruction and professional development for teachers

More findings related to girls’ education and an excellent infographic showing these findings are available at http://ow.ly/UKQGz

2016 Picturebook Symposium CFP

1ST Bi-Annual Marantz Picturebook Research Symposium

July 24-26, 2016
Kent State University, Kent, Ohio

Keynote: Will Hillenbrand, Children’s Book Author and Illustrator

CALL FOR PROPOSALS

“The Picturebook as an Art Object:”
Honoring the life and work of Dr. Kenneth A. Marantz

According to Dr. Kenneth A. Marantz, professor of art education at the Ohio State University from 1971 to 1991, picturebooks (spelled as one word by Dr. Marantz) are “such rich repositories of visual art, so readily available compared with the resources housed in galleries and museums, that I believe we must take the fullest advantage of them.” For many young children, picturebooks represent their first exposure to culture—to art, and to literature — in one perfect package. For older children, picturebooks are a useful tool for addressing controversial or difficult subject matter. For all, the aesthetic relationship with picturebooks can create life-long connections.

Dr. Kenneth A. Marantz and his wife Sylvia Marantz have graciously funded a biannual scholarly picturebook research symposium to be organized and hosted by the Kent State University’s School of Library and Information Science. In this first Marantz Picturebook Research Symposium, to be held July 24-26, 2016, we honor Ken Marantz’s life work around the picturebook.

Children’s book author and illustrator Will Hillenbrand will deliver a keynote address. Hillenbrand, who studied under Ken Marantz, received the 2012 Parents’ Choice Silver Honor award for his illustrations in Bear in Love. Other accolades include a Gold Medal from the Society of Illustrators;  Notable Book Award from the American Library Association for the first picture book he illustrated, Traveling to Tondo; and Children’s Choice Awards from the International Reading Association for Sam Sunday and the Mystery at the Ocean Beach Hotel and The House That Drac Built.

This call for proposals seeks original, interdisciplinary research in areas related to picturebooks, especially centered around Dr. Marantz’s concept of the picturebook as an art object.

Presentation Formats:  The Committee especially encourages presentations and research in the following formats:

1.     Twenty-minute presentations followed by 10 minutes of discussion

2.     Panel submissions comprised of three 20-minute presentations followed by 20 minutes of discussion (or four 15-minute presentations followed by 15 minutes of discussion)

3.     Posters

Submissions must be submitted on the appropriate form (insert link) and must include the following in order to be considered:

·      Title and up to 5 keywords

·      Description of type of proposal you are submitting (poster/paper/panel)

·      Names and contact information of all contributors

·      An abstract of no more than 350 words of your proposed poster or presentation.

·      In the case of a panel submission, an abstract should accompany each of the papers that will be included.

·      Information about any special equipment requirements (beyond a laptop and projector, which will be provided)

Prospective participants should submit abstracts that report on recent research and scholarship. Contributions to this call for papers may not have been previously published, and all research methodologies from all disciplines are welcomed.

Deadlines:

January 15, 2016:  Deadline to submit abstracts

March 1, 2016:  Notification of acceptance. Once selected, presenters are responsible for their own expenses related to the conference, including but not limited to registration fees, lodging, transportation and meals. Students are encouraged to participate.

Possible topics, as related to the conference theme, include (but are not limited to):

  • Picturebooks and aesthetics
  • “Reading” picturebooks: The influence of art and text on early literacy
  • Picturebooks, aesthetics, and the imagination
  • Playing with picturebooks
  • Cultural constructions of picturebooks
  • Picturebooks and digital formats
  • Reaching diverse readers via picturebooks
  •  Historical perspectives on picturebooks

Proceedings:  There will not be proceedings for this conference; however, selected papers may be included in a special issue of a journal or an edited collection. Details will be provided as they become available.

For more information, please contact Dr. Marianne Martens ([email protected]) or Michelle Baldini ([email protected]).

School Libraries WorldWide call for papers

School Libraries Worldwide
January 2016 (Volume 22, Number 1)

Celebrity: Teacher Librarians as Central Figures, Heroes, Key Players

Call for Papers–Due October 1, 2015

Editors: Marcia Mardis and Nancy Everhart
Guest Co-Editor: Rebecca Hunt

School Libraries Worldwide is the official professional and research journal of the International Association of School Librarianship (IASL). It is published twice yearly, in January and July, and is available online and through select periodical databases. School Libraries Worldwide publishes new works of current research and scholarship on any aspect of school librarianship. All papers are double-blind peer reviewed and adhere to the highest editorial standards.

The January 2016 issue of School Libraries Worldwide will center on the theme of Celebrity: Teacher Librarians as Central Figures, Heroes, and Key Players. As Annenberg Fellow Neal Gabler wrote in his seminal 1994 essay Toward a New Definition of Celebrity[1], “Celebrity is a learning process toward self-actualization and realization…celebrity is about gaining attention and acknowledgment —about not being like everyone else.” (pp. 10, 13). For this issue, this definition is our point of departure in considering school librarians’ many celebrity roles. We encourage papers that affirm, refute, or extend this notion.

This issue will provide an opportunity for researchers to share their research relating to the librarian’s role in school libraries. Possible topics include, but are not limited to, research about:
·       Leadership development and enactment;
·       Librarians as educational technology and social media leaders and/or influencers;
·       Professional recruiting and retention strategies, i.e., “selling” teacher librarianship as a career;
·       Marketing and promoting the school library’s programs and services;
·       Advocacy challenges and effective strategies;
·       Effective student, faculty, and/or community programming facilitated by teacher librarians;
·       Librarians as agents of change and innovation;
·       Librarians as characters in history and fiction;
·       Celebrity and youth culture/fandom; and
·       Celebrity authored children’s literature.

School library researchers are invited to submit papers reporting their own original research that has not been published elsewhere. Authors who wish to know more about the issue theme should contact the editors.  School Libraries Worldwide also welcomes submissions of excellent research on any topic relating to school librarianship for the open section of the journal.

Deadline for submissions of full papers: October 1, 2015.
Authors interested in contributing to this issue should contact the editors, Marcia Mardis and Nancy Everhart at [email protected] and the guest editor, Rebecca Hunt ([email protected]).

Submission guidelines are available online at: http://www.iasl-online.org/pubs/slw/slw_guidecontrib.html
Note requirement that all submissions must take place through the online submission system: http://slw.cci.fsu.edu

Questions and suggestions for the journal should be sent to:

Dr. Marcia A. Mardis and Dr. Nancy Everhart
Editors, School Libraries Worldwide
School of Information
College of Communication & Information
Florida State University
Tallahassee FL 32306-2100 USA
E-mail: [email protected]

[1] Gabler, N. (1994). Toward a new definition of celebrity. Retrieved from http://learcenter.org/pdf/Gabler.pdf

International Report

A new OECD report on youth, skills and employabilty comments on the struggle young people have in gaining entry to the workforce. In some OECD countries, one in four 16-29 year olds is neither employed nor in education or training. Find the report, OECD Skills Outlook 2015, at http://www.oecd.org/education/oecd-skills-outlook-2015-9789264234178-en.htm

A United Nations global survey, MyWorld2015 Analytics, aims to capture people’s voices, priorities and views, so world leaders can be informed as endeavour to define global goals. The highest priority, globally, is that everyone has access to a good education. Check the survey results at http://data.myworld2015.org/ You can filter the results by country, gender, education levels and age groups.