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Dover Reads
Open Book

School Library Evaluation

Dover Elementary School Library Evaluation

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The AASL School Library Evaluation Checklist has many standards to improve school libraries so they can be better learning environments for students and so librarians can work more effectively with teachers. The building-level items can be acted upon directly by librarians. Dover Elementary meets some of these standards, but in others it could be better.

 

INCLUDE 

  • Each school, regardless of size or level, has at least one fulltime certified school librarian.

The librarian at Dover is fulltime and certified. A tool to measure staff is the ExC3EL Rubric (Florida Department of Education, n.d.).

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  • The school librarian develops and maintains a teaching and learning environment that is inviting, safe, flexible, and conducive to learning.

The learning environment is, for the most part, safe, flexible, and inviting. The main problem is that it is old. The school’s HVAC system is outdated and makes the library stuffy. The shelves could be farther apart to exceed ADA guidelines. The library could be more inviting, which is reflected in my Letter to the Architect. Adherence to ADA guidelines and comparison with more modern school libraries can be tools for evaluating the library environment (Department of Justice, 2010).

 

INQUIRE 

  • The school librarian collaborates with teachers to design and teach engaging inquiry-based learning experiences as well as assessments that incorporate multiple literacies and foster critical thinking.

The librarian at Dover does collaborate with teachers to make and teach lesson plans, but they are not necessarily inquiry-based. They are based on the objectives given by the district. Assessments often do incorporate multiple literacies and critical thinking, such as those involving both reading and computer skills, or both mathematics and computer skills, or research and reading skills, or computer and planning skills. A tool to measure these learning experiences and assessments is the ExC3EL Rubric (Florida Department of Education, n.d.).

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  • School library policies ensure that learners and educators have access to the school library and to qualified professional staff throughout the school day

This is another area that needs work and it’s not the librarian’s fault. Two years ago, the Library Secretary position was removed for the whole county. Now the librarian relies on volunteers who might not be qualified. The librarian might be the only qualified professional staff the library has, and half of her job is tech support, so she’s running around the school fixing computers while the library is run by volunteers. So, while learners and educators do have access to the school library throughout the school day, if they want to speak with the librarian, they should check in a classroom. A tool to measure staff is the ExC3EL Rubric (Florida Department of Education, n.d.).

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COLLABORATE

  • The school librarian participates in the implementation of collaboratively planned learning experiences by providing group and individual instruction, assessing student progress, and evaluating activities.

The librarian regularly holds lessons about library skills, like how to use an index and how to use the Dewey Decimal System. She also teaches both large and small groups, as large as multiple classes and as small as the morning show crew. She does not do individual instruction, though. She does help teachers find new activities and resources to help students learn. Evidence-Based Practice (EBP) can be used to measure the success of these lesson plans, by recording and comparing the students’ test results before and after these lessons, and seeing which lessons are most effective (Todd, 2008).

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  • The school librarian serves on decision-making teams in the school and participates in school improvement and accreditation activities.

The librarian does take part in meetings, especially toward the beginning of the school year, and she definitely helps with school improvement and accreditation. For example, there’s a yearly Dover Clean Up that, while it’s not necessarily intellectual, it improves the learning environment. She takes part in it every year. Simply keeping a record of the events attended and the effects of the activities and comparing them from year to year can be an evaluation tool.

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CURATE 

  • In accordance with district policy, the school librarian develops and maintains a diverse collection of resources appropriate to the curriculum, the learners, and the teaching styles and instructional strategies used within the school community.

The collection of resources is diverse and combines a variety of materials, topics, reading levels, and languages. The materials in the collection meet the needs of most of the teachers in the school, but the materials are old and there are not enough of them to go around. A tool to measure collection and acquisition is the ExC3EL Rubric (Florida Department of Education, n.d.).

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  • The school library maintains a vibrant Web presence, which provides access to a wide variety of digital resources that have been carefully created or selected, and vetted according to the district and school collection development policies.

Dover Elementary School’s library does not have its own unique website. It has a standard web page that is the same as every other school website in Hillsborough County. The school’s website is here: http://dover.mysdhc.org/. The library has one page that has a picture of the librarian and some links to online databases like CyberCat. It’s boring. No student knows how to get to it, and if they do, they’ll immediately exit. There is nothing eye-catching about the library’s website. The resources listed have been vetted by the district: the only ones on the website are the standard ones that every student has to use. The library’s website is one area that I can really see the potential for expansion. A tool that can be used for the website is Google Analytics. It’s a website plugin that tracks the number of visitors and how long they stay. Just making a website and recording how changes and additions draw students to the site would go a long way in improving the library’s web presence.

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EXPLORE 

  • The school librarian creates an environment that is conducive to active and participatory learning, resource based instructional practices, and collaboration with teaching staff.

Dover Elementary School’s librarian does a great job of encouraging participatory learning. The best example of this is how she and the computer teacher host the school science fair in the library every year. They go out of their way to help the kids prepare and get them excited about science. The projects are displayed in the library where all the students and teachers can see them. They work with the teaching staff to bring the science fair to life and the quality of the projects and the smiles on the kids’ faces reflect how well they do that. EBP can be a tool to measure the success of the science fair by evaluating how much the librarian’s help and encouragement correlate with more prizes won by the kids (Todd, 2008).

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  • The school librarian evaluates, promotes, and uses existing and emerging technologies to support teaching and learning.

The school recently received smartboard for instructional use in classrooms, but the problem is that teachers don’t know how to use them, or how to use them effectively. That’s where the librarian comes in. Not only did she set up and troubleshoot the smartboards, but she also conducts training for the teachers on how to use them. Many of the teachers don’t even know the basics of what the boards can do. They rely on the librarian to help them. A tool to measure these instructional partnerships and professional development is the ExC3EL Rubric (Florida Department of Education, n.d.).

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ENGAGE 

  • Library personnel remain current and engage in continuing education activities to ensure instruction and activities reflect the most-recent developments in professional practices, information technologies, and educational research.

This is definitely true for Dover’s librarian. She goes to technology conferences and teacher training classes and brings back new ideas and teaching methods. She uses them in the library, like in finding new databases for students to use, and finding new programs to help teachers find resources for their lesson plans. A tool to measure professional development is the ExC3EL Rubric (Florida Department of Education, n.d.).

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  • The school librarian provides educators and other staff with learning opportunities related to new technologies, use, and production of a variety of media, and laws and policies regarding information.

When the librarian goes to conferences and trainings, she comes back and puts together PowerPoint presentations and teaches what she’s learned during school-wide meetings. Her lessons aren’t just about new technologies and how to use the technology they already have, but it’s also sometimes about new policies, especially at the beginning of the year. EBP can be used to measure the success of these lessons by recording how much help the teachers need with technology and policies as the year goes on (Todd, 2008).

 

 

 

References

Department of Justice. (2010, September 15). 2010 ADA Standards for Accessible Design. Available: https://www.ada.gov/regs2010/201n.d.AStandards/2010ADAStandards.pdf

Florida Department of Education. (n.d.). ExC3EL - Evaluation Rubric. Available: http://www.fldoe.org/core/fileparse.php/7564/urlt/evaluationrubric.pdf

Todd, R. (2008). The evidence-based manifesto for school librarians. School Library Journal. Available: http://www.slj.com/2008/04/sljarchives/the-evidence-based-manifesto-for-school-librarians/

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