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Discusses criteria for evaluating school library information services. Highlights include types of services; physical facilities; library usage; circulation statistics; changes due to technology; fill rate, or the percentage of successful searches for library materials; OPAC (online public access catalog) reports; observation; and examining student work. (LRW)

This exploratory study investigated supports and services academic libraries currently provide that assist in the fulfillment of information needs. Utilizing wayfinding, think-aloud protocol (TAP), retrospective think-aloud protocol (RTAP), and a GoProTM camera, the actions, thoughts, and feelings of an autistic college freshman and a neurotypical peer were recorded as they navigated their campus library in search of materials. The library website, virtual maps to resource locations, and library workers served equally as enablers and barriers to both students in their information seeking. This proof-of-concept study demonstrates that participant viewpoint ethnography is a viable methodology that can be applied in school library research, with specific adaptations and examples provided. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Germany proposed and implemented various educational reforms in reaction to the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) 'shock' of 2000 when the country's scores were unexpectedly low. Professional library associations [...]

This issue is a wonderful mashup of research reports, literature reviews, research in progress and think pieces. Mary Ann Harlan asks us to contemplate the many questions that structure our [...]

With 1 in 68 children in the United States currently being diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD; Baio, 2014), the potential for school librarians to interact with individuals with ASD [...]

As researchers and practitioners in our field, we most often focus on the results of studies rather than on the methods that produced those results or the theories that support [...]

My husband Harry has been blogging for over ten years. It's his hobby and his 1000+ readers enjoy his writing style about topics that interest him like electric cars, Florida [...]

Through use of two prepared surveys, Power Reader and Power Learner (from the Information Power Action Research Project by the American Association of School Librarians (AASL) Research and Statistics Committee), high school students can track their library skill growth during a research project and report and reflect on their reading accomplishments. Using surveys has resulted in positive attitudes toward the school library program. (AEF)

WORKSHEET Title of Web Site: URL: Directions: Use your judgment in allotting points for the various categories. Total the points for score. Currency (0 to 15 _____ Treatment (0 to [...]

The lure of the story is what often attracts us to the profession of school librarianship. Early childhood memories of hearing stories at bedtime and around the campfire, being read [...]

Meta-ethnography is an interpretive method that provides a way to synthesize the findings of two or more qualitative studies concerning a similar research question or topic. Going beyond the traditional literature review, which looks at individual studies, meta-ethnography facilitates generalizations through extracting concepts, metaphors, and themes. This paper provides a thorough description of the seven steps of meta-ethnography as defined by Noblit and Hare (1988). Implications for this method and the field of Library and Information Science (LIS), especially in the area of theory building, are discussed. Appropriate examples of actual and potential applications within LIS and related disciplines are given to illustrate the potential for the meta-ethnographic method. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Presents a worksheet for evaluating Web pages that awards points for various categories including currency, content, authority, navigation, experience, multimedia, treatment, and access. (LRW)

State Mandates for Teacher-librarians With Ratios of Students Per Teacher-librarian STUDENTS STATE STATE PER TL MANDATE MANDATE IS ... North Dakota 312 NO Arkansas 437 YES Full-time in all schools [...]