Condensed Task Report on Study of Ohio Public School Library Services, Operations, and Facilities to Ohio Department of Education.

An attempt was made to assess Ohio public school libraries in terms of their facilities, equipment, materials, services, operations, and leadership. A review of the literature relevant to school library services was made. In addition, interviews were conducted with people knowledgeable in the library field. The questionnaires were sent to librarians and teachers of 111 Ohio school districts, based on their size, economic condition, and geographic location. The quantitative results showed that many of the schools sampled did not meet all the minimum Ohio standards, and very few met all the standards of the American Library Association. A qualitative survey of the library services and their effectiveness, as well as the condition of the book collections and their current value to the educational programs, revealed even greater deficiencies. There were extremes of high and low resources in small schools as well as in medium-sized and large schools, whether they were elementary, junior high, or senior high schools. However, there was a tendency for the deficiencies to be greater in the elementary schools. Recommendations were made concerning a state-wide program of library development, library physical facilities, library materials, library programs, and library organization and operation. (CH)