advocacy+through+statistics,+research,+and+major+reports

Many teacher-librarians, and in particular district teacher-librarian supervisors, have the opportunity to engage in presentations or produce brochures, newsletters, and other communications advocating for the existence of or the reinvention of the library/media center/learning commons' contribution to teaching and learning. They art.' often the ones who tell the stories of the impact of the library/media center/learning commons. Where do teacher-librarians find the major documents, research, and statistics on which to build the talking points they need to advocate for library media programs? Here is our review and checklist of major sources, Check our list against your own so you can build your own set of sources. [|FEDERAL STATISTICS] The best guide to federal statistics is produced by the Colorado State Library at [|www.lrs.org]. Under School Libraries is the tab for national statistics, which leads to [|www.lrs.org/school/national.php]. Federal statistics on school libraries are collected periodically and take some time to be issued to the general public, making current trends difficult to document. However, they do constitute a random sample and are carefully gathered, forming the basis of federal policy. [|TECHNOLOGY SURVEYS] A very large annual survey is conducted by Project Tomorrow known as Speak Up: [|www.tomorrow.org]. Here you can find annual surveys of students, teachers, parents, and school administrators on the state of technology in their schools. Results can be found both nationally and by state. And, your school can participate in the survey each year. Check out the handbook for collecting statistics about technology developed by the federal government at []. [|AASL ANNUAL SURVEY] "School Libraries Count!" is the name of the annual survey conducted by the AASL at [|www.ala.org/ala/mgrps/divs/aasl/schlibrariesandyou/slcsurvey.cfm]. Reports and invitations to participate are at this location including the findings of the previous two annual studies. [|STATE STATISTICS] Check with your state for surveys and statistics they have collected about school libraries and technology. For example. California State has an annual survey of school libraries Dr. Douglas Achterman (lecturer at San Jose State University and library media teacher at San Benito High School in Hollister. CA), just used to complete his study of the link between California school libraries and achievement. A few state efforts are listed at [|www.lrs.org/school/other.php]. [|OTHER MAJOR DOCUMENTS] • The Pew Trust, www.pewtrusts.org, conducts many surveys about education, teens and technology, and other national policy issues, You can search their documents library for reports and news articles. • Route 21. Also check the Partnership for 21st-Century Learning at their Route 21 web site for valuable reports: see [|www.21stcenturyskills.org/route21]. • Research studies linking school libraries to achievement. Check out the list at [|www.lrs.org/impact.php]. • And finally! Follow the Obama administration's initiatives on education through AASL, IStE, the Pew Trust, Education Week, and the U.S. Department of Education news sources. And after you have perused all these sites, visit the Teacher Librarian wiki and share your stories: [|http://fundourfuturestories.pbwiki.com] 12966115001296611500 By David Loertscher