9: Internet

From Google, I searched for “international school libraries” (without the quotation marks). Even though my interest area is in the relationship of the school library to instruction, my aim is to work in an international school library. In an international school, the library should play a central role in teaching and learning, functioning as a “window” to the world for a school, an English-medium environment in a non-English-speaking country. Additionally, most of my teaching experience has been in international schools. They are usually vibrant places serving students of a number of different nationalities. The library I envision would be a central point for all members of the school community, including students, teachers, administrators and parents.

After searching Google and (oops!) misspelling the word “international” in my search term, the first hit I received was for the International Association of School Librarianship (IASL). (The results of this "fuzzy search" from Google are above. The "Did you mean...?" feature is very handy in retrieval.) Besides the word “international” in its title, IASL's mission statement was striking. Here it is in its entirety:

The Mission of IASL:
The mission of the International Association of School Librarianship (IASL) is to provide an international forum for those people interested in promoting effective school library media programs as viable instruments in the educational process. IASL also provides guidance and advice for the development of school library programs and the school library profession. IASL works in cooperation with other professional associations and agencies.

Membership is worldwide, and includes school librarians, teachers, librarians, library advisers, consultants, educational administrators, and others who are responsible for library and information services in schools. The membership also includes professors and instructors in universities and colleges where there are programmes for school librarians, and students who are undertaking such programmes.

IASL publishes School Libraries Worldwide, a refereed journal published twice a year. A quick look through its titles showed issues devoted to improving the role of the library in teaching and learning. While the publication may not deal solely with international school libraries, the librarian teaching and living outside of the U.S. would be able to read about libraries around the world and the challenges faced in different areas. The wide range of articles about international contexts does not rule out readership by librarians based in the U.S. Instead, the publication accepts articles about school libraries everywhere.

IASL also has an Advocacy page containing links to International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions (IFLA), International School Library Day, a host of resources for the school librarian, School Librarians Make a Difference (with different research on school libraries and their role in learning), and, finally, the UNICEF Rights of the Child. By following these links, the international school librarian—or, really, any school librarian—would receive ample information on topics pertinent to working with students and becoming a more active, informed instructional partner.

For a librarian already a member of the American Library Association and perhaps already a subscriber to the School Library Journal, joining IASL would be a perfect way to become more “international.”

8: Research Visuals

Unsure of what a Research Visual/Multimedia for an international school librarian interested in improving student learning would entail, I began my search at Google Images with the search terms “international school libraries” (without quotation marks). The second image on the first page of results was published on a blog. Further research revealed that the image belongs to the Australian School Library Association (ASLA). It is the top image on this page.

The image offers the perfect research visual because it places student learning at the center of a school library’s reason for existence. On the outer part of the circle, the library works in a cyclical manner to assess needs, conceive and deliver programs to address those needs, and evaluates the effectiveness of the programs delivered. As needs change, programs will change. Research in the form of a needs analysis for a particular international community could lead to the implementation of numerous programs, which could then be evaluated for their use and efficacy.

Additionally, the image contains four “tracks” surrounding and influencing the central core constituency of “learners and learning”: teachers and teaching, resourcing the curriculum, developing the physical environment, and providing access to information. Each of these areas offers a myriad of research opportunities. A quick scan of the titles of School Libraries Worldwide or School Library Journal articles and issue themes reveals a great deal of attention paid to these areas.

Copyright information: Australian School Library Association (ASLA), 2004. No further information was provided on the image, nor did the website mention any restrictions regarding the use of the image.

For the second image above, I used the search terms “international school libraries and instruction” (again without quotation marks) on Google Images. On the second page of results was a chart that had accompanied an article in the School Library Journal. Entitled “The SLJ Spending Survey” and written by Marilyn L. Shontz and Lesley S.J. Farmer, the article appeared in the January 1, 2007 issue and provides a snapshot of school libraries based on research conducted in the 2004-2005 academic year.

Pertinent to the digital age, Table 10 is based on research into school library computer use for teaching and learning. This research spurred thinking in two areas: how to assess computer use accurately and how to target certain areas, such as increasing the use of school-provided databases. Assessing computer use could be problematic in that student and teacher self-perceptions of their use of library computers may not correspond to their actual use. Additional instruments would have to be created to harvest more objective data.

As for the difference in the percentages of web searching and using school databases (82% and 39%, respectively), information received here would allow the librarian to begin designing and implementing programs to increase the use of school databases. If we combine this with the four “tracks” mentioned in the discussion of the first image above, it is possible to conclude that a small action research project would involve teachers and teaching, resourcing the curriculum and providing access to information.

Each of these visuals could form research areas for the school librarian, either for conducting his or her own original research or for accessing published research on these topics.

Copyright information:
Shontz, M.L. and Farmer, L.S.J. (January 1, 2007). The SLJ spending survey. School Library Journal. Retrieved March 21, 2009 from http://www.schoollibraryjournal.com/article/CA6403260.html.

7: Image

While searching for the reputable website connected to my interest area (Competency 9: Internet), I found the International Association of School Librarianship (IASL). That was actually the first hit after a search on Google. On its Advocacy page, there was a link to International School Library Day celebrated on the fourth Monday in October each year. Clicking on that link brought up this image.

Interestingly enough, as I researched more about this image through the IASL site and also on Google Images, there were numerous references to October as International School Library Month.

Day or month? Does it matter? Here, the concept matters, a day (or even a month) to celebrate school libraries around the world. In my international school, this celebration could take the form of displays, author visits, book talks, and activities to promote the use of the library as a research center. Since the date comes early in the school year, the library could begin planning for the month early. Having a month-long celebration would allow for a wider variety of activities and events.

With my interest area in influencing instruction through the library, I envision this event and the activities surrounding it as designed to place the library firmly in the minds of all international school constituents: students, teachers, administrators and parents.

As for the image itself, my interpretation is that the strands of different colors represent cultures or library stakeholders in an international school, joined at the center by the school library. That all of the strands “meet” at the center of a book binding could suggest that the library “holds everything together” on campus.

Whatever interpretation the image brings to mind, the key for the international school librarian—or for any librarian, for that matter—is to showcase the library as a partner in instruction to benefit students as well as the entire campus community.

Copyright Information: The International School Library Day logo was designed by Peter Rugendyke for the International Association of School Librarianship (IASL), the holder of the copyright. An exact copyright date was unavailable on the IASL website, although the logo was not used for the first International School Library Day announcement in 1999. It did appear on the 2006 online announcement. However, since there are no announcements after 1999 or before 2006, determining when it first appeared is difficult. The webpage with downloadable copies of the logo was last updated in 2003, so perhaps that provides a clue.