In "Empowering Learners: Guidelines for School Library Programs" (2009), the American Association of School Librarians (AASL) identified the instructional partner role of school librarians as the most critical role for the future of the profession. To determine the extent to which school librarian preparation programs prepare pre-service…

Many scholarly studies investigating school library services provided to students with special needs primarily address aspects of collaboration with special education (SPED) teachers in an immersed school environment. Scarcely studied are ways that school library programs (SLPs) empower students in schools serving only students with a specific…

This article discusses the results of an exploratory research project in which library and information studies (LIS) faculty and education faculty were asked about their views on teaching pre-service school librarians and teachers 21st Century Skills (as defined by the Partnership for 21st Century Skills) and librarian-teacher collaboration.…

This paper seeks to expand our understanding of how educators, and in particular school librarians, acquire and use professional-practice knowledge. This exploratory study, grounded in "lived practice" (Spillane, Hunt, and Healey, 2009) uses reflective analysis to amplify competencies and skill development in pre-service school library education.…

This paper reports an exploratory investigation of the information-literacy levels of primary 5 students in Hong Kong. Factors such as gender and reading ability were also examined. Primary 5 students from four local schools completed a fourteen-item information-literacy assessment (ILA), which was adopted and modified from questions on the…

The number of U.S. school librarians has greatly diminished despite advocacy efforts on the local and national level. This case study investigated the factors that led governing board members in a mid-size urban high school district to retain certified school librarian positions despite a major economic crisis. Data were collected through school…

This research describes the results of a cross-case analysis of four individual case studies at schools having nationally recognized school library programs. The focus of the study is on the culture of the school as an organization and its effect on establishing an effective school library program. The purpose of the study was to identify cultural…

A qualitative case study highlighting one rural Iowa elementary school provided insight into the issue of small schools without library programs as they are preparing to meet the Iowa reinstatement of the requirement for school library programs. The site was purposefully chosen because it has been operating without a school library program or…

Two Heads Are Better than One: The Factors Influencing the Understanding and Practice of Classroom-Library Collaboration proposed to identify the factors involved in educating future K-8 classroom teachers about collaboration for instruction with school library media specialists (SLMSs). This longitudinal study monitored the growth of teacher…

High school students often use online databases and the Internet in the school library media center (SLMC) to complete teachers' assignments. This case study used a survey to assess teachers' awareness of electronic resources, and to determine whether their directions influence student use of these resources in the SLMC. Participants were teachers…

Discusses student research, information literacy and research skills, and the role of inquiry in the research process. Presents a case study of a middle school science fair project that examined what students should accomplish in their research and what the role of stakeholders is, including teachers, parents, and school library media specialists.…

Discussion of the Big Six information skills model focuses on a case study that examines the effect of Big6 on a class of eighth-grade students doing research on the African-American Civil Rights movement. Topics include information problem solving; metacognition; scaffolding; and Big6 as a metacognitive scaffold. (Author/LRW)

Reports on a case study that focused on journal writing as a means of deepening elementary school students' cognitive and affective awareness of the information search process. Describes the research team that conducted the research and the impact of journal writing on the school library media specialist's reflective practices. (Author/LRW)

This case study documents the initial implementation of "Information Power: Building Partnerships for Learning" that was developed by the American Association of School Librarians in 1998. Discusses introduction of the new guidelines to library media specialists, administrators, and classroom teachers, and describes the collaborative integration…