School Librarians and Evidence-Based Practice

There's a very interesting article in School Library Journal about how school librarians should move from explaining what we do (how many class visits, how many books checked out, etc.) to showing the impact we have on students. How do we document learning outcomes? How do we make sure our limited time and energy goes into the kinds of activities that really help students learn?

I'm thinking about how I can do that more in my own library. The standardized tests our students take are not necessarily geared toward measuring information literacy skills, though I have noticed several questions on the English/Language Arts tests about Web sites, so maybe I could look at student responses to those questions. (I could write volumes on whole issue of standardized testing, of course).

Sometime it bothers me that we as teacher-librarians constantly have to prove our worth. So many studies have come out showing that school libraries have a positive influence on student learning. Why do we always have to justify our very existence? Rarely is there a study announcing that students learn more math when they attend a school that employs math teachers. Unfortunately, at least in California, school librarians are seen as "extra", and often the first to go when the inevitable budget crunch hits. It can be a bit depressing to be part of a profession where advocacy sometimes seems more pressing than our actual jobs.

So it's exciting to see that perhaps we are moving on now, from "librarians are a good thing" to "okay, what do we do that specifically increases student learning?". What are the instructional practices that will really help my students learn?

The School Library Journal article lists these questions:

1. How do school libraries impact student learning? How do they help students learn?
2. Do students who have been taught information skills perform better academically?
3. How do we ensure that our school libraries are sustainable and accountable—in infrastructure, personnel, resources, and instructional processes—so that optimal student outcomes are achieved?
4/ How do we spread the word about the impact of school libraries on student achievement and demonstrate their educational, social, and cultural value?

I am interested in the answers to the first two questions. The second two go back to, again, teacher-librarians trying to justify their existence. But if the answers to the first two show that we are improving student learning and performance, maybe that will eliminate the need for questions 3 and 4? We can only hope.