[Libs-Or] School Library Staffing in Oregon, 1980-2011

Wed Nov 20 15:44:41 PST 2013

This has been a very interesting and enlightening conversation.
Unfortunately, I haven't observed that decision-makers for education care a
fig about studies. If they did, there wouldn't be a long summer vacation (I
mean, really, how many students are working in the fields during the
summer?) and classes for high school kids would start several hours later
in the day when they are more alert. We will all keep up the good fight,
but don't expect logic to prevail any time soon.

Valerie Hauser
Jefferson Public Library

On Wed, Nov 20, 2013 at 1:58 PM, Trott, Garrett <GTrott at corban.edu> wrote:

>  If I could add my two cents to this conversation…
>
>
>
> I work in an academic library at a private university, however I am also
> on my local school board – the North Santiam School District, which is
> comprised of Stayton, Sublimity, Mehama, and Lyons.  I will be the first to
> admit that school libraries are suffering, I completely agree with the
> stats.  However, the fact that they are struggling is just one part of the
> bigger picture.  Public schools, as a whole, are struggling financially.
> There are several reasons for this – stagnant property value (some of the
> income schools get is typically based on property taxes), mandated (and
> currently unfunded) all-day kindergarten approaching in 2015, disproportion
> of allocated funds, and PERS.  I am by no means an expert in any of these,
> nor am I suggesting that every school district manages their funds
> adequately, but schools are struggling financially to meet all the state
> and federal mandates (which again are often unfunded).  I am not suggesting
> that there is no correlation between a strong school library program and
> student success, but there are many issues that make a school successful,
> and when funding is short, what will take precedence in the mind of a
> school board member?  I think it would be a new classroom and a new teacher
> to lower student:teacher ratio (which I assume also has a high correlation
> with student success) – and makes more sense to someone not familiar with
> these studies that suggest the correlation between student success and
> libraries.
>
>
>
> It is our responsibility as librarians and as public citizens to educate
> our community on the value of libraries – public, academic, and K12.  If a
> lack of K12 librarians is an issue of concern the place where they need to
> be heard is at school district board meeting.  At our board meetings, we
> always have a platform for public participation – and we greatly value
> anybody who takes time out of a busy schedule to share their concerns.
> However, we rarely have anybody come to the platform to share a concern.
> Or an even better way to advocate for this in public schools is to run for
> a school board, or advocate for a person running who will support K12
> libraries.
>
>
>
> I do agree that funding needs to be increased for K12 libraries, but the
> public (including school board members) needs to be educated on the value
> libraries bring (including K12 libraries) to their learning communities.
>
>
>
> Thanks,
>
>
>
> Garrett Trott
> Reference/Instruction Librarian
> CORBAN UNIVERSITY
> 5000 Deer Park Drive SE
> Salem, Ore.
> Voice -- 503-589-8116
>
> Text/SMS -- 503-551-7690
> Fax -- 503-375-7196
> gtrott at corban.edu
>
> Web Site: www.corban.edu
>
>
>
> *From:* Libs-Or [mailto:libs-or-bounces at listsmart.osl.state.or.us] *On
> Behalf Of *Jennifer Maurer
> *Sent:* Wednesday, November 20, 2013 1:21 PM
>
> *To:* libs-or at listsmart.osl.state.or.us
> *Subject:* Re: [Libs-Or] School Library Staffing in Oregon, 1980-2011
>
>
>
> Yes, there have been a large number of school library impact studies that
> demonstrate positive correlations between student achievement and strong
> school library programs run by licensed librarians. Several sites are
> trying to collect them, including
> http://www.lrs.org/data-tools/school-libraries/impact-studies/.
>
> Oregon's study was done by Keith Curry Lance and two others in 2001. My
> favorite finding is this:
>
>     Whatever the current level of development of a school’s library media
> (LM) program, these findings indicate that incremental improvements
>     in its staffing, collections, and budget will yield incremental
> increases in reading scores (
> http://www.davidvl.org/LanceStudies/ORStudy.pdf).
>
> I've heard rumblings from OASL and others that maybe it's time for another
> Oregon study. In my personal opinion -- that of a school librarian who was
> RIFed from school library jobs two times in her first three years in Oregon
> because of budget cuts -- I'm not convinced that another study to show
> school and district administrators would convince them to change their
> minds. I lean towards trying to identify "new approaches that
> connect/resonate with our intended audience." All that being said, as the
> School Library Consultant, I'll support folks as I am able.
>
> Thanks,
> Jen
>
>
>
> Jennifer Maurer
> School Library Consultant
> Oregon State Library
> 250 Winter St NE
> Salem, OR 97301
> 503.378.5011
> jennifer.maurer at state.or.us
>     ------------------------------
>
> *From:* Libs-Or [libs-or-bounces at listsmart.osl.state.or.us] on behalf of
> Candice Watkins [CWatkins at clatsopcc.edu]
> *Sent:* Wednesday, November 20, 2013 10:42 AM
> *To:* Carol Dinges; Tony Greiner; libs-or at listsmart.osl.state.or.us
> *Subject:* Re: [Libs-Or] School Library Staffing in Oregon, 1980-2011
>
> There have been quite a few studies on this topic over the years. One of
> the most recent, very thorough, studies is the article, “Creating 21stcentury learners: A report on Pennsylvania’s public school libraries,”
> http://www.elc-pa.org/Creating21stCenturyLearners_LibraryDataReport.10.17.12.pdf.
> This study shows the dramatic correlation between a strong library program
> and student success, particularly between having a full time credentialed
> librarian on staff and increased test scores in reading and writing. This
> study was also one of the first, if not the first, to tie in and consider
> the Common Core Standards and AASL standards into the research.
>
>
>
> I read somewhere recently that since the 1960s, there have been 50 or so
> similar research studies done that show the strong correlation between
> professional K-12 librarians and student success. It is very frustrating
> that, as Carol points out, those that hold the purse strings, except in
> rare instances, do not seem to listen to this research. That said, it
> doesn’t mean that we should stop pursuing this avenue. Perhaps a new
> research study for Oregon is in order? We’ll also need to find new
> approaches that connect/resonate with our intended audience. That’s the
> trick is figuring out what those new approaches will look like.
>
>
>
> Just some of my thoughts on this issue. Thanks for bringing it up!
>
>
>
> Candice Watkins
>
> Library Director
>
> Clatsop Community College
>
>
>
>
>
> *From:* Libs-Or [mailto:libs-or-bounces at listsmart.osl.state.or.us<libs-or-bounces at listsmart.osl.state.or.us>]
> *On Behalf Of *Carol Dinges
> *Sent:* Wednesday, November 20, 2013 8:52 AM
> *To:* Tony Greiner; libs-or at listsmart.osl.state.or.us
> *Subject:* Re: [Libs-Or] School Library Staffing in Oregon, 1980-2011
>
>
>
> As one of the former school librarians, I used to feel optimistic that the
> indisputable research connecting academic achievement to students’ access
> to quality library programs staffed with licensed librarians would resonate
> with decision-makers.  Unfortunately, I no longer believe that legislators,
> school boards, and others who hold the power care at all about anything but
> cutting costs.  They may put on a show of concern for students’ learning
> opportunities – nodding like bobble-heads – but their actions indicate
> profound apathy.
>
>
>
> Carol Dinges
>
> Lebanon Public Library
>
>
>
> *From:* Libs-Or [mailto:libs-or-bounces at listsmart.osl.state.or.us<libs-or-bounces at listsmart.osl.state.or.us>]
> *On Behalf Of *Tony Greiner
> *Sent:* Tuesday, November 19, 2013 9:08 PM
> *To:* libs-or at listsmart.osl.state.or.us
> *Subject:* Re: [Libs-Or] School Library Staffing in Oregon, 1980-2011
>
>
>
> I would be very interesting to compare the horrendous decline in school
> librarians with the concomitant decline in SAT and OAKS scores. If it shows
> what I think it will show, that could be a real tool to getting librarians
> back in schools, books in kids hands, and more readers in the early grades.
>
>
>
> Tony
>
> **tony_greiner at hotmail.com**
>
> > From: libs-or-request at listsmart.osl.state.or.us
> > Subject: Libs-Or Digest, Vol 122, Issue 32
> > To: libs-or at listsmart.osl.state.or.us
> > Date: Wed, 24 Apr 2013 12:30:38 -0700
> >
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> > Today's Topics:
> >
> > 1. History of School Library Staffing in Oregon: 1980 to 2011
> > (Jennifer Maurer)
> >
> >
> > ----------------------------------------------------------------------
> >
> > Message: 1
> > Date: Wed, 24 Apr 2013 19:30:35 +0000
> > From: "Jennifer Maurer" <jennifer.maurer at state.or.us>
> > To: "'libs-or at listsmart.osl.state.or.us'"
> > <libs-or at listsmart.osl.state.or.us>
> > Subject: [Libs-Or] History of School Library Staffing in Oregon: 1980
> > to 2011
> > Message-ID:
> > <
> B60CC3E64AD0D941AA792F1955E3D5C337DF1A1C at OSLEXCHANGE.osl.state.or.us.local
> >
> >
> > Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"
> >
> > Please pardon the cross posting.
> >
> > The State Librarian has tracked the number of full-time equivalent (FTE)
> licensed school librarians employed in Oregon public schools since the
> 1980-81 school year. Recently we also started tracking the number of FTE
> school library support staff. For figures and a chart related to the
> 31-year span, see the attached PDF. Here is brief snapshot:
> >
> > School Year
> >
> > FTE Library Support Staff
> >
> > FTE Licensed Librarians
> >
> > Percent Change from 1980 to 2011
> >
> > No. of Students Per Licensed Librarian
> >
> > Percent Change from 1980 to 2011
> >
> > 1980-81
> >
> > n/a
> >
> > 818
> >
> > n/a
> >
> > 547
> >
> > n/a
> >
> > 2010-11
> >
> > 682
> >
> > 308
> >
> > n/a
> >
> > 1,822
> >
> > n/a
> >
> > 2011-12
> >
> > 697
> >
> > 203
> >
> > -75%
> >
> > 2,763
> >
> > +405%
> >
> >
> > The information comes from the Oregon Department of Education. As of the
> last few years, some of the figures were pulled from the Oregon Statewide
> Annual Report Card<http://www.ode.state.or.us/search/page/?id=1821>. Note
> that the staffing chart on PDF page 15 of the 2011-12 report card<
> http://www.ode.state.or.us/data/annreportcard/rptcard2012.pdf> (and for
> some previous years) combines figures for school library licensed and
> support staff. When we pointed out that this could be confusing since there
> is a separate row for support staff, ODE added a note to the bottom of the
> chart. We seek clarification from ODE staff about the separate figures for
> licensed versus support staff.
> >
> > Questions? Please ask.
> >
> > Thanks,
> > Jen
> >
> > Jennifer Maurer
> > School Library Consultant
> > Oregon State Library
> > 250 Winter Street NE
> > Salem, OR 97301
> > 503.378.5011
> > jennifer.maurer at state.or.us<mailto:jennifer.maurer at state.or.us>
> >
> > OSLIS || www.oslis.org
> > Learn to research. Research to learn.(c)
> >
> > [SLM20132border]
> >
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