We still need 1000 more school libraries to complete the School Libraries Count survey for this year! Please post on your state and your district school libraries list and ask that others step up.
Offer to help if you can. Remember that for the first time, researchers will be able to request data from SLC for research purposes, but it just won't work if the pile can't be sliced and diced. In other words, comparing middle schools in your state against
middle schools in another state can't be done unless there are enough middle schools in each state to make a statistically significant sample. The same is true for any comparison. This is just a great opportunity to show how your school matches up.
I know it may not be the most fun thing you have done all year, and crunching numbers is never a great way to spend a lovely spring afternoon. As chair of the AASL Research and Statistics committee,
I want to see SLC data being used for dissertations and research articles, but rigorous research protocols demand a strong data pool, systematically collected. Make your voice heard, and use your personalized report to advocate for stronger budgets, more
resources, and maybe even more staff.
Gail
Gail Dickinson, Associate Professor
249-6 Education Building
Old Dominion University
Norfolk, VA 23529
757-683-6683