In November 2007, three moms from Spokane, Washington — Lisa Layera Brunkan, Susan McBurney, and Denette Hill – were concerned about the impending cuts to their children’s school library programs. They organized rallies and discussed the importance of quality school libraries. After they founded Fund Our Future Washington, the trio, along with numerous supporters, successfully lobbied the Washington State legislature and the final budget included $4 million dollars (2008).

This success story reinforces the importance of funding school libraries and teaching information literacy skills in context through Big6 strategies. However, policy makers want research to support the exact impact of these skills on student learning. In a recent literature review on the impact of integrated information literacy skills on K-12 student learning, I found a paucity of research specifically regarding information literacy skills and student learning, but an abundance of studies on how school libraries impact student learning.

K-12 Information Literacy Research – Todd

One prominent information literacy skills researcher is Dr. Ross Todd, Associate Professor at the School of Communication, Information & Library Studies and Director of the Center for International Scholarship in School Libraries at Rutgers University. In his 1991-1992 study of 7-12 graders at Marist Sisters’ college in Sydney Australia, he found that, “integrated information skills instruction appears to have had a significant positive impact on students’ mastery of prescribed science content and on their ability to use a range of information skills to solve particular information problems” (1995). Todd’s research indicated that information literacy skills had an influence in the following areas:

• perception of self as a learner;
• process of learning;
• view of information;
• learning outcomes; and
• the learning environment.

Some results indicated that students with successful information skills had enhanced self-esteem and more positive attitudes. These students:

• managed a large quantity of information;
• viewed information from a more global perspective;
• expressed more precisely what they learned;
• desired further learning; and
• worked in an atmosphere of respect and collaboration (1995).

However, in Integrated Information Skills Instruction, Todd states that because “available studies have tended to focus on the library skills of locating and selecting resources within the narrow context of the school library and often isolated from a specific curriculum context, there are real difficulties in making any generalizations beyond the immediate research setting” (1996). This indicates a need for further research studies in multiple curriculum contexts.

K-12 Information Literacy Research – Lance/Loertscher

Keith Curry Lance has led several state research studies on how school libraries impact student learning. In Powering Achievement: School Library Media Programs Make a Difference, Lance and Loertscher explain that, “learners who are exposed to integrated information literacy instruction as part of their research projects in the library media centers score higher on academic achievement tests” and “in schools with a rich information-technology environment, learners score higher on academic achievement tests” (2005, p 34 & p 37).

Impact of School Libraries on Student Learning

In Powering Achievement, Lance and Loertscher also provide an overview on the myriad research studies on school libraries and student learning. One of the first major studies was the 1993 Colorado Research Study, The Impact of School Library Media Centers on Academic Achievement, which revealed that:

• Students at schools with better-funded library media centers tend to achieve higher average test scores.
• The extent of a library media program, as indicated by the number of staff and size of the collection, is the best school predictor of academic achievement.
• Students whose library media specialist played an instructional role tend to achieve higher average test scores (1994).

Since the first Colorado research study, there have been studies in 17 states with similar results. In “Facts at a Glance: The School Library Media and Achievement” Judith Dzikowski summarizes important similar findings in studies from 1998-2005. Her findings include:

• School library media specialists exert positive and significant effect on academic achievement;
• School library media program funds must support instructional technology, collection development and staffing; and
• Access to the School Library Media Center must be frequent, consistent and flexible (2006).

The Importance of Advocacy

Three moms were successful advocates for Washington school libraries. With shrinking school and library budgets, librarians too will need to become advocates for their own library programs by providing evidence of how vigorous school library programs result in positive student learning outcomes.

Library instruction programs need to include information literacy instruction as well as problem-solving research skills. Formal comprehensive research about information literacy is scarce, however research about the benefits of school libraries is more plentiful. Information literacy instruction often takes place in school libraries, therefore by supporting school libraries, we support information literacy instruction.

Here are several relevant resources about school library research and student learning research that will aid your library advocacy initiatives.

1. Library Research Service Brochure — Library Research Service has a brochure to summarize the key findings from research studies conducted during 1998-2005.

2.“Facts at a Glance: The School Library Media and Achievement” — includes a historical timeline, a list of studies, making sense of the data, key common findings, and nine information literacy standards for student learning. Because it highlights the studies’ main findings, it is readable and would be useful in presentations to PTAs, school boards and lawmakers.

3. Library Research Service School Library Impact Studies — has several advocacy documents and PowerPoint presentations. These resources include: Analyzing Relationships Between School Libraries and Academic Achievement, Powering Achievement: How School Librarians Impact Academic Achievement and Scientifically-Based Research on the Impact of School Libraries on Academic Achievement.

4. Powering Achievement: School Library Media Programs Make a Difference by Keith Lance and David Loertscher describes school library research studies.

5. LMC Source Presentations — Choose between one minute, five minute, or fifteen minute PowerPoint presentations from the LMC Source website to prepare presentations to PTAs, school boards and lawmakers. Use the discussion starters to initiate focus group discussions, and read facts from the 14 research studies for good background information.

Works Cited

Dzikowski, J. (2006). “Facts at a glance: The school library media and achievement.” School Library Systems Administration of New York. Retrieved May 25, 2008 from http://lrs.org/documents/lmcstudies/student_achievement_2006.pdf

Lance, K. (1994). “The impact of school library media centers on academic achievement.” School Library Media Quarterly. 22(3). Retrieved May 23, 2008 from http://www.ala.org/ala/aasl/aaslpubsandjournals/slmrb/editorschoiceb/infopower/selectlancehtml.cfm

Lance, K. and Loertscher, D. (2005). Powering achievement: School library media programs make a difference. Salt Lake City, Utah: Willow Research and Publishing.

“Spokane Moms Win State Funding for School Libraries.” (2008). American Library Association. Retrieved July 21, 2008 from http://www.ala.org/ala/alonline/currentnews/newsarchive/2008/march2008/momswin.cfm

Todd, R. J. (1995). “Information literacy: Philosophy, principles, and practice.” School Libraries Worldwide. 1(1). 54-68. Retrieved May 24, 2008 from Wilson Web Online Journal.

Todd, R. J. (1996). “Integrated information skills instruction: Does it make a difference?” School Library Media Quarterly. 23(2). Retrieved May 23, 2008 from http://www.ala.org/ala/aasl/aaslpubsandjournals/slmrb/editorschoiceb/infopower/selecttoddhtml.cfm