With only 60% of secondary level U.S. school librarians having a library website, and a mere 10% of those having more than an OPAC (Chu, 2013), few American students have a familiarity with library resources or a genuine understanding of information literacy. So how are U.S. secondary school librarians utilizing websites, what guidelines are in place to assist in the creation of these sites, and how are students and teachers currently using these sites as a resource in their researching endeavors? The U.S. Department of Education reports that currently there are over 17.7 million students enrolled in post-secondary education and a projected 20.2 million students will be enrolled by 2023; having an understanding of how to best prepare them to responsibly pursue information in their secondary education endeavors is important. (U.S. Department of Education Institute of Education Sciences National Center for Education Statistics, 2014). Teachers and students have difficulty keeping up with the changes in technology, and researching is difficult for both groups as well, but especially students. They struggle with framing questions for inquiry, knowledge of how to use online catalogs and databases, they struggle in the use of web search tools, and their web site evaluation skills are also limited (Harris, et al., 2003). “Without exception,” reports Harris (2003), “…library media specialists make a difference that affects student achievement on standardized tests” (Harris, Arp, & Woodward, 2003, p. 220). EBSCO (2014) concurs; they’re in the midst of a study on high school students working with librarians to use databases and how that affects their academic growth in high school and beyond. They too are finding that when students have access to help from the librarian, it makes a difference in their academic growth before and after graduation (Barack, 2014). There’s no question that librarians make a difference in student achievement, but what about their websites? Do those make a difference for student achievement as well? A review of the existing literature and research finds that there is little consensus as to what should be included on a library’s web page; many school library sites have OPAC and little else (Baumbach, 2005). School librarians are surprisingly slow to embrace this tool, and though school libraries have been online for nearly two decades, still few “media specialists” are designing and utilizing web sites as a teaching and curation tool for their secondary school libraries. In 1996, 1999, and 2002 an analysis comparing 50 school library websites was completed by Clyde (2004); he concluded that the primary changes found in these sites involved the access provided to electronic resources like the online information services as well as the library catalogs of the school and those of other libraries - little change for a six year interim. Specifically, he felt the sites were developed without attention to their intended uses and audiences, and this prevented them from being especially useful. Librarians and their sites are synergistic Many librarians who have websites use them as a signifier that their library is technologically current. However, the literature asserts “information-literate students are products of a coherent information literacy curriculum that features a process approach, course-integrated instruction, inquiry-based learning, and collaboration between teachers and media specialists” (Harris et al., 2003, p 219). Additionally, it has been found that the library is no longer a place to work passively, nor is it a place where you only work within the walls of the facility (Todd, 2009). The introduction of online resources has drawn adolescents in like moths to a flame, and if schools don’t teach them how to properly find information, they’ll resort to Google (Barack, 2014). This is nothing new; Chu (2013) reported findings from a study completed in 2008 when 939 high school freshmen in five Washington (state) schools were surveyed about their information-seeking behaviors. The study found that, although students flocked to the internet for their school research, they weren’t using databases unless their assignment required it. Herring (2011) offers specific advice on how to fight this battle. He espouses that first and foremost should be a focus on student needs, and then to get even more explicit: check | that the website is suitable for individual groups of students (e.g. 10th graders) with specific reading levels who are studying particular topics. It should also suit the purpose of the teacher(s), motivate and challenge students to explore issues in more depth, and offer extension activities (exercises for students who finish early or who are advanced or struggling and need additional/alternative assignments). Lastly, he discusses the importance of having a valid and reliable site; it should not be too technologically complex that users of the site cannot easily navigate it. A Model To help combat the doldrums of digital resources past, Chu (2013) suggests that the librarian’s reach should extend to students and teachers alike and offer asynchronous learning through the traditional functions of reference and instructional support. Her suggestions in creating high-quality library websites are directly linked to following Kazanawa’s CIRRI model: Core contents such as the library address and hours; Information access such as links to the online catalog and database systems; Research tools such as those teaching students citation and writing; Reference support for students to learn about the library and how to locate resources; and Instructional support offering library guidance on class projects and assignments (Chu p. 393). In addition, Chu adds one more category: “D” for dynamic tools and library news information, so her model becomes CIRRID. Subsequently, every site should be consistently created and contain elements of each of these categories. Conclusion The creation of a high-quality library website is a time-consuming process, however, it has the benefit of offering users the ability to independently complete a plethora of tasks, and some studies show that students’ test scores are increased and academic performance in high school and college is improved through the use of this resource. In short, all secondary school librarians should be utilizing a website as a tool to provide resources and practice with academic research to their faculty and students. References
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by G.Kirchmyer
by Ginger Kirchmyer
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