Maine West High School Library Resource Center 1755 South Wolf Road, Des Plaines, Illinois 60018  847.827.6176
	A National School Library Media Program of the Year
	Librarians: Mrs. G. Haan and Mrs. L. Ryan
LRC Home Faculty and Resources Maine West Strong School Libraries and the Student Achievement Connection Why Care About School Libraries? A multitude of evidence strongly supports the connection between student achievement and the presence of school libraries with qualified school library media specialists. When library media specialists work with teachers to support learning opportunities with books, computer resources, and more, students learn more, get better grades, and score higher on standardized test scores than their peers in schools without good libraries. Libraries Work! National Commission on Libraries and Information Science. 2006. New York: Scholastic Library Publishing. Top What is a qualified school library media specialist? A qualified school library media specialist is one who has completed the Illinois professional education requirements for a type 10 certificate with school library media endorsement. More than the minimum: West librarians each have a Master of Library Science and Master of Educational Administration degrees with Type 10 and Type 75 certifications and 29 total years experience in school libraries. Roles and Responsibilities of the School Library Media Specialist Teacher w Instructional Partner w Information Specialist w Program Administrator Top The School Library and Standardized Tests Well funded and well staffed school library programs positively affect student achievement. As evidenced by a growing body of research, in particular “School Libraries Make Powerful Learners”, a study of Illinois school libraries by Keith Curry Lance, exemplary school libraries raise ACT scores. Lance has proven the library-student achievement connection in other state studies as well. http://www.alliancelibrarysystem.com/illinoisstudy/ Top Certified School Library Media Specialists and School Libraries Are Vital to High Achieving Schools Direct correlation can be made between student achievement and school library programs led by library media specialists whose dual teaching certification uniquely qualifies them to… • Provide leadership in the school for achieving school Mission, Objectives, and Strategies • Provide intellectual and physical access to: information in print and media resources; and information technologies, either local or Web-based • Collaborate with teachers to meet the information needs of students and provide resources and activities for course, unit, and lesson integration • Teach information skills and assist teachers and students to search out their information needs, critically evaluate the materials they locate, and use technological means to synthesize their findings into new knowledge • Organize and maintain a collection of valuable resources • Promote reading advocacy by matching students and books … Excerpted from: Woolls, Blanche. (2004). The School Library Media Manager, 3rd Edition. Westport, CT: Libraries Unlimited Top Created by G. Haan, Lead Librarian, Updated January 17, 2006