Pin-Fang Tseng
Ph.D. of Graduate Institute of Library & Information Science, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan (R.O.C.)
E-mail: rosemary8311@gmail.com
Hsueh-Hua Chen
Professor of Graduate Institute of Library & Information Science, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan (R.O.C.)
E-mail: sherry@ntu.edu.tw
Keywords: School Library; School Library Guideline; School Library Standard
【Abstract】
The study investigated 12 U.S. school library standards adopted between 1920 to 2018 and employed historical‐comparative method to analyze and compare the similarities and differences between these standards. On the basis of the study results, this study made recommendations to enhance the standards and management of school libraries in Taiwan. For standards, the following recommendations are proposed: (a) Reflecting the orientation of standards from the enhancing of teaching and learning to highlight the educational function of school libraries; (b) official websites should provide open access resources related to standards; and (c) standards should be comprehensive and specific according to actual practice. For management, the following recommendations are suggested: (a) school library operations should be learning‐oriented, developing the professional knowledge of school librarians; (b) the application of information technology should be oriented toward division of labor and integrated services; (c) partnership levels and reciprocal strategies should be strengthened; and(d) learning content areas should be integrated to facilitate the multiple literacies of learners.
【Long Abstract】
Introduction
School library standards or guidelines are a set of methods implemented to evaluate and enhance the effectiveness of school library programs. These standards not only guide and strengthen the development
DOI: 10.6245/JLIS.201910_45(2).0002
of school librarianship, but also serve as critical measures that can be used to evaluate the development of school librarianship in a region or country. Examining school library standards helps one understand the nature of school libraries and identifying the relationships between school library-related concepts are key parts of complete school librarianship. Hence, such explorations are considered fundamental research in school librarianship.
To promote the development of school libraries, numerous countries have endeavored to research and formulate standards. In particular, the United States is a country featuring school libraries with mature business development; it is also the birthplace of many school library-based business strategies and service concepts. With a development history spanning nearly a century, the wealth and novelty of school library standards in the United Sates are modern paradigms.
Accordingly, this study investigated 12 U.S. school library standards adopted between 1920 to 2018 and employed historical-comparative method to analyze and compare the similarities and differences between these standards in terms of their content characteristics. Such similarities and differences were used to reveal reasons behind the overall changes in school library standards. Through observing the development and amendments of these standards, this study identified related concepts and strategies that it used to propose recommendations for people who set school library standards and library administrators in Taiwan.
Research Methods
This study first adopted four-step procedure, namely time-series description, combinational explanation, conceptual juxtaposition, and context comparison of the historical-comparative research. Next, historical data of school library standards from the American Association of School Librarians were collected, followed by the original literature of the 12 standards being obtained from the collection of the libraries of National Taiwan University and National Taiwan Normal University.
Subsequently, a SMILE labeling system was established on the basis of time-series description and combinational explanation. The system identified the following development stages: the school library–centered stage from the 1920s to the 1950s; the media-oriented stage from the 1960s to 1970s;
the information-enhanced stage from the 1980s to the 1990s; and the learner-empowered stage from 2000 to 2018. The SMILE system highlighted content characteristics of the four development stages, including school library–centered, media-oriented, information-enhanced, and learner--empowered.
Finally, a concepts package was used to construct a COPE comparison module for the conceptual juxtaposition and context comparison steps. There are four dimensions in the COPE module, namely
claim, operation, partnership, and empowering instruction and learning which extracted concepts from historical data by bottom-up process in the 12 school library standards.
Results
Regarding the claim dimension, the information-enhanced stage marked a turning point in the development of school library standards in the US. Prior to this stage, such development emphasized collection guidelines of library data and media that adopted a quantitative management approach. Following this stage, the development focus shifted toward cultivating students’ information literacy and related abilities through employing a qualitative learning-oriented approach. In response to changes over time, the objectives and content frameworks of the standards were amended in various stages. Nevertheless, these standards shared common objectives regarding resource provision, reading promotion, teaching support, and learner guidance.
Regarding the operation dimension, the standards in each stage required all schools to hire a sufficient number of professional librarians. Integrating the multiple roles of librarians enabled them to fully utilize their professional knowledge and skills. The focus of the standards shifted from the construction of basic library facilities to school teaching and learning, thereby enhancing the education function of libraries.
The focus of media technology shifted from nonbook materials to online resources as well as from audiovisual services to digital services, thereby promoting student learning.
Regarding the partnership dimension, various partnership initiatives were proposed from the school library–centered stage onward. Throughout the years of amendments, partnerships were emphasized in each stage in all standards. On campus, teacher–student collaborations were extended to learning communities, whereas off campus, public libraries and online communities required that librarians possessed leadership ability to plan partnership mechanisms, thereby developing stable partnerships in an ever-changing era.
Regarding the empowering instruction and learning dimension, the standards in each stage all emphasized the promotion of reading activities. The common promotion strategies were that libraries should provide rich reading materials, sufficient reading opportunities, favorable reading environments, and effective book displays. Changes in the focus of library instruction were observed during the first two development stages; specifically, printed reading materials were replaced with the use of audiovisual media, and an emphasis was placed on how to enhance students’ information evaluation ability. Amendments during the last two development stages focused on information literacy education. Information literacy standards and learner standards were proposed respectively in the last two development stages to improve students’
information literacy and multiple literacy as well as for planning more effective school library services.
Conclusion
This study drew the following four conclusions according to the results: (1) The objectives under the claim dimension changed from resource management to information applications; the content frameworks changed from management- to learning-oriented; and the overall approach changed from quantitative to qualitative. (2) The operation dimension emphasizes librarians’ professionalism and asserts that each school should assign at least one full-time librarian. Librarians should possess knowledge in library science and education, and furthermore, they should enhance media technology and integrate online resources into teaching.
(3) On-campus partnerships have evolved to learning communities, and off-campus partnerships have evolved to collaborations with online communities. Librarians’ leadership ability is the key to maintaining and creating collaborative relationships. (4) The focus on empowering instruction and learning has shifted from reading instructions and library orientation to information literacy and multiple literacy. Compound standards are being formulated for learners, librarians, and libraries that can serve as a reference for course development, teaching design, and library management.
According to the aforementioned conclusions, this study proposed the following three recommendations for school library standards in Taiwan. First, standards should be oriented toward teaching and learning promotion. Resources should be provided according to learners’ needs, which would highlight the contribution of school libraries to education. Second, the official open access website should be established to compile related data for research and applications, thereby enhancing the convenience and practicability of school libraries. Finally, library standards should be adjusted to cover all types of school libraries and different levels of users to actual practice.
In addition, this study provided several recommendations for school library management in Taiwan: (1) Library management policies should be oriented toward student development to cultivate human resources with expertise and skills. (2) Labor division should be applied to library management in terms of information technology; for example, the central competent authorities, local government, and schools of each level should be assigned different tasks for implementing and managing information technology in libraries to ensure that students receive the benefits of educational technology in daily learning. (3) To establish partnerships, school librarian should adopt strategies that focus on collaborations between school divisions of various levels as well as reciprocal partnerships with off-campus collaborators to create win–win situations.
(4) Librarians should conduct collaborative teaching with teachers from various fields to enhance students’
competencies and demonstrate the irreplaceable role of libraries in school education.
【Romanization of references is offered in the paper.】