CA Library Standards Unveiled
Report answers everything from collections to shelving space
By Debra Lau Whelan -- School Library Journal, 12/1/2004
The next time a media specialist in California has questions about collection development or information literacy, she can just thumb through the pages of "Standards and Guidelines for Strong School Libraries," a 92-page report recently released by the California School Library Association (CSLA).
The report, which took two years to complete, offers school librarians nine concrete standards for creating exemplary media centers, including everything from technology to resources to facilities. Not surprisingly, the report focuses on information-literacy skills and provides librarians with 12 detailed grids that help them evaluate students—as early as kindergarten—on their ability to locate resources, formulate questions, access and evaluate information, and develop meaningful theses.
"All principals and library media specialists have to do is look up the grade level to find what materials and skills to introduce," says Jo Ellen Priest Misakian, director of the school library media program at Fresno Pacific University and chair of the CSLA task force that created the guidelines. "It will also tell them when kids should master certain skills." Other key areas of the report offer recommendations on print and electronic resources, technology, research, and such basics as the best way to shelve library books.
Why did CSLA recruit dozens of volunteer media specialists, administrators, and district library coordinators to write the report? Because California, which does not mandate certified media specialists in any of its K–12 schools, only has state standards for curricula, but not for school libraries. "There was such a need for a document like this," Misakian says, adding that California only has one certified librarian for every 4,363 students. The report is also intended to enlighten administrators who don't understand the importance of library media programs on student achievement. "This will give them a chance to look at the document, assess where their school library program ranks, and provide a clear picture of what it takes to build a solid library program," Misakian says.
California now allocates $1.51 per student for school library materials, down from $28.80 per student in 1999. "It's up to us to promote this document so that administrators and key policymakers begin to care about school libraries," Misakian says. To purchase a copy of the report, visit www.schoolibrary.org/pub/other.htm.
