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Dear colleagues,

I am pleased to announce that School Libraries Worldwide Vol. 17, Number : School Library as Space, School Library as Place is now available online. School Libraries Worldwide is an international refereed scholarly journal of research relating to school librarianship.

The issue contents include:

Editorial -Reflections on School Library as Space, School Library as Place Marcia A Mardis

Against the Flow: A Continuum for Evaluating and Revitalizing School Libraries Elizabeth A. Lee and Don A. Klinger
School libraries face challenges as they strive to meet their changing roles in today’s schools. To remain relevant in the school, the teacher librarian must enhance the presence of the library within the school’s educational mission. Our research explored exemplary elementary school library programs, and we found that context was an essential component in determining the roles and relevance of the library in the school. Context was multifaceted and the interaction among factors facilitated or hindered the implementation of exemplary practices and explained variations. A continuum of school library structures and practices was developed to evaluate current school library programs in a more flexible manner than existing standards of practice.

The Potential and Possibilities for Utilizing Geographic Information Systems to Inform School Library as Place [public access article]
Melissa P. Johnston and Bradley W. Bishop
Teacher librarians often consider their students and the internal school environment in planning programs and services but ignore the larger community from which learners originate. The purpose of this study was to provide a review of the ongoing discussions related to the school library in the community context and provide implications for utilizing geographic information systems (GIS) to inform the idea of the “school library as place.” This preliminary exploration, a thematic literature review, indicated multiple possibilities for implementing GIS in school libraries that may enable teacher librarians to better facilitate students’ development of a sense of place, support their learning needs, and ensure that the community is reflected in the library collection and programs.

Year Seven Students, Concept Mapping and the Issues of Transfer James E. Herring
This paper focuses on the use of concept maps by year 7 students in three rural schools in New South Wales, Australia. The study examined the views of students, teachers and teacher librarians on the use of concept maps and the extent to which students would transfer concept mapping skills across time and across subjects. Grounded theory was used as the method for the study. Data was gathered via student diaries, questionnaires and interviews, and teacher and teacher librarian interviews. Data was analysed and interpreted using grounded theory techniques. Findings indicated that transfer was a complex issue for students and school staff.

Connecting British Columbia (Canada) School Libraries and Student Achievement: A Comparison of Higher and Lower Performing Schools with Similar Overall Funding Ken Haycock
Research over time has established associations between components of the school library and student achievement. This study was designed to investigate these associations in schools in British Columbia (Canada) where the government provides equitable funding of public schools while allowing individual school districts and schools to determine individual funding priorities. Findings replicated what numerous previous studies have shown: higher student standardized test scores were associated with a school library that is more accessible, better funded, professionally staffed, managed, stocked, integrated and used. Findings moreover pointed to higher student achievement in those schools where greater resources, from the same limited allocation were assigned to school libraries. Results of this study are of practical interest to policy makers, school and library administrators, and educators with
a vested interest in student achievement and the future of school libraries.

School Libraries Worldwide is indexed in Bibliothek Forschung und Praxis, Children Literature Abstracts, Contents Pages in Education, Educational Resources Information Clearing house (ERIC), Library Literature, and Library and Information Science Abstracts (LISA).

The full text of articles will also be available shortly in major periodical databases including WilsonSelectPlus and ProQuest.

We hope you enjoy these fine articles and encourage you to respond to a future call for papers.

Kind regards,
Marcia A. Mardis
Nancy Everhart
Editors


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Marcia A. Mardis, Ed.D.
Assistant Professor
Associate Director, The PALM Center
College of Communication & Information
The Florida State University

Co-Editor
School Libraries Worldwide
Official Journal of the International Association of School Librarianship (IASL)

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