When assessing school library media programs, ask yourself these questions:
- Do your governing board policies reflect and support school libraries that are an integral part of learning and teaching?
- How do you know whether your school library media program is effective?
- What is a realistic vision for the school library of the twenty-first century?
- Is building a school library still a worthwhile investment?
New research findings and the renewed emphasis in California on reading achievement and standards-based education have prompted many districts to begin examining their school library media programs and plan for necessary improvements. Until now, there has been little to guide them in the process. This new publication fills that void.
Check It Out! is designed to help districts and schools assess the state of their school libraries and the policies that support and guide them. It provides a series of questions, based on nationally developed guidelines for school library media centers, for consideration by education policy teams and implementation teams. Each team looks at the same eight goals, but one team looks at them from the perspective of developing and revising policy on library issues and the other from the perspective of vitalizing school library programs. The goals lead to school library programs that help students understand how to access and use information. The process leads to a school library action plan.
Please call the toll-free number of the CDE Press [http://www.cde.ca.gov/re/pn/rc/index.asp] (1-800-995-4099), California Department of Education, for information on price and availability.
