New Evidence Libraries Are Important
May 22, 2011
When you say “search” to me, I think going to a real, living library. There are people who can assist me. There are online services which I may not have hooked into my home computer. There are honest-to-good reference books and shelves begging me to browse.
So I was disappointed to read the Physorg.com article “Link Found between Spending on Libraries and Student Learning.” Apparently, this is news to some. Why was a study or even the subsequent publication of what is to me a self-evident fact? The new Dark Ages of Online, perhaps?
See, it’s widely believed that spending more won’t improve learning in the schools. While that may be true in some areas, libraries are worth the investment. That’s the conclusion of the Pennsylvania School Librarians Association’s paper, “School Library Research Summarized.” This document pulls together research from across the United States and a bit from Canada:
“[Mansfield University professor, Debra E.] Kachel and a class of graduate students examined school library impact studies, most done in the last decade, by 22 states and one Canadian province (Ontario). Most examined student standardized test scores. A few used qualitative approaches. All found positive links between library support and learning.”
This is important stuff: how can you search if you are poorly educated? How can a person “research” or “reason” that a particular article or author is wrong, wacky, or practicing Facebook-type disinformation. Technology can only make up for so much. Please, read the article for details from the study. And if we want better futures for our children, let’s funnel funds to the school libraries. A little learning is a dangerous thing. But no learning? deadly.
Cynthia Murrell, May 22, 2011
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