Objective 5.4 Strategic Planning & Assessment
Indicator: Candidates make effective use of data and information to assess
how the library program addresses the needs of their diverse
communities.
I am what you call a planner. I plan everything—from outfits and the week’s meals, to lessons for my students and personal vacations—I need a plan in order to stay organized. As a school librarian, my planning will take the form of establishing a mission statement and setting goals.
Goal setting is something that I now view as crucial to success for a librarian. If you do not assess where you start, you will not know how to gauge how far you have come. Evaluative tools serve as a means to help you establish the strongest program you possibly can for your school. During my coursework, I had the opportunity to perform two evaluations using Reservoir High School’s library. In my Collection Evaluation, I examined all library resources that covered the Holocaust, a topic taught in both English and Social Studies classes. I ran an age analysis report in order to discover publication dates, as well as a circulation report to see how frequently these items were checked out. The data revealed that several items had never been checked out as well as had publication dates prior to 1990. From this data, I then developed an action plan to make better use out of this specific part of the collection. In my Program Assessment, I had the chance to examine the use of a newly purchased database, as well as the second topic of expanding school library hours. To gather data for both topics, I created surveys for students, staff, and administration. After analyzing the data, I presented my findings to the school librarians, who used it to set two specific goals for next school year—1. To advertise the new database via professional development sessions, and 2. To expand the library’s hours for a trial period and assess if student achievement is impacted. These assignments have shown me that using assessment or some form of evaluative tool is a critical part of the library program. In a time of budget cuts and evolving curricular standards, it is imperative that we show the value of our program at any chance we get. Having data to show that collaboration impacted student success, or that in-services on information resources had a positive impact on teacher instruction, will ultimately reveal that the library is a keystone of the school. Proving the worth of my program is important, and data that showcases my success will only strengthen myself as a resource and enhance the reputation of my program. Implementing evidence-based practice is something I consider to be an investment with big payoff. Yes, we must make the efforts to create evaluative tools, analyze data, and make time to document/reflect upon our efforts, but in the end the results and student success will prove the worth of these preliminary steps. Moreover, it is our responsibility to highlight evidence of student learning to stakeholders and everyone in the learning community. If we are confident in our program and show our successes with evidence, the community too can be confident and join us in our efforts. An evaluation tool is simply a means for us to make certain that we are helping every student in our building to become a skilled user of information. I view these tools as another way to ensure that the librarian is engaged in reflection. Only from evaluation and analysis can one successfully identify the areas that need to be improved. Strategic planning then allows us the opportunity to address the deficits that were revealed by the evaluative tools. This cycle of evaluation, analysis, and planning enables a library program to grow and continuously serve the school community. |
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