Fig. 8 shows the number of library staff [Column 1] that reported the number of students they serve [Column 2]. Fig. 8: Ratio of Students to Library Staff No. of Library Staff No. of Students 1 500 1 600 1 856 1 1100 1 1300 1 1400 1 1600 1 1700 1 1900 n=9 The trend is that there is one school librarian per school regardless of the number of students. However, there were only nine respondents to this question. This is too small a sample to generalize to the population. Only nine respondents answered this question presumably because they did not know the answer or did not have the data to calculate a response. Total FTE Support Staff Respondents selected the response that indicated the total number of Full-time Equivalent [FTE] support staff employed in all of the school libraries in which they work, excluding themselves. For example if they had one support staff in one building who was half-time [-.05 FTE] and an additional support staff in another building who was full-time [-1.0 FTE] they reported a total of 1.5 FTE. Fig. 9: Total FTE Support Staff Fig. 9 shows that 61% of school libraries have no full-time equivalent support staff. The largest number of full time support employees who work in the school library is 1.0 [one full-time equivalent] staff member in only 17.6% of school libraries. Fig. 10: Comparison of FTE Support Staff by District Types Test Result Finding Pearson’s CHI-SQUARE (4) =3.40, p=0.494. Urban and rural school libraries do not have significantly fewer FTE support staff than suburban school libraries. Fig. 10 displays the results of a Chi-square analysis that determined urban and rural libraries do not have significantly fewer FTE support staff than suburban school libraries. There were no significant differences in the number of FTE support staff among urban, rural, and suburban libraries. This explains why school librarians report that they often perform non-professional tasks, such as checking out or shelving books, monitoring student attendance, or physically processing and preparing books for shelving and circulation.
Fig. 13: Reasons for School Librarians Not Returning Retiring 21.2% Retiring Sub-Total 21.2% Uncertain fiscal climate in district threatens job stability School library position eliminated 21.2% 12.9% Job insecurity Sub-Total 34% Career change Accepted another job Resume education 7.1% 5.9% 1.2% Career-related Sub-Total 14.2% Other. Please specify 30.6% Other Sub-Total 30.3% n= 521 Fig. 13 displays reasons given by respondents who are not returning to their positions for the next school year. Of the 78 school librarians not returning, 34% identified job insecurity, i.e., the uncertain fiscal climate and the elimination of their jobs. In addition, 14.2%% of school librarians who are not returning identified career-related reasons. This instability in the workforce disrupts the cumulative process of building strong school libraries staffed by experienced school librarians. Comments written by respondents [30.6%] referred to the uncertainty of their library positions. “Graduating with MLS and certification, [my] school does not have budget for licensed librarian so I am looking for a position elsewhere.” “I have not been given a contract to sign yet.” [2] “Recently licensed as school librarian, waiting on posting for school library position for FY16-17” “Contract is not being renewed by administrator.” [2] “If there is an open position in district I will be returning.” “Unsure about position availability.” “Unsure of position due to it changes yearly.” “I am a first year teacher and a realist.” These comments indicate that the budgeting process and/or insufficient funding to sustain current levels of employment from one year to job insecurity for early career school librarians. Comments were collected in April-May of the school year, indicating that staffing decisions are still pending during those spring months.
Building Tools Lincoln logs Legos Magna-tiles KEVA Blocks/planks KNEX basic kit Mega Bloks Lego Wedos Picasso tiles Roominate Flip cam Lego Robotics Makerspace Web cam Chrome Books 3D printer Sparki robot 3Ozobot Google Cardboard Virtual Reality Spheros Robotics Makerspace 3D pen Mathematics: Manipulatives Legos Geo-boards Games Board games [e.g., chess, Banana grams] Pairs in Pears Puzzles Video games Wii consoles Science Instruments Telescopes Toys Hot wheels track kit Tinker toys Knex Visual aids Family Literacy kits Nooks KindleFire Go Readers Audio aids Voice recorder Playaways Adaptive aids Braille books n=521 Interlibrary Library Loan Respondents indicated whether they offered or participated in interlibrary loan, a resource-sharing strategy whereby the school community can borrow book titles from other school libraries. This practice has the potential to compensate for inequities among school library collections. Electronic management of interlibrary loan processes is critical to maximizing its potential. Fig. 36 shows that over two-thirds [67.9%] of school libraries do not participate in interlibrary loan. Fig. 36: Interlibrary Loan Fig. 37: Comparison of Interlibrary Loan by District Types Fjg. 37 shows no significant differences in the use of interlibrary loan in urban, rural, and suburban libraries. Test Results Findings