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Ohio’s Use of LSTA Funds to
Automate K-12 School Libraries:
An In-Depth Evaluation as Part of the State Library of
Ohio’s 5-Year LSTA Evaluation Report of a Major LSTA-Fund Initiative
Greg Byerly, TIP Associates
The use of LSTA funds to automate school libraries in Ohio has been found
to have had a significant impact on schools, teachers, librarians and other
involved in K-12 education. These funds have also made a difference in how
school libraries and libraries are used and perceived...[The] effort to
automate Ohio's school libraries has been demonstrably successful and has
produced significant advances in information access for Ohio's K-12
students." (Page 4)
Since 1998, the
State Library of Ohio
(SLO) has used almost $12 million in Library Services Technology Act (LSTA)
funds to automate K-12 school libraries in Ohio. The State Library chose
Greg Byerly, TIP Associates, to evaluate the use of these funds as part of
its 5-Year LSTA Evaluation Report. The
complete document [PDF 63 pgs] is available on the SLO Web site. A five
page Executive Summary is near the beginning of the document.
To evaluate K-12 school
library automation, Byerly used document reviews, electronic surveys,
interviews and focus groups. The following highlights were prepared by
INFOhio Project Coordinator Cynthia
DuChane:
The automation of over 1,400 school libraries has had major positive
impacts on Ohio K-12 education: |
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Access to information is more equitable. |
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Students are learning important searching skills
through the online catalog. |
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Teachers demonstrate higher respect for librarians
in automated libraries. |
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Students are better prepared to continue their education and/or
become lifelong learners.
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Some differences that stand out between automated and
non-automated libraries include: |
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Librarians are more unified, more likely to work
together professionally, and are more committed to collaborative
relationships. |
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Teachers and administrators have improved
perceptions of libraries and librarians, are more aware of the
materials in the library, and have a different and better
relationship with the librarian. |
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Students with more equitable access to information
have improved learning and they have more positive opinions about
both the library and the librarian. |
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Librarians and others working in Ohio’s schools feel strongly that
INFOhio has been and continues to be a highly effective agent for change
for school libraries.
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