SLM Star

1. David Loertscher SLM Star

2. Biography • David V. Loertscher has degrees from the University of Utah, the University of Washington and a Ph.D. from Indiana University. • He has been a school library media specialist in Nevada and Idaho at both the elementary and secondary school levels. • He has taught at Purdue University, The University of Arkansas, The University of Oklahoma, and is presently a professor at the School of Library and Information Science at San José State University. • He served as head of the editorial department at Libraries Unlimited for ten years and is President of Hi Willow Research & Publishing (distributed by LMC Source at www.lmcsource.com). • He has been a president of the American Association of School Librarians. • http://slisweb.sjsu.edu/people/faculty/loertscherd/loertscherd.php

3. Education • Education • Ph.D. (Library Science) Indiana University (1973) • M.L. (Librarianship) University of Washington (1967) • B.S. (History) University of Utah (1964) • http://slisweb.sjsu.edu/people/faculty/loertscherd/loertscherd.php

4. Academic and Professional Experience • Professor, School of Library and Information Science, San José State University (1996-current) • Senior Scientist, University of Wisconsin (1994-1996) • Vice President and Senior Acquisitions Editor, Libraries Unlimited, Inc. (1989-1996) • Professor, University of Oklahoma (1988) • Assistant Professor, Associate Professor, Professor, University of Arkansas (1978-1987) • Assistant Professor, Purdue University (1973-1975) • Library Media Specialist, Skyline High School, Idaho Falls, Idaho (1967-1970) • Library Media Specialist, Southside Elementary School, Elko, Nevada (1964-1966) • http://slisweb.sjsu.edu/people/faculty/loertscherd/loertscherd.php

5. Selected Publications from the Last 5 Years • Loertscher, D. (2006). Super teaching: 15 think models for instructional improvement in college courses, online learning, and professional development. Salt Lake City: Hi Willow Research & Publishing. • Loertscher, D., Koeschlin, C. & Zwann, S. (2005). Ban those bird units: 15 models for teaching and learning in information-rich and technology-rich environments. Salt Lake City: Hi Willow Research & Publishing. • Harlan, M., Loertscher, D. & McElmeel, S. (2005). Young adult literature and multimedia: A quick guide. Salt Lake City: Hi Willow Research & Publishing. • Champlin, C., Loertscher, D., & Miller, N. (2005). Raise a reader at any age. Salt Lake City: Hi Willow Research & Publishing. • Lance, K. & Loertscher, D. (2005). Powering achievement: School library mediaprograms make a difference. 3rd ed. Salt Lake City: Hi Willow Research & Publishing. • Shannon, D., Alewine, M. & Loertscher, D. (2004). South Carolina power! A parent's guide to school libraries. Salt Lake City: Hi Willow Research & Publishing. • Loertscher, D. & Baumbach, D. (2004). Florida power! A parent's guide to school libraries. Salt Lake City: Hi Willow Research & Publishing. • Champlin, C., Loertscher, D. & Miller, N. (2004). Indiana Power! A Parent's Guide to School Libraries. Salt Lake City: Hi Willow Research & Publishing. • Loertscher, D. & Misakian, J. (2004). California power! A parent's guide to school libraries. Salt Lake City: Hi Willow Research & Publishing. • Loertscher, D. & McMiullin, D. (2004). New Jersey power! A parent's guide to school libraries. Salt Lake City: Hi Willow Research & Publishing. • Loertscher, D. (2000). Taxonomies of the school library media program. 2nd ed. Salt Lake City: Hi Willow Research & Publishing.

6. Highlighted Bibliography • Woolls, Blanche and Loertscher, David V. (Eds). The Whole School Library Handbook. Chicago, IL: American Library Association. 2005. 339p. ISBN 0-8389-0883-7. USD 45.00. • Loertscher introduces the collection with "A New Vision" which defines school librarianship in the twenty-first century and would make the school library the "Network Central" for the school community. • Loertscher, David V. and Ross J. Todd. We Boost Achievement Hi Willow Research and Publishing, 2003. ISBN 0-931510-93-7 available at http://www.lmcsource.com • The most comprehensive list of measures linking school libraries to achievement. • Ban Those Bird Units Research Project created by David V. Loertscherat http://www.davidvl.orgasks school librarians and teachers to use 15 models of teaching and learning in information-rich and technology-rich information environments and report the improvement in higher-order thinking skills. • Project Achievement created by David V. Loertscher (http://www.davidvl.org) asks school librarians to create measures and do action research linking their local programs to achievement and report those efforts. • American Association of School Librarians, The Principal's Manual for Your School Library Media Program  (Chicago: ALA, 2000). Available online through <www.ala.org/aasl>. David V. Loertscher, Reinventing Your School's Library in the Age of Technology: A Guide for Principals and Superintendents  (San Jose, Calif.: Hi Willow, 2002). • Lance, Keith Curry, and David V. Loertscher. Powering Achievement: School Library Media Programs Make a Difference: The Evidence Mounts. 2nd ed. San Jose, Calif.: Hi Willow Research and Publishing, 2002. • Primer for presenting research studies to groups of library media specialists, teachers, administrators and others; starting discussions based on the research of school library media programs with these audiences; implementing the research findings and measuring impact. Includes handouts that may be reproduced for these purposes. Based on the research from Colorado (I and II), Alaska, Iowa, Pennsylvania, Texas, Oregon, Massachussetts and New Mexico.

7. Research Themes • Linking school achievement to libraries • Teaching strategies that teacher-librarians can use when teaching alone or in collaboration with a classroom teacher to produce learners who are able to compete in a global world. Present students with a task that requires them to place articles on the opinion line as taught. Give the students a unique problem to solve where the technique taught might be one key in the solution to the problem. Assess their ability to encounter this novel problem in a new situation. • Loertscher, D. (2007, June). invention, transfer, efficiency, and innovation: 21st-century learning abilities can be taught. Teacher Librarian, 34(5), 36-36. Retrieved September 11, 2007, from Academic Search Premier database. • Persistent link to this record: http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=aph&AN=25327509&site=ehost-live • Integration of library media skills instruction and services with subject area curriculum is seen as an essential component of effective library media programs. (http://www.ala.org/ala/aasl/aaslpubsandjournals/slmrb/editorschoiceb/infopower/selecteisenberg.cfm)

8. Summary of Contributions • Professor at San Jose State University • Collaborated with Keith Curry Lance on several articles and studies • Lance, Keith Curry, and David V. Loertscher. Powering Achievement: School Library Media Programs Make a Difference: The Evidence Mounts. 2nd ed. San Jose, Calif.: Hi Willow Research and Publishing, 2002. • Primer for presenting research studies to groups of library media specialists, teachers, administrators and others; starting discussions based on the research of school library media programs with these audiences; implementing the research findings and measuring impact. Includes handouts that may be reproduced for these purposes. Based on the research from Colorado (I and II), Alaska, Iowa, Pennsylvania, Texas, Oregon, Massachusetts and New Mexico. • Created a website dedicated to teachers researching the effects of collaboration on student achievement • Hosts a research institute called “Treasure Mountain” • Treasure Mt. is a group of school library researchers and practitioners that met beginning in 1989 in conjunction with the AASL National Conference in Salt Lake City. This group has met irregularly, usually in conjunction with AASL national conferences thirteen times over the years and has usually been organized by David Loertscher and Blanche Woolls, although Danny Calison has organized several. It is a place where news of research about the school library media field is disseminated and where news of upcoming events is posted. • http://www.seedwiki.com/wiki/treasure_mountain/treasure_mountain?wpid=710382&searchresult=710382 • Created a Collaborative Planning Taxonomy

9. Links to Resources • http://slisweb.sjsu.edu/proj/advocacy/ • Advocacy for School Library Media Teachers • http://knowville.org/ • Knowville is a world-wide initiative challenging the children and teens  to: Read a billion books, Write a billion books, Do a billion projects. • The increasing need for world-class education to enable each child and teen to work and live in a global society requires more than just directives and testing. A critical factor is the motivation of children and teens to understand that they are preparing for a world-wide challenge, and that to be all they can be, education and literacy is a life-long endeavor. Knowville provides a space akin to the world of gaming where participants can build personal goals, issue challenges, and participate in a global effort to raise literacy and learning. • http://www.seedwiki.com/wiki/lmc_action_research/collaboration?wikiPageId=802899 • Link to article on collaboration. He refers to many of the research assignments teachers are taught to give to students “bird units.” I love that term. Bird units are assignments that set students up to copy and paste information instead of think critically about the facts they gather. • http://www.davidvl.org/ • This is his personal website that he uses for teaching classes and for keeping up with Action Research Projects.

10. Most Important Facts • David Loertscher is a huge proponent of teaching true research skills and not just making students into professional plagiarists. (Bird Unit) • He has collaborated with another huge name in SLM Keith Curry Lance. Together they have made significant contributions to the body of research that shows how students are impacted by effective school library media programs. • Has written and created several tools that media specialists can use to be more effective in schools. (Collaboration Taxonomy)