What Alberta Education Says About Libraries

1. A Power Point for School Planning What Alberta Education Says About Libraries

2. Students in Alberta schools should have access to an effective school library program that is integrated with instructional programs. Such library programs improve student opportunities for achieving a basic education. Guide to Education – current picture

3. The integrated library program broadens, deepens and personalizes learning by involving students in the planned and purposeful use of resources. Library resources are designed to help students expand their abilities to find, generate, evaluate and apply information. Developing these information skills will, in turn, prepare students to function effectively as individuals and as full participants in society. Guide to Education

4. Alberta Education established a School Library Services Initiative (SLSI) focused on reviewing K–12 school library services and support resources across the province. School Library Services Initiative

5. Each student will have user-friendly, timely access to accurate, reliable, appropriate, current and scholarly information available both in person and/or online, with support and education from library professionals. SLSI – What is the new target?

6. School Library Learning Commons Globally progressive libraries are moving toward the learning commons concept of flexibility, so activities and spaces in the library and on the library’s web site are flexible in design to accommodate a variety of learning activities; e.g., collaborative community space, a coffee house concept. SLSI – What will libraries look like?

7. A school library learning commons supports ongoing critical thinking, inquiry, action research, interdisciplinary learning and brain-based learning. A learning commons becomes a place of active learning in real-time or online with project, problem-based, experiential, and cooperative learning that is ideally coordinated by a teacher-librarian. SLSI – How is this good for kids?

8. The school library is a gateway to the virtual landscape; e.g., Web 2.0, social networking, podcasts, animation, film, gaming, re-mix, online databases and virtual libraries. Reading fiction and non-fiction in a multitude of formats is cornerstone to a student’s ability to access, examine, evaluate, restructure, create, communicate and reflect upon learning and knowledge. SLSI – Transition to 21st century?

9. School library transformation to a learning commons perspective emerges as pivotal in the role school libraries can fulfill in 21st century educational reform. SLSI – What can we conclude?

10. Extensive research supports the correlation of advanced student achievement and literacy development with quality school library services (Krashen 2004, Lance and Loertscher 2005). SLSI – is this supported by research?

11. Visit the Alberta Education website at: http://education.alberta.ca/ Check under Current Initiatives or enter the word “library” in the search bar. How can I find out more?

12. School Library Services Initiative Frequently Asked Questions Transforming Canadian School Libraries to Meet the Needs of 21st Century Learners: Alberta Education School Library Services Initiative - Research Review and Principal Survey Themes What to look for…