Evaluating the School Library

Book excerpt: This guide for the evaluation of school libraries both in practice and in research covers analysis, techniques, and research practices for conducting evaluations of curriculum, collections, facilities, and library personnel performance. This new edition of an important tool for school librarians and administrators describes how and why to conduct evaluations of school libraries and explains the evaluation of curriculum, collections, facilities, student programs and services, and library personnel. The results can be used for strategic planning, curriculum development, and conducting action research. New topics to this edition include explorations of community, faculty, students, and school library research, discussing how to bring all stakeholders to the table when evaluating the school library program, personnel and services, and the collection and facilities. Other new topics include information on high-stakes testing, multiculturalism, special needs students, advocacy, school librarians' self-evaluation, dispositions for learning, and evidence-based practice. This title will be of value to new school librarians in assessing how their program compares to others, as well as to school library professors, who will find this book useful in management and administration courses.