Preparing for the 2019 Legislative Session - School Library Survey

Help us help advocate and lobby for you!

Legislators are preparing to write the state's $32 billion budget, re-write the code related to education and workforce development programs across 9 state agencies, debate several bills related to property taxes, local income tax, the opioid crisis, IN Dept of Child Services, teacher pay, school safety, bias crimes, sports betting and much more.

Our messaging needs to be as specific as possible to policymakers' goals and values. We need data that is not contained in the information you already provided through the school library census last school year. For many questions below, you will find a simple YES/NO question with option to comment. Feel free to skip all questions that are not applicable or if you do not know the answer.

Thank you in advance for your responses to this important survey.

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* 1. Contact Information

Name *

School Corp - then School *

Grade levels YOU serve (insert range, i.e. P-12, K-5, 6-8, 9-12, K-8)

City/Town

ZIP/Postal Code

Email Address *

Phone Number (office or cell; ideally both)

YOUR UNIQUE MESSAGING, specific to YOUR community's policymakers
If you were speaking with a your legislators or the governor, what specific program or initiative from your school library would you describe that would appeal to them? What does your library offer that aligns with their top-line priorities (college or career skills, graduation rate, soft skills)? Please be specific. Write it as a 1-2 sentence summary or tweet. Try to include the result in quantitative terms where possible.

Examples--
* ___ School partners with ____ public library to offer ## e-cards to all students in the district, which expanded student access to digital resources.
* ___ School Library provides a library assistant class, which we hope to qualify this program for work experience credit in the new Graduation Pathways.
* ____ School's "Battle of the Books" competition engages # teams of # [grade-level] students who compete to prove their knowledge from a selection of [## or TYPE] books.
*_______ School Library is open during lunch and 1 hour before and after school to provide a safe place to study, access the internet for digital resources not available to them in our rural area of the state/for many of our low-income children.
* [Name], school librarian, co-teaches at least ## classes a year with English, Social Studies and Science faculty, and trains ## fellow teachers on integration of digital resources.
* Last year, the school library directly served ## of total ## students enrolled at the school (through library checkouts, classroom instruction and library visits).

Don't have something like above? Then simply include a unique factoid that your legislator would know and could repeat about your school library or school.

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* 2. What is unique about (or what special program of) your school library would appeal to legislators or the governor? (Amy or Lucinda could use this example when they talk with your legislators.)

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* 3. If you curate specific databases from INSPIRE for your school(s), please provide specific links or pages or describe how.

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* 4. Does your school library offer STEM/robotics/maker space or maker activities? If yes, please describe specific activities and outcomes in comments.

Yes

Not yet, but would be interested or is planned for near future.

Please describe.

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* 5. Does your high school library offer credit for library assistant work or a class?

Yes

Not yet, but would be interested or is planned for near future.

Please describe.

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* 6. What other ways does your school library directly work with college or career preparation? (Check all that apply and describe in comments. Note that some schools do not have options listed.)

Host or convene career fair or visits by employers

Support your local JAG program (only in 135 schools)

Support dual credit classes with a college/university

Coordinate college visits - colleges visiting school or students visiting college

Proctor tests for students taking online courses through colleges/universities

Other

Please describe.

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* 7. In the last year, what best describes your collaboration with teachers? For purposes here, we define collaboration to include instructional design, technology integration, print and digital resource curation, etc.

I do not or struggle to collaborate with teachers in my building/district.

I collaborate with teachers in at least one subject area.

I collaborate with teachers across subject areas.

Comments

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* 8. In the last year, what best describes your teaching or co-teaching of students in courses? (do not include subbing; describe courses or type of teaching or co-teaching in comments; we define co-teaching to mean that you lead or help lead lessons in the classroom with another teacher)

I teach at least one class and am listed as the instructor for the course.

I teach or co-teach daily, but am not listed as the primary instructor for the courses.

I teach or co-teach weekly, but am not listed as the primary instructor for the courses.

I teach or co-teach monthly, but am not listed as the primary instructor for the courses.

I teach or co-teach lessons upon request.

I do not teach or co-teach any courses or class lessons.

Comments

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* 9. Does your school or school library loan mobile hotspots to students for home use?

Yes

Not yet, but planned for near future.

Not anymore. We used to but eliminated it for reasons described in comments.

No, not at all

Please describe (how many, how often?).

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* 10. Do you extend school library hours beyond your school classtime hours? (i.e. allow students in before or after school or on weekends)

Yes

Not yet, but planned for near future.

Not anymore. We used to but eliminated it for reasons described in comments.

No, not at all

Comments

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* 11. If yes to above, what best describes your hours of extended school library access? (check all that apply)

extended hours with staff support before and after school AND on weekends

extended hours with staff support by >1 hour before and/or after school

extended hours with staff support less than 1 hour before we open and/or after we close

only digitally, but 24 hour access

Comments

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* 12. Does your school intentionally extend WIFI access outside the school for hours beyond your school hours? (i.e. allow WIFI on your steps or parking lot at night so that students may access the internet for free)

Yes

Not yet, but planned for near future.

Not anymore. We used to but eliminated it for reasons described in comments.

No, not at all

Comments

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* 13. If yes to above, what best describes your hours of extended WIFI access?

24 hours a day/365 days a week

all hours except deep night (i.e. WIFI available 7am-11pm or 6am-Midnight)

extended hours by a 2-3 hours before we open and/or after we close

less than 1 hour before we open and/or after we close

Comments

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* 14. Did your library handle any challenges of school library materials in 2017 or 2018? (for purposes here, we are looking at informal and formal challenges, to understand the extent of current questions; include INSPIRE challenge if you were asked to suspend, unlink or remove, even if restored)

Yes

Comments - Please describe the nature of the challenge and resolution. NOTE this will be kept for internal purposes and follow up contact to you from Lucinda to understand the current range of challenges and potential local opposition.

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* 15. Did your library face a challenge to a school library program(s) in 2017 or 2018? (for purposes here, we are looking at informal and formal challenges, to understand the extent of current questions)

Yes

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* 16. Did you report your challenge, even if resolved successfully, to the ALA Office?

Yes

Comments

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* 17. If known, how much per student per year does your school spend on school library materials?

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* 18. What specific school, business or community leader(s) would publicly compliment the school library or are your champions? Who? (include any legislators who are known champions of school libraries)

Below please offer any specific examples, stats, quotes or items you would want us to know as we advocate around the following issues and priorities that we expect to discuss with legislators in 2019:
* INSPIRE, Indiana's virtual library
* funding for your internet connectivity for libraries and schools
* support for school librarians, library assistants and library materials in K-12 education
* expanded broadband coverage for residents and communities
* lifelong learning initiatives
* any taxation issues (property, local income tax issues)
* township merger legislation (like last year)
* and finally, the value of federal programs like IMLS grants and e-Rate funding from the federal government

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* 19. What other information would you want us to know about specific ILF policy priorities or issues? See above.

The 2018 Status Report highlighted many issues for school libraries and school librarians. ILF is working to help advance the following proposed key messages (which aim to dispel misconceptions we have heard, i.e. school librarians are not teachers, are not essential, do not teach classes, etc.).
* Research has documented how school libraries impact student learning, test scores and critical thinking skills--most significantly for children of color and children in poverty.
* School librarians are licensed teachers who qualified to add school librarian to their teaching license.
* Most school librarians in Indiana hold a Master of Library and Information Science, which requires graduate coursework in collection development, information and data systems, library management and ethics and ways to measure learner growth in information literacy.
* Modern school libraries, led by certified school librarians and supported by trained library assistants, are essential in K-12 education. Even as budgets constrict, school libraries should be prioritized, updated and maximized.
* School librarians in Indiana are stretched as they are called upon to provide support for technology, device and 1:1 integration; testing; e-Learning days; distance learning and credit recovery courses; high-need and high ability students; as well as instructional coaching and and curricular design with fellow teachers. Many school librarians are required to support multiple buildings and thousands of students. Best practices suggest librarian-to-student and librarian-to-building ratios.
* As schools move to digital resources, school librarians play a critical role in collaborating with faculty on instructional design, tech integration and co-teaching classes.
* The amount required for school library materials has not increased since 1989, while the cost of print and digital materials has more than doubled.

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* 20. What comments or edits might you suggest to the messages above? What other misconceptions should we address, if any?

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* 21. As you consider how your school or library might be criticized, describe any criticism that you, your school or your school library received in the last two years and your response, if any? (We keep this in confidence; it helps us to prepare ways to respond and support you. Feel free to call Lucinda to discuss.)

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* 22. Regarding the debate about ways to increase teacher pay, please describe the consensus position of your districts' teachers, if any? What should we know about the teacher pay conversation in your school district or community?

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* 23. Regarding the debate about ways to increase school safety, please describe the consensus position of your districts' teachers, if any? What should we know about the school safety conversation in your school district or community?