School

21st-Century Instruction Strategies in Colorado School Libraries

December 2012

The Colorado Department of Education (CDE) and the American Association of School Libraries (AASL) have both established standards to guide educators in fostering their students’ development of 21st-century skills. In order to demonstrate the critical role of school librarians in this process, it is important to establish the extent to which they are engaging in […]

Clearer Skies Ahead? Using Statistics from LibraryJobline.org to Gauge Changes in Colorado’s Library Job Climate

August 2012

LibraryJobline.org, an online resource maintained by the Library Research Service (LRS) at the Colorado State Library, lists job postings from employers in Colorado and beyond.[note]Ninety percent of jobs posted in 2011 were for positions located in Colorado.[/note] Library Jobline dates back to 2007, offering 5 years’ worth of statistics about Colorado’s library job climate. An […]

School Librarian Numbers Decline from 2004-2005 to 2010-2011

July 2012

As part of the Common Core of Data (CCD) program, the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) releases a report each year on public elementary and secondary schools in the U.S. that includes staffing and student enrollment numbers.[note]All of the data reported in this Fast Facts are from the NCES report series “Public Elementary and […]

What is the Value of an MLIS to You?

June 2012

In May 2011, librarians, library staff, and library school students weighed in on the LRS 60-Second Survey The Value of an MLIS Degree to You. Almost 2,500 people from every state and 15 countries, representing all library types, responded. Around 1,300 respondents left comments, sharing additional thoughts on the value of the MLIS degree today. […]

“Great Service!” Coloradans Embrace AskColorado and AskAcademic

June 2012

AskColorado (www.askcolorado.org), a statewide virtual reference service, was launched on September 2, 2003. Colorado libraries joined the cooperative as members to provide 24/7 chat reference service to Coloradans. Over the years, the cooperative honed in on 3 essential and high-use entry-points for patrons: K-12, General, and Academic. These entry points remain today. In 2008 the […]

Colorado’s Library Job Climate: 2007-2010 Insights from LibraryJobline.org

May 2011

Over 500 registered employers use LibraryJobline.org to post open positions. The site is managed by the Library Research Service, a unit of the Colorado State Library, and most of the jobs posted (89% in 2010) are located in Colorado. Jobseekers can tailor searches to their own qualifications and preferences and receive customized emails when new […]

Colorado School Library/Media Center Salaries: Mixed News

February 2011

The Colorado Department of Education (CDE) has released fall 2009 staffing statistics for schools statewide. On the whole, average annual salaries for school librarian/media consultants and assistants[note]For this report, school librarian/media consultants and assistants are defined according to CDE’s job classification descriptions, available at https://cdeapps.cde.state.co.us/jobdefs.htm.[/note] have improved considerably in the last 5 years. This salary […]

Increased Library Staff Links to Higher CSAP Scores

November 2010

Known links between higher school library staffing levels and better CSAP scores are confirmed by a recent examination of 2007-08 data on school libraries and 2008 data on students scoring proficient or advanced on CSAP reading. In addition, better-staffed school libraries are also associated with reduced percentages of students receiving unsatisfactory CSAP scores, thereby helping to […]

Endorsed Librarian Positions in Colorado Public Schools Trending Downward

As Colorado begins implementing new content standards that emphasize the acquisition of 21st century skills and the ability to understand information in new ways, “digital natives,” a demographic group born and raised in the information age and presumed to be tech savvy, demonstrate a surprising lack of discernment when evaluating information resources, according to a […]