Colorado’s school librarians are busy teaching students how to use digital resources, apply critical-thinking skills, and evaluate the credibility of information resources. They’re co-teaching with instructors across the school, serving as technology leaders and subject matter experts in helping students achieve 21st-century skills. To help demonstrate these activities, school library staff participate in the annual Colorado School Library Survey. In our newest Fast Facts report, we’ve highlighted statewide estimates extrapolated from 2013-14 survey results as well as specific survey responses to demonstrate what’s happening in the bustling world of school librarianship in the state.
Statewide, it’s clear school libraries are humming with activity. In a typical week, more than 2.2 million items are circulated and individuals visit more than 791,000 times—yes, that’s in just one typical school week. Of the more than 412,000 school computers with access to library resources, more than 90,000 are actually in the library itself.
School librarians are also deeply involved in the life of the school overall: For those survey respondents who are endorsed librarians, nearly all (96%) participate in school committees, 90% meet regularly with the principal, and 87% provide in-service training for teachers. School libraries are also making their presence known virtually, with nearly all (95%) respondents offering an online automated catalog, close to 9 in 10 (88%) offering wireless internet, and 4 in 5 have a library website or catalog that’s linked from the school homepage.
Learn more about the impact of school libraries in our powerful school library impact study page, and don’t forget to keep a copy of our infographic handy. You can also access your own library’s information through our interactive tool and customized profiles.
Interested in seeing how this year’s results compare with last year’s? Check out our Fast Facts summarizing the 2012-13 results.
Note: This post is part of our series, “The Weekly Number.” In this series, we highlight statistics that help tell the story of the 21st-century library.