Sizing Up America’s School Libraries Highlights from the Second AASL Longitudinal Survey of School...

Sizing Up America’s School LibrariesHighlights from the SecondAASL Longitudinal Survey of School Library Media Centers

Outline

• 2008 response details

• Results– By topic– 50th, 75th, 95th percentiles

• school level, enrollment

– Related factors• region, metro, poverty, public-private

Overall Response

• 6,998 responses

• 6,477 regular public schools

• 242 independent schools

• Preponderance of responses generated by AASL membership (directly or indirectly)

Response by Level

LevelAll survey

respondentsPublic school

universe

Elementary 44% 58%

Middle 19% 18%

High 25% 17%

Combined 12% 7%

Total 100% 100%

Response by Enrollment

Enrollment rangeAll survey

respondentsPublic school

universe

2,000+ 5% 2%

1,000-1,999 16% 9%

700-999 18% 13%

500-699 23% 20%

300-499 26% 28%

< 300 13% 28%

Total 100% 100%

Response by Region

Census RegionAll survey

respondentsPublic school

universe

Northeast 17% 16%

Midwest 25% 28%

South 40% 33%

West 18% 22%

Other 0% 2%

Total 100% 100%

Response by Metro Status

Metro statusAll survey

respondentsPublic school

universe

City 26% 26%

Suburb 42% 34%

Town 8% 10%

Rural 24% 30%

Total 100% 100%

Other Responses

• Public-private status– 93% public, 7% private

• Poverty status– Range: 0-100%, median 31%

Low Response Groups

• Charter schools

• Other school types– Alternative– Magnet– Special education– Vocational-technical

• Note: All respondents included in overall results. Numbers insufficient to provide detail.

Results by Topic

• Staffing (LMS and total hours)• Staff activities (planning, instruction, budget)• Collection (volumes—total & per capita,

periodicals, average copyright)• Technology (library & networked computers,

remote database access)• LMC visits (individual & group)• LM expenditures (total & per capita)

SLMS & Total SLMP Staff Hours per Typical Week, 2008

37.5

40

40

74

65.2

117

0 20 40 60 80 100 120

LMS Hours

Total LMC Staff

Hours per Typical Week

95th

75th

50th

Total Staffing: Notable Factors

• School Level: HS, 1.5 FTE; others 1.0 FTE• Enrollment: 1k+, 2+ FTE; <1k, 1 FTE; <300, ½

FTE• Region: W, 50 hpw; others, 56-57 hpw• Poverty: 58 vs 48 hpw less poor• Metro: 54 vs 51 hpw non-metro• Public-Private: 53 vs 68 hpw

Weekly SLMC Staff Hours for Selected Activities, 2008

1

2

12.5

3

5

20

7

14

30

0 10 20 30

Planning withTeachers

OverseeingBudget

DeliveringInstruction

Act

ivit

y H

ou

rs

Hours per Typical Week

95th

75th

50th

Instruction: Notable Factors

• School Level: ES, 15 hpw; MS, 10; HS, 8• Enrollment: 1k+, 10 hpw; 300-999, 14; < 300, 8• Region: W, 12 hpw; NE & S, 14-16• Metro: 15 vs 12 hpw non-metro• Public-Private: 14 vs 11 hpw

SLMC Hours Open & Available for Flexible Scheduling, 2008

20

38

38

40

44

45

0 10 20 30 40 50

Flexibly ScheduledHours

Hours Open

Hours per Typical Week

95th

75th

50th

LMC Hours: Notable Factors

• School Level: ES, 35 hpw (8 flex); HS, 40 hpw (37 flex)

• Enrollment: 1k+, 40 hpw (35 flex); 700-999, 38 hpw (27 flex); <700, 35-38 hpw (14-15 flex)

• Poverty: 31 hpw (19 flex) vs. 33 hpw (23 flex) less poor

• Public-Private: 32 hpw (21 flex) vs 37 (27)

School Library Media Collections

18

19

11.7

30

28

15.2

65

51

23.9

0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70

PeriodicalSubscriptions

Books per student

Books (thousands)

Number

95th

75th

50th

LM Collection: Notable Factors

• School Level: – HS, 13k volumes; others, 11k– ES, 23 volumes/student; middle, 17; high, 12

• Enrollment: 2k+, 20k volumes; <300, 8k• Region: MW & S, 12k volumes; NE & W 13k• Poverty: 12k vs 13k volumes less poor• Metro: 13k vs 11k volumes non-metro• Public-Private: 12k vs 15k volumes

1st AIDS drug (‘95), Dolly cloning (‘97)

Average Copyright Year for Holdings in Health & Medicine, 2008

1995

1999

2002

1988 1992 1996 2000 2004

Average CopyrightYear (Health &

Medicine)

Year

95th

75th

50th

Copyright Year: Notable Factors

• School Level: MS, ’96• Enrollment: 2k+, ’96; <300, ‘94• Region: NE, ’93

Computers in SLMC & Networked Elsewhere in School, 2008

16

112

33

200

68

500

0 100 200 300 400 500

LMCComputers

NetworkedComputers

Number of Computers

95th

75th

50th

Computers: Notable Factors

• School Level: ES, 10 SLMC, 85 networked; MS, 22 & 149; HS, 34 & 200

• Enrollment: 2k+, 45 SLMC & 500 networked; <300 8 SLMC & 50 networked

• Region: SLMC, MW 27, S 22; networked, W 152, S 188

• Poverty: 20 SLMC & 147 networked vs 28 & 190 less poor

• Metro: 25 SLMC & 184 networked vs 23 & 138 non-metro

SLMCs Offering Remote Database Access, 2008

Available, 74.1%

Not Available, 25.9%

Remote Database Access:Notable Factors

• School Level: ES, 7/10; MS & HS 8/10• Enrollment: 2k+, 9/10; 500-699, 7/10; <300,

6/10• Region: S, 7/10; MW, 8/10• Poverty: 7/10 vs 8/10 less poor• Metro: 8/10 vs 6-7/10 non-metro

I ndividual & Group Visits to SLMCs, 2008

20

150

30

375

50

1,000

0 200 400 600 800 1000

Group Visits

Individual Visits

Visits per Typical Week

95th

75th

50th

LMC Visits: Notable Factors

• School Level: ES, 60 individual & 23 group; others 200-300 individual & 20 group

• Enrollment: – 2k+, 700 individual

– 300+, 20-27 group, <300, 13

• Poverty: 237 vs 357 individual; 25 vs 31 group less poor

• Metro: 314 vs 264 individual; 30 vs 24 group non-metro

• Public-private: 28 vs 19 group

School Library Media Center Expenditures, Total & Per Student,

2008

$12.06

$7.0

$21.02

$13.5

$48.02

$35.0

$0.00 $10.00 $20.00 $30.00 $40.00 $50.00

Per student

Total (thousands)

Annual Dollars (Thousands for Total)

95th

75th

50th

LMC Expenditures: Notable Factors

• School Level: ES, $5k; MS, $8k; HS, $11k• Enrollment: 2k+, $22k ($9/student); <300, $3500

($18)• Region: NE, $14k ($22/student); W, $9k ($14)• Poverty: $8600 ($15/student) vs $12k ($17) less

poor• Metro: $11k ($14/student) vs $9200 ($18) non-

metro• Public-Private: $11k ($16/student) vs $17k ($34)

Gearing Up for 2009

• Watch AASL website, e-newsletter, listservs, etc.

• Spread the word via your state / regional association, state library agency, LIS education program, etc.

• Help us improve returns from private & charter schools, other under-represented groups (magnet, special ed, vo-tech)

• Suggest 3-5 one-time questions on hot topics

• Plan to participate & encourage your colleagues

Gearing Up for 2009

• Communicate with us about– How you are promoting the survey– What you want to see from AASL

• Publications, products

– How you are using / want to use AASL data– What you want to see done with 2009 AASL

data

Contact Information

• Allison Cline, AASL Deputy Director: acline@ala.org

• Ann M. Martin, 2008-09 AASL President: libraryann@comcast.net

• Marcia Mardis, Chair, AASL Research & Statistics Committee: mmardis@umich.edu