Georgia's Exemplary Public High School Librarians and Information Literacy Skills Instruction

This case study was conducted to examine the practices and procedures of public high school library media specialists in the state of Georgia in order to identify teaching and administrative methods they commonly utilize. The study focused on three high school librarians identified as exceptional through either their achievement of National Board Teaching Certification, by honors and awards granted them by the state of Georgia’s Department of Education, or by recognition of their excellence as judged by their peers in the Georgia Library Media Association and the Georgia Association of Instructional Technology. School demographics, test scores, web presence, and usage of Georgia Library Learning Online were also scrutinized. Two English teachers working with each school library media specialist were interviewed to obtain further evidence of the librarians’ work. Themes emerging from the data indicated that these exemplary school library media specialists make definite and positive contributions to each of their schools. The themes for this study were identified as Leadership, Information Literacy, Collaboration, School Culture, and Administration. The results further suggested that while there is no specific formula for an exceptional program, there are commonalities of practice for school libraries that reflect the Standards for Initial Preparation of School Librarians (American Association of School Librarians & American Library Association, 2010) and on the criteria delineated by the state of Georgia and communities of practice.I. INTRODUCTION - 1 Statement of the Problem - 2 Conceptual Framework of the Study - 4 Purpose of the Study… - 9 Research Questions - 11 Definition of Terms - 11 Significance of the Study - 13 Assumptions of the Study - 14 Limitations of the Study - 14 Organization of the Study - 15 II. REVIEW OF LITERATURE - 17 History of Guidelines for School Libraries - 18 Information Literacy - 21 Perceptions of the Role of the Librarian - 28 School Library Media Specialists in Georgia - 30 Georgia’s School Libraries and Funding - 32 Recognition for Excellence - 33 School Libraries and School Culture - 35 The Standards - 36 AASL Standard 1: Teaching for Learning - 37 AASL Standard 2: Literacy and Reading - 42 AASL Standard 3: Information and Knowledge - 43 AASL Standard 4: Advocacy and Leadership - 46 AASL Standard 5: Management and Administration - 47 Summary - 48 III. METHODOLOGY - 50 Introduction - 50 Research Questions - 51 Rationale for Qualitative Methods - 52 Participant Selection - 53 Data Collection - 55 Interviews - 55 Non-Participant Observation - 56 Documents - 58 Reflective Journal - 59 Data Analysis - 60 Limitations of the Study - 61 Validation Strategies - 62 Ethical Considerations - 63 The Role and Background of the Researcher - 63 IV. RESULTS - 68 Introduction - 68 Methodology - 68 Research Questions - 69 Data Analysis Procedures - 70 Introduction of School Sites and Participants - 71 Taylorville High School - 72 Bernton High School - 73 Easton High School - 73 Media Specialists and Teachers - 74 Case Studies - 75 Case Study 1: Curtis Lynch, Taylorville High School - 75 Cecile Thomas: Teacher, Taylorville High School - 81 Debbie Chamness: Teacher, Taylorville High School - 82 Categories for Taylorville High School - 82 Case Study 2: Tara Simmons, Bernton High School - 85 Laura Murray: Teacher, Bernton High School - 90 Sarah Carpenter: Teacher, Bernton High School - 91 Categories for Bernton High School - 91 Case Study 3: Linette Jenkins, Media Specialist, Easton High School - 95 Denise Berry: Teacher, Easton High School - 99 Ann Shipley: Teacher, Easton High School - 99 Categories for Easton High School - 100 Cross Case Analyses - 103 Themes - 108 Summary - 111 V. DISCUSSION, IMPLICATIONS, FUTURE RESEARCH - 114 Conceptual Framework and Results of the Study - 115 Discussion of Findings - 116 Research Question 1.116 Research Question 2.121 Research Question 3.131 Administration: Technology Issues - 135 Administration: Funding and Staff - 137 Future Research - 140 Limitations of the Study - 142 Implications - 143 Conclusions - 143 REFERENCES - 147 APPENDICES - 173 Appendix A: Letter of Invitation to Participate - 174 Appendix B: Interview Questions for Media Specialists - 176 Appendix C: Interview Questions for English Teachers - 179 Appendix D: Observation Protocols - 182 Appendix E: Institutional Review Board Exemption Protocol Report - 183Not Submitted, NullEd. D.Curriculum and Instructio