Dr. Carol C. Kuhlthau & Dr. Ross J. Todd

Quality school libraries: the foundation for Guided Inquiry

Considerable research evidence exists which clearly shows that school libraries are vital to student's education. This research, which spans almost four decades, shows that many factors contribute to the establishment and operation of effective school libraries to enable them to contribute substantially to student learning and achievement. These include essential building level foundations and essential learning foundations and instructional partnerships which enable meaningful learning to take place. Guided Inquiry recognizes and builds on these important infrastructure and learning foundations

Building level foundations for Guided Inquiry

Adequate and Appropriate Information Resources
Effective school libraries in 21st century schools provide students with up-to-date and diverse resource collections in a variety of information formats and readability levels that are aligned with the local curriculum requirements, and support state academic content standards. Quality resources provide rich information necessary for students to discover and build new ideas.

From Learning to Read to Reading to Learn: Becoming Lifelong readers
Guided Inquiry has its foundation in students able to read, who are motivated to read, write and listen in order to learn. Research tells us that:

• access to reading materials in school libraries predicts motivation to read and reading achievement;
• long-term development of reading interest and grade-level achievement has a stronger base in "print-rich environments"
• a rich supply of high-interest diverse sources provides sources of ideas for the knowledge construction process, and a basis for students becoming independent, efficient readers
• * more flexible access to the school library and free voluntary reading results in increased interest in books, more enjoyment of reading and improved learning
• a good reading environment, including comfort and quiet, as well as larger library collections, promote reading, literacy development and reading scores.

Effective school library programs further promote and encourage reading for academic achievement and life-long learning through:

• reading enrichment programs;
• participation in national and state reading celebrations and initiatives;
• collaboratively plans reading and writing enhancement activities with classroom teachers and literacy specialists
• providing the skills to enable students to interrogate diverse information sources and build their own understandings and viewpoints

State-of-the-Art Information Technology
Guided Inquiry in 21st century schools needs and utilizes a rich technology environment. The development of the World Wide Web in particular has created an information environment that is complex and fluid, connective and interactive, diverse and unpredictable. The fusion of print and electronic information environments now places considerable responsibility on learners to be able to navigate this complex and often ambiguous information space, to locate pertinent information, to make judgments about the quality of the information, to make sense of the multiple perspectives, and to somehow construct their own understanding of their chosen topics. The school library, as the hub of the school's information collection, can play a significant role in enabling students to utilize this wealth of information in their inquiry.

Research shows that while young people enjoy searching for information on the Web and are motivated to use it as a communication and entertainment tool, they exhibit patterns of interacting with information which suggest that many students often:

• lack adequate understanding of information seeking processes in digital environments
• experience information overload and difficulties with managing and reducing large volumes of information;
• face problems formulating search strategies and navigating web spaces to locate and retrieve highly pertinent sources
• do not have a conceptual understanding of systems being used
• experience considerable insecurity and uncertainty when searching
• tend to guess appropriate search terms, often the result of little prior knowledge of the topic
• are reluctant to critically read or scan results returned, resulting in superficial assessment of web sites for quality and relevance
• demonstrate a range of coping strategies such as filtering, simplification, accepting of errors, delegating searches to someone else;
• inappropriately favor visual cues, such as looking at pictures rather than textual information as signs of relevance;
• paste chunks of text without regard for and understanding of ethical practices of information use;
• willing to construct answers based on limited pertinent information
• are satisfied with somewhat-relevant hits rather than the best hits.

Research also shows that:

• success in searching is influenced by the extent of knowledge about the topic in question, prior experience, cognitive abilities, developmental level, type of search task, task complexity and how this complexity is characterized
• students value the instructional interventions which enable them to be efficient, discriminating and responsible information seekers and information users in electronic environments.

Research studies: Bilal, D. (2002, 2001, 2000, 1999, 1998); Chelton & Cool (2004); Dresang, (1999); Fidel, Davies, Douglass, Holder, Hopkins, Kushner, Miyagishima, &Toney, (1999); Hirsh, (1999); Kafai, & Bates, (1997); Large & Beheshti (2002); McNicholas & Todd, (1996); Schachter, Chung & Dorr (1998), Todd & McNicholas, (1997); Martin & Rader, 2002.

This research highlights the importance of 21st century schools providing a state-of-the art information technology environment to support and enhance teaching and learning throughout the school. The school library and school librarians use information technology to:

• acquire, organize, produce, and disseminate information;
• provide leadership to students and faculty in the use of electronic resources and tools for information access and knowledge creation and sharing;
• facilitate the instructional integration of information technologies so that students can use technology tools to discover and construct new ideas;
• foster the development of information and technological competencies, including critical thinking and communication skills, which enable student to construct and present their deep understanding of curriculum topics.

Essential learning foundations for Guided Inquiry

Expert Instructional Leadership in the School Library
Research tells us that effective school libraries are an integral part of teaching and learning. This does not happen by chance, or through the mere existence of a physical library facility. Research shows that a credentialed school librarian working as an information-learning specialist, together with classroom teachers, plays a key role in the learning and instructional process. A credentialed school librarian brings:

• expertise in Guided Inquiry: mutually collaborating, negotiating, planning and implementing instruction with classroom teachers that is tied to specific academic content standards that guides and enables students to learn through diverse, complex and multi-format resources, and become quality researchers and information seekers and users;
• expertise as partner-leader in the provision of learning-oriented professional development for Guided Inquiry targeted to whole school success with learning outcomes;
• expertise as a school library administrator who mutually negotiates, plans and implements (with school leaders, teachers, students and parent community) a whole-school library program which focuses on achieving content standards

Learning spaces

• accommodate multiple learning styles and teaching styles
• facilitate multiple pathways to information and constructing and representing new knowledge
• access to the tools to enable information to be transformed into deep knowledge and deep understanding by students.

These are the building blocks for Guided Inquiry, and are represented in the following model, which was developed by Todd and Kuhlthau (2004) from extensive data collected in 39 school libraries across Ohio, and which involved 13,123 students and 870 faculty.

Library Power research – Inquiry Learning

One of the most comprehensive projects providing insights into the school library’s role in learning is the De Witt Wallace-Readers’ Digest Library Power project, undertaken from 1988-1999. Donham, et al, 2001; McAfee Hopkins & Zweizig (1999); This project was designed to promote the use of the school library in instruction in public elementary and middle / junior high schools and to improve opportunities for student learning through the school library. The project involved school librarians, classroom teachers, principals, and district leaders from 19 communities across the USA, and an investment of some $45 million. Funding was used to renovate library space, purchase new books and upgrade print and electronic collections, and to provide professional development to librarians, principals and teachers to learn how to work together to make the best use of their libraries. The project was evaluated over a period of two years, using surveys and case studies to collect data from 446 librarians, 417 principals and 1185 teachers. Driving the evaluation of this project was the central question: what differences did the Library Power Program make? Some of the findings include:

• teachers believe that new, relevant materials encourage more frequent student use of the library and more student initiative, and resulted in more positive attitudes about learning and going to the library;
• teachers indicated increased use of library materials in teaching
• teachers saw the expanded collection as the key Library Power contribution, and the collection was the initial basis for the teacher-school librarian collaborations;
• the wider implementation of full or partial flexible scheduling of the library, which most principals saw as a "radical innovation", was highly valued;
• most principals reported that their school faculty collaborated in developing the school library collection

The evaluation of this significant program highlights some of the key dynamics of effective school libraries:

• student learning is a shared interest built on sustained partnerships at resource and instructional levels, and founded on constructivist principles of learning
• networking is critical to effecting change, and the power of this network as a support agency rests on teachers, principals, librarians, district curriculum leaders and community activists working together
• shared instructional planning for Guided Inquiry is necessary and worth the effort
• shared professional development opportunities build both a common vision and common action in maximizing student learning.

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