================================================================= ALAWON Volume 5, Number 44 ISSN 1069-7799 July 18, 1996 American Library Association Washington Office Newsline In this issue: LIBRARY INPUT NEEDED ON EDUCATION RESEARCH AGENDA_________________________________________________________________ LIBRARY INPUT NEEDED ON EDUCATION RESEARCH AGENDA At the suggestion of Mary Jo Lynch, Director, ALA Office for Research and Statistics, the following alert, developed by the ALA Committee on Research and Statistics, is being reposted on ALAWON. The alert was originally posted to JESSE, a listserv for library educators. The US Dept. of Education recently released a draft of a document that will become the nation's research priority plan in the education arena. YOUR ACTION IS NEEDED IMMEDIATELY to ensure that the role of libraries is included in the nation's education research agenda. In its proposed version, the document, "Building on What We've Learned: Developing Priorities for Educational Research," largely ignores the significance of school, public, and academic libraries. Does this matter? Yes, yes, yes! The document is expected to be the blueprint that funding sources, both public and private, will refer to when deploying their educational R&D resources over the next 5-15 years. What can you do? The ALA Committee on Research and Statistics urges everyone to submit comments to the Dept. of Education explaining how historically there has been little support for research that focuses on libraries and lifelong learning. The Committee noted several important areas of research in which libraries should figure prominently and specifically. These areas were glaringly omitted from the document. You may make any or all of the following points, or develop your own. (1) Evidence suggests that exposure to library services at an early age and throughout formal schooling may be an important factor in successful learning. Libraries contribute to the success of informal learning as well. Research is need to improve our understanding of the role of school media centers, public libraries, and academic libraries in formal education and independent learning for all ages. We also need to determine the role of the public library in the critical development of reading and learning skills for pre-school populations and literacy skills for adult learners. (2) As described in pages 1-10 and 42-43 of the document, supporting the learner requires an understanding of the interplay of various learning-informing institutions in the community. A very important out-of-school learning setting is the public library. Our experience shows that unless explicit reference to libraries is made in the plan, research will "forget" to examine their contributions. Explicit reference to school and community libraries should be stated throughout the document. (3) Technology is evolving and information is exploding. Some learners have access, but many don't. Educational equity and productivity will require new systems of teaching and learning. Research is needed that will help improve the delivery of library services through new technologies by identifying methods and strategies that facilitate learning and improve the information competencies of all learners. This research should include libraries in post secondary institutions, schools, and public libraries. (4) We know that this is a high correlation between education and earnings and life satisfaction. However, there is little empirical evidence of the return on investment in libraries, in terms of an informed and educated citizenry. Substantial research is need to overcome this gap. PHONE for a copy of the document: Tammra Gill, (202)219-1556. Ask for it *rush*. Or you can also see full text on the Web at http://www.ed.gov/offices/OERI/RschPriority/. REVIEW THE DRAFT. SEND COMMENTS TO Judith Anderson, US Department of Education, OERI, 555 New Jersey Ave., NW, Room 510, Washington DC 20208-5573, or e-mail them to Judith_Anderson@ed.gov>. Please act fast. The period for public comment ends AUGUST 5! We can't afford to miss this opportunity. Your voice counts: the Dept. of Education will notice how many respond from each constituent group. I'd appreciate a copy of your response: . I'm posting this only on JESSE. Please forward to any other listserv that might have interested members. Thanks very much for your help. ______________________________________________________________ Thomas A. Childers, Ph.D. A. B. Kroeger Professor Director of Library and Information Science Programs College of Information Science & Technology [IST] Drexel University, Philadelphia, PA 19104 USA internet: childeta@dunx1.ocs.drexel.edu phone: (215)895-2479 fax: 215-895-2494 _________________________________________________________________ ALAWON is a free, irregular publication of the American Library Association Washington Office. To subscribe, send the message "subscribe ala-wo [your_firstname] [your_lastname]" to . ALAWON archives gopher.ala.org; select Washington Office Newsline. Web page HTTP://www.ala.org/alawashington.html. ALA Washington Office 202.628.8410 (V) 1301 Pennsylvania Ave., NW, #403 202.628.8419 (F) Washington, DC 20004-1701 Lynne E. Bradley, Editor All materials subject to copyright by the American Library Association may be reprinted or redistributed for noncommercial purposes with appropriate credits. =================================================================