NPR Bob Edwards discussion: impact of school libraries and librarians on student achievement.

Traveling in the car, my ears perked up when I heard Bob Edwards discussing school libraries. Edwards spoke with Keith Curry Lance who bemoaned the current budget cuts on school libraries.

Although many studies show that students with access to a full-time, fully-staffed school library perform much better academically, school librarians across the country are being cut. The Colorado studies done by sociologist Keith Curry Lance demonstrate the impact school libraries and librarians have on student achievement. Yet, the American Library Association reports library budget cuts in more than 20 states. Part of the reason is that most people do not know what 21st Century librarians actually do.

It is up to administrators and librarians to showcase how librarians collaborate with teachers for the public to understand our role in schools.

We need more events like the School Library Journal Leadership Summit in Chicago this weekend and more publicity for messages delivered: Stephen Abram gave the Summit keynote address:

Slj summit

View more presentations from Stephen Abram.

David Livermore on Cultural Intelligence

What is cultural intelligence? "Cultural intelligence is defined as the capability to function effectively across national, ethnic, and organizational cultures. And research demonstrates a leader’s CQ may easily be the single greatest difference between thriving in the 21st century world and becoming obsolete.”

Download the "manifesto" from the Change This blog.