Development and validation of a basic library locational skills model for elementary school library, reading and social studies education

The purpose of the study was to develop and validate a model of basic library locational skills for print sources. The major processes of the study involved (1) the identification of an information base from which to draw the model, (2) the validation of the information base, (3) the development of a tentative model, (4) a pilot validation of the model, and (5) the final validation of the model. The information base was identified from a wide variety of sources and fell into the five major categories of articles, books/instructional materials, curriculum guides, tests, and theses and dissertations. The validation of the information base required judgments about the quality of the search for library sources by five school librarians with specific qualifications. The referrent quality was defined in terms of the appropriateness of sources and comprehensiveness of the search. The conclusion was reached that the quality of the search was satisfactory. A tentative skills model was produced through a process of identifying all library learnings (skills and other behaviours) in the library literature, categorizing them and isolating all those learnings hypothesized to be basic library locational skills. The model included the two major skills clusters of "Locating Materials in a Library" (LMIL) and "Locating Content/Data in Materials : Books - Standard Fiction/ Non-Fiction (LCIM). A pilot validation was then conducted. Five qualified judges were asked to react to the locale for instruction and the level of skills and subskills included. The locale item was used to separate locational skills likely to be used in the library from locational skills used in other locales and was defined in terms of being either library-based (LB) or not necessarily library-based (NNLB). The levels item was used to separate out basic locational skills from higher level locational skills and was defined in terms of the concepts basic (B) and non-basic (NB). Judges were asked to make appropriate additions to the list of skills. The data were analyzed to obtain a revised skills model and to provide guidelines for procedures in the projected Canada-wide validation. As a result of the pilot validation the LMIL cluster was retained the the LCIM cluster eliminated from the model. The decision was made for the final validation to give judges an opportunity to react to the entire model by designating the eliminated skills/subskills as supplementary sets of items. It was also decided that the concept of Level One- and Level Two- Basic skills/subskills should be introduced. That is, a high degree of agreement (75-100%) should be a criterion for Level One- Basic and a lesser degree of agreement (51-74%) a criterion for Level Two- Basic skills and subskills. The revised model was prepared, cross-Canada judges identified and selected, and a final questionnaire package developed. The group of judges consisted of school librarians in department of education supervisory positions, university teaching positions and school district supervisory positions. In all, eighty Canadian school librarians with the same qualifications as those in the two previous validations were asked to make independent judgments about the locale and level of items included in the skills model. Sixty-one librarians completed response forms and 92 percent of the data was useable. Using the criteria established, the data were analyzed to determine the final form of the basic skills model. A comparison was also made between the findings of the pilot and Canada-wide validations of the number of skills clusters, component skills and subskills agreed upon as being basic. Conclusions were drawn, the major conclusion being that a valid model of basic library locational skills for print sources had been obtained. Implications were stated and suggestions made for further studies.

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