LITE 508 Mini Research Project

By brooke.lamon | Updated: Sept. 24, 2024, 8:15 a.m.

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LITE 508
Mini Research Project
Brooke Lamon
Wondering how COVID-19 impacted elementary school library circulation?
Well I did some research!
My research question stated: 
"How did COVID-19 impact elementary school library circulation in Jefferson County Public Schools?"
What are your thoughts?
Keep watching to find out!
Why is circulation important?
Literature Review Says...
Student access to books and a strong circulation policy is crucial to the success of our students to building lifelong readers.

Elementary schools with more library visits and higher circulation rates led to a higher percentage of students will score proficient or higher in reading.
Johnson, L., & Donham, J. (2012). Reading by Grade Three: How Well Do School Library Circulation Policies Support Early Reading? Teacher Librarian, 40(2), 8–12.
First, I had to research some circulation data.
I used the JCPS Annual Report Data to conduct my research.

I used Datawrapper to create this graph based on the data I collected.
Next, I had to analyze my data.
What did you notice about the previous graph?

Data was collected from 20 out of the 91 elementary schools in Jefferson County Public Schools
For the 2018-2019 school year (our last "normal" year of school), only 6 out of the 20 schools had more that 10,000 books circulated.
For the 2019-2020 school year (COVID-19 struck, forcing schools to use NTI), 9 out of the 20 schools had a circulation decrease
For the 2020-2021 school year (three-quarters of the school year was NTI), ALL 20 of the elementary schools I researched had a decrease in circulation.
(6 out of the 20 schools had 10 or less books circulated for the entire school year!)
Conclusions
To answer my research question...

The COVID-19 pandemic has negatively impacted elementary school library circulation rates, which ultimately will affect student learning.
In the literature review, I found articles that supported the idea that library circulation impacts student learning in many ways. All of the articles supported different ideas about the importance of circulation and how libraries and librarians are key to student success.
What can you do to help increase circulation rates?
Get Started
Today!
Recommendations
Now that school libraries should return to "normal," librarians re-evaluate their circulation policies and increase the number of books that students are allowed to check out per week. 
Another recommendation I would make would be for teachers and librarians to collaborate to get students more interested in different genres and topics and encourage them to check out books that interest them.
Now that you have seen the impacts on circulation, get out there and increase your school's circulation rates!
Thanks for checking out my research!
References:

Hlywak, S. (2021, April). 2021 State of America’s Libraries Special Report: COVID-19 [PDF]. American Library Association.

Johnson, L., & Donham, J. (2012). Reading by Grade Three: How Well Do School Library Circulation Policies Support Early Reading? Teacher Librarian, 40(2), 8–12.

Levitov, D., & Kaaland, C. (2021). It’s Been Quite a Year. Teacher Librarian, 48(5), 6–7.

Neuman, D. (2011). Library Media Specialists: Premier Information Specialists for the Information Age. TechTrends: Linking Research & Practice to Improve Learning, 55(4), 21–26. https://doi-org.libsrv.wku.edu/10.1007/s11528-011-0508-6

Reinhardt Downes, K., Steege Krueger, K., & Bessman Taylor, J. (2017). Impact of a Less Restrictive Circulation Policy in an Elementary Library. Teacher Librarian, 45(1), 16–20.

School Library Media Center Statistics: Elementary Schools A - J. (n.d.). Retrieved July 20, 2021, from https://jcpsky.libguides.com/c.php?g=155585&p=1020660

School Library Media Center Statistics: Elementary Schools K- Z. (n.d.). Retrieved July 20, 2021, from https://jcpsky.libguides.com/c.php?g=155585&p=1020662

WKU EBSCOhost Databases. (n.d.). Retrieved July 20, 2021, from https://web-a-ebscohost-com.libsrv.wku.edu/ehost/search/advanced?vid=5&sid=a9d5e7ae-545f-4fc7-95c3-b7857bc9eed6@sdc-v-sessmgr02

LITE 508 Mini Research Project

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