Scholastic Library Publishing has just released the 2016 edition of School Libraries Work! A Compendium of Research Supporting the Effectiveness of School Libraries.

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The first update of this valuable research summary since 2008, SLW 2016 covers studies in several states during recent years.  Featured are two recent time-series studies which I co-authored with Linda Hofschire of the Library Research Service:  one for School Library Journal, looking at national data before and after the Great Recession and the other looking at Colorado data for a similar interval.  Both of these studies found that the loss of school librarians tended to coincide with poorer test results.  Those findings were controlled for overall staff change (SLJ) and for the socio-economic status of students (Colorado).

Also including are studies by my RSL Research Group colleagues and me for Idaho, Pennsylvania, and–most recently–South Carolina.