This mixed-methods action research study investigated the impact of makerspaces on student creativity. Seventy fifth-grade students were exposed to makerspaces for 12 weeks. Quantitative data were collected using two assessment instruments. Prior to the experience, the students were given a preassessment of their creative potential using the…

Studies show that more students fail or withdraw from college mathematics courses than any other. To address this concern, the Mathematics Department at the University of North Dakota opened its Mathematics Learning Center (MLC) in the fall of 2000. In this study, the effectiveness of the MLC and the free tutoring offered for students in freshman…

This essay captures elements of the accumulated experiences of different teachers' centers and presents possible alternatives for efforts to establish new centers. Characteristics of a "typical" teachers' center are presented, according to origin, setting, facilities, program, governance, participation, and staff. Common differences…

An analysis of the content, style, and format of learning resource center (LRC) handbooks was undertaken to determine how well 120 community college LRC handbooks met the 1972 Guidelines for Library Handbooks established by the Federal Library Task Force on Public Relations. The two questions specifically addressed were whether community college…

A secondary school librarian uses her experience to compare Canadian and Australian secondary school libraries in terms of educational philosophy, library role, staffing, budgets, resources, and library organization. (CLB)

An investigation was made of the organizational characteristics of two college learning resource centers as compared with two traditionally organized college libraries with separate audiovisual units in order to determine the advantages of each organizational type. Interviews, observation, and examination of relevant documents were used to…

In Spring 1991, the LRC (Learning Resources Center)/library at Parkland College (PC) was quantitatively assessed in terms of staff size, collection size, budget allocation, circulation, and space allocation. Adequacy indicators from fiscal year (FY) 1991 and FY90 were compared to those from FY88. In addition, PC's LRC/library was compared to…

Traces history of pilot projects (including state aid) and describes new projects, both pilot projects that were continued and new projects mandated by 1984 legislation. New projects are compared to permanent systems in terms of interlibrary loans, union catalogs, delivery systems, collection standards, and other areas. (CLB)

Explains education portals as Web sites that help teachers, students, parents, and librarians work together to learn and to share information. Compares full-service portals and niche portals regarding audience, search engine, grade levels, community tools including email and lesson plans, content, cost, and best features. (LRW)

Compares standards for school libraries and librarians in practice in the United States, United Kingdom, and France. Cooperation between librarians and teachers is discussed. A bibliography including sources in French and English is provided. (EJS)

The failure of funding to keep pace with costs has led some colleges and universities to question the viability of continued operations in both information and instructional technology. Examines the differences between information and instructional technology, the functional areas of instructional technology in higher education, and the unique…

Reports on a case study of three rural Georgia elementary school media specialists that examined the tasks performed and their perception of the importance of these tasks compared to responsibilities and tasks in "Information Power: Building Partnerships for Learning", by the American Association of School Librarians. (LRW)

Describes a study designed to examine the relationship between curriculum material centers in academic libraries and types of universities. The discussion covers the difficulties in examining this relationship caused by inconsistent methods of recording statistics at centers, and the lack of a clear definition of curriculum material centers. (10…

Many newer colleges, actively promoting a multi-media approach to instructional support, eschew the term "library" in favor of "learning resource center" or a similar designation. As of 1991, the state of Texas had 63 separately identifiable public community/junior colleges. Of the 63 colleges, 28 (44%) designated their…

Discusses sampling of circulation data as a technique for library media program management. Highlights include random and purposive sampling techniques; studies of circulation samples; factors affecting circulation patterns; guidelines for sampling circulation statistics over shorter time periods; and an example using statistics gathered from an…