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Where's the Evidence?
Understanding the Impact of School Libraries

Phoenix, AZ
November 30 - December 1, 2007

The Arizona Biltmore Resort & Spa
2400 East Missouri
Phoenix, AZ 85016
(800) 950-0086

www.arizonabiltmore.com

Register early and you will be automatically entered in the SLJ Summit raffle! 3 lucky winners will receive a spa gift certificate in the amount of $150.00 to redeem at the Biltmore's world-class spa during their stay.

Arrive on Thursday, November 29th and join SLJ for a welcoming reception and a trip to Old Town Scottsdale for the weekly Scottsdale ArtWalk.

Arrive early to have some fun and get to know your peers. Click here for details.




Dear Summit Participants,

Welcome to the 2007 School Library Journal Leadership Summit. We are delighted you will join us in Arizona on November 30th and December 1st for what we anticipate to be our best meeting yet!

As many of you already know, this is a working meeting and we will be asking you to collaborate and participate before, during and after the summit. The 2007 Leadership Summit will focus on evidence-based practice as a way to understand the impact of school libraries on student achievement. A concept that originally came from the medical profession, it is a methodology that can help building-level librarians, district managers, and state-level leaders answer the question "What differences do our school libraries and their learning initiatives make to student learning outcomes?"

Evidence-based practice requires that we know and evaluate existing educational research, combine this knowledge with local wisdom to create effective library programs, and collect the evidence that the school library is making a difference. It encourages us to look beyond traditional measures-such as usage and finding of information-and instead focus on information literacy, knowledge building, and reading engagement.

The goals of this national summit are to:

  • Explore the multiple perspectives of evidence-based practice
  • Investigate examples of evidence-based practice in school libraries
  • Develop guidelines to help lead evidence-based practice in school libraries

We will look at evidence-based practice in three areas: reading and literacy, knowledge construction and the curriculum, and 21st century skills. All participants will have an opportunity to participate in two areas.

A key aspect to this summit is that we will also explore evidence-based practice on the district- and state-level, and case studies will be presented.

The summit will bring together a mix that will both invigorate and help further establish evidence-based practice in our field: school media leaders from all the states and well as the leading school districts, experts from the medical field, education and library science professors and researchers, school administrators and policy-makers.

We have chosen a spectacular location in the heart of the Southwest as the site of this year's summit and will build in leisure time so that you can enjoy the beautiful and serene setting. Activities will be planned and plenty of networking opportunities will be available to all of our attendees.

Please check the summit website and wiki periodically for exciting announcements and the most up-to-date content information.

I look forward to seeing you in November.

Best Wishes,
Brian

Brian Kenney
Editor-in-Chief
School Library Journal
bkenney@reedbusiness.com


Sponsored By:

Scholastic: www.scholastic.com/librarypublishing
Gareth Stevens:
www.garethstevens.com 
Capstone Press: www.capstonepress.com
Compass Point Books:
www.compasspointbooks.com 
Picture Window Books:
www.picturewindowbooks.com
Stone Arch Books:
www.stonearchbooks.com
Follett Library Resources: www.flr.follett.com
World Almanac:  www.waebooks.com
Rosen Publishing: www.rosenpublishing.com
Thompson Gale: www.galegroup.com
Follett Software Company:
www.fsc.follett.com/