Aberdeen, Robert Gordon University

The Impact of the School Library Resource Centre on learning

Three inter-related studies:

1. An empirical study of the impact of the school library resource centre (SLRC) on learning. The study had two phases using:

• Focus group discussions with teachers and pupils and interviews with librarians identified teachers', pupils' and librarians' perceptions of how the SLRC can contribute to learning.
• Case study research, using the framework developed from the first phase, identified learning experiences that the SLRC impacted upon; investigated indicators to be used as evidence of learning; and examined the process of assessing the impact of the SLRC on learning.

Report: Williams, D. and Wavell, C. Impact of the School Library Resource Centre on Learning. Aberdeen: The Robert Gordon University for Resource: The Council for Museums, Archives and Libraries, 2001.

2. A critical review of the available published evidence of the impact of School Library Services on achievement and learning; focussing on secondary level education.

Report: Williams, D., Wavell, C. and Coles, L. Impact of School Library Services on Achievement and Learning. London: Department for Education and Skills and Resource &The Council for Museums, Archives and Libraries, 2001

3. A critical review of the available evidence of the impact of School Library Services on Achievement and Learning in Primary Schools.

Report: Williams, D., Coles, L., and Wavell, C. Impact of School Library Services on Achievement and Learning in Primary Schools. London: Department for Education and Skills and Resource: The Council for Museums, Archives and Libraries, 2002.

URL: www.resource.gov.uk/information/research/respubs2001.asp (studies 1 and 2)
www.resource.gov.uk/information/research/respubs2002.asp#impactcrit (study 3)
Contact: Professor Dorothy Williams or Caroline Wavell
[email protected] or [email protected]
Dates: 1999-2002
Funding: Study 1 funded by Resource: The Council for Museums, Archives and Libraries; Studies 2 and 3 funded by Department for Education and Skills and Resource: The Council for Museums, Archives and Libraries.

The impact of new technology on the communication of parliamentary information

The purpose of this study was to investigate the impact of technology on the communication of parliamentary and devolved assembly information to the general public. It consisted of two distinct stages:

1) A series of interviews with representatives of the public information services of the UK Parliament, the Scottish Parliament, the National Assembly for Wales and the Northern Ireland Assembly. These interviews gathered data on the objectives and strategies of the services and on the information access and dissemination activities used and developed by each one.

2) The application of a new data collection tool: an interactive, electronically assisted interview taken out across the UK as part of a pilot roadshow to organisations such as public libraries, community centres, sheltered accommodation and universities. Here, a researcher, aboard a minibus equipped with a laptop and mobile data transmission equipment, invited members of the public to explore and respond to the websites of the UK Parliament, the Scottish Parliament and the National Assembly for Wales. This roadshow approach was developed in an attempt to gather data from all groups in the community and not only those with an expressed or obvious need for parliamentary information and was devised as means of getting close to the everyday lives of those studied. These sessions utilised verbal protocol analysis, where the respondents were asked to 'think aloud' as they progressed with their search.

Contact: Professor Rita Marcella, [email protected]
Dates: November 2000-September 2001
Funding: Economic and Social Research Council; £41,042