Library Evaluation

Education Code Section 18122 directs local governing boards to report to the California Department of Education (CDE) on the condition of school libraries. CDE created this online data collection evaluation tool to meet the Education Code requirement and to develop an accurate picture of the condition of school libraries across the state.

The annual online evaluation is now open to collect information from individual schools about their libraries in 2021–2022. It will be active through Thursday, August 31, 2023. Prior year evaluation responses are available as well.

For district or county downloads, or to schedule a training, contact Renée Ousley-Swank at 916-319-0449 or ROusleySwank@cde.ca.gov for assistance.

Directions for Beginning the Evaluation

Note the information being collected is about the 2021–2022 academic year. If records were not kept, please give your best estimate for this evaluation, and begin to collect the data for next year.

• Our suggestion is that you print a copy of the entire evaluation to use as a worksheet before you enter the data online. Evaluation Questions (DOCX) printable copy of all questions asked in the 2021–2022 evaluation.
  
  
• Once you have assembled your information on the printed worksheet, you can come back to enter the data online. We estimate it will take you 15 minutes to enter your worksheet data online. You do not need to complete the whole evaluation at one time. Each section is saved automatically as you advance to the next section.
  
  
• A password is again required. For password assistance, contact Renée Ousley-Swank at (916) 319-0449 or ROusleySwank@cde.ca.gov.
  
  
• You may return to the evaluation at any time to make changes until August 31, 2023, when the evaluation will be closed.

As you answer the questions, the information for your school goes directly into a database. You will be prompted to correct an entry if it cannot be "read" by the database.

• Each school has a record in the database. At this time, we are collecting information from individual schools, including juvenile court and charter schools, but not from districts, county offices, or private schools. To find the record for your school, use the drop-down menus to select your county, district, and then school.
  
  
• Your answers are recorded in our database when you use the Next and Submit buttons. Please do not attempt to use your browser's Back button.
  
  
• The evaluation is divided into five sections, incorporating the California Model School Library Standards, and assesses the type and extent of library services schools provide.

Tips to complete the evaluation by section:

Library Staffing

The questions focus specifically on the school site for which you are completing the evaluation. Questions include training of classified library staff, if any, and at how many different libraries the staff work. Staffing hours are calculated by Full Time Equivalent (FTE)––you enter the hours worked at this school site, and the FTE is calculated for you.

Library Access

• Library Service Hours in a Typical Week – this section of questions includes asking for the typical number of the hours the library is open per week.
  
  
• Library’s Physical Space – we ask for details about the size of the space and how it is utilized, including as a makerspace . Follow the link for more information on makerspaces.
  
  
• Library’s Virtual Presence – questions focus on the school library’s social media and online presence.
  
  
• Computers/Tablet Devices – questions focus on computers in the library, districts’ filtering software, issuing students and management of 1:1 devices, and when students are allowed to use their own devices.

Resources

• Overall Collection – questions about size of collection and print subscriptions to magazines and newspapers.
  
  
• Age of Collection – copyright question. We are gathering data on Dewey sections for Native Americans and are asking for the average copyright date of your largest section of Native American informational titles (typically cataloged somewhere in the 900s). We also ask for the average copyright date of the whole collection. Note – if you do not have an automated library management system and you have no method to determine the average age of the collection, then answer 0000. At the end of the evaluation, include a brief explanation of why you were unable to provide the age of the whole collection.

Licensed Databases

2020–2021 Budget – in this section we ask about how your library is funded and if your library program is written into your Local Control Accountability Plan (LCAP). If you are not sure about how the library is funded or if the LCAP includes the library, talk to your administrator or office staff.

Curriculum and Instruction – there are three subsections. We expect to see a natural correlation between the level of staffing (certifications and FTEs) and the level of library services being provided. Schools staffed by one FTE teacher librarian and one FTE classified staff are anticipated to offer more services versus a school staffed by a single person (either certificated or classified) split between sites. Please report the specific library services provided on a regular basis.

• General Programming – questions focus on your program in general, asking about library policy/procedure manual, job descriptions, and how often library staff met for planning and professional development.
  
  
• Basic Services – questions about general services and basic instruction which might be performed by any and all library staff regardless of credential and/or title. Some questions ask about activities that occurred in a typical class visit, how many classes are seen in a typical week, and how long the class visit lasted. Instead of simple yes/no answers, question 48 asks you to select the best answer from a range of choices: More than once per week; Once per week; 2–3 times per month; Once per month; Less than once per month; and Never.
  
  
• Teaching Approaches – questions are designed to look in more detail at teaching, collaboration, and management of the library program and are activities typically associated with holders of the Teacher Librarian Credential. Answer as honestly and accurately as possible. Questions 49–52 ask you to choose from the same range of choices in question 48, and an additional choice of With guidance and support from district librarian. Some questions ask about the type of classes taught, and if the teacher librarian provides professional development.
  
  
• Open-ended Question provides a space to share information that was not asked in the evaluation. This is a space where you might like to share something you are most proud of, provide an explanation of funding, or perhaps a description of splitting your time between sites.
  
  
• Respondent Information – we ask you to provide the contact information for the person who completed the evaluation and the name of the person at the district responsible for library services in case we need to contact you to verify any responses.

Tip for submitting – make sure you follow the directions at the end, and select submit evaluation and not simply save.

Thank you for taking the time and effort to complete this evaluation. Your answers are invaluable to us as we develop a picture of library programs across the state, and you now have much more detailed data to look closely at your school library program.

Start Evaluation Here

Evaluation Participation and Responses
Check to see which schools participated in and completed prior evaluations. To see the evaluation responses, select the evaluation name and year from the drop-down menu. Then, click on the county, the district, and then the school’s name. The responses will be displayed on the screen. Use the navigation back buttons and not the browser’s back button.

A Statistical Snapshot of California School Libraries is also available.