ERIC Number: EJ931258
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2011-Apr
Pages: 18
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0024-2519
EISSN: N/A
Available Date: N/A
The Access Gap: Poverty and Characteristics of School Library Media Centers
Pribesh, Shana; Gavigan, Karen; Dickinson, Gail
Library Quarterly, v81 n2 p143-160 Apr 2011
Stephen Krashen believes that schools can counter the effects of poverty in at least one area: access to books. However, little research has been done to determine whether students living in poverty have access to school library services comparable to those attending schools with low concentrations of students living in poverty. We examined the school library access gap; namely, the differences in school library characteristics (staffing, books added to collection, schedule, and number of days closed) in schools with various concentrations of students living in poverty. Alarmingly, we found that the students in most need--those attending schools with the highest concentrations of students living in poverty--had the fewest school library resources to draw on. Findings suggest that if we hope to close achievement gaps between high and low socioeconomic groups, we must attend to the access gap in school libraries in high- and low-poverty schools. (Contains 6 tables and 5 figures.)
Descriptors: Poverty, School Libraries, Library Services, Learning Resources Centers, Books, Achievement Gap, Librarians, Access to Information, Academic Achievement, Socioeconomic Status
University of Chicago Press. Journals Division, P.O. Box 37005, Chicago, IL 60637. Tel: 877-705-188; Tel: 773-753-3347; Fax: 877-705-1879; Fax: 773-753-0811; e-mail: subscriptions@press.uchicago.edu; Web site: http://www.press.uchicago.edu
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A
Author Affiliations: N/A