Frequently Asked Questions
Standards and Guidelines
In October of 2007, AASL released its Standards for the 21st Century Learner. Since that time, AASL has received a number of questions regarding these learning standards.
1. Do Standards for the 21st Century Learner replace Information Power: Building Partnerships for Learning?
No, Information Power (1988) and Information Power: Building Partnerships for Learning (1998) are the two latest iterations of guidelines for the development of school library media programs. Standards for the 21st Century Learner are learning standards.
2. Are these the first learning standards that AASL has developed?
No, Information Literacy Standards for Student Learning, learning standards for K-12 students, were also published in 1998 as both a standalone publication and as Chapter 2 of Information Power: Building Partnerships for Learning.
3. Do Standards for the 21st Century Learner replace the Information Literacy Standards for Student Learning.
No, the 1998 publication, Information Literacy Standards for Student Learning, define nine key standards and the indicators of what makes an information literate student. Standards for the 21st Century Learner, while acknowledging the key role of information literacy in student learning, also acknowledges that school library media programs must address multiple literacies.
4. The Information Literacy Standards for Student Learning were supported by indicators, scenarios and examples of assessments. Will AASL provide similar support for the new learning standards?
Yes, a task force is currently working on indicators and assessments for the new learning standards. These should be published by winter of 2009.
5. Will AASL be publishing new guidelines for school library media programs?
Yes, there is currently a task force working on new program guidelines. These should be published sometime in 2008.
6. How many sets of guidelines has AASL published?
The first set of library “standards” (not to be confused with student learning standards) was published in 1918 by the National Education Association. For nearly 60 years, successive versions of quantitative standards defined a school library by how many “items” it contained. In 1975, AASL and AECT published a blended document that contained both quantitative standards and guidelines for the development of a school library program.
7. When did AASL stop publishing quantitative standards?
The publication of the first edition of Information Power in 1988 marked the complete transition from measuring school libraries in terms of number of items to measuring school library programs in terms of program guidelines.
8. Where can I find more information on the history of school library standards and guidelines?
The March-April 2004 issue of Knowledge Quest features a President’s Column by Frances Roscello, AASL President 2003-04, that traces the history of school library standards and guidelines.
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