In response to large gaps in the data representing Illinois school libraries discovered by the SLIDE Project, in January 2022 RAILS launched the School Library Data Project. The goal of our project is to gather data related to the staff, collections, and financial resources of school libraries to provide them with better targeted resources and support. This data is being gathered from several resources including:
- National Center for Education Statistics (NCES)
- Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE)
- Illinois State Library
- Dominican University iSchool
- Illinois Heartland Library System
- L2: Library Directory & Learning Calendar
- Individual Schools, Districts & Library Staff
For more about the project:
Watch the following 10-minute video from RAILS Back to School Fest.
- Slides from the Back To School Fest presentation can be viewed here.
- Click here to view our online project resource including data insights and visualizations.
Dashboard Development Team
RAILS has formed a team of school librarians to help brainstorm, mold, and evaluate the online data dashboard tool we're creating to display school library data. Meetings will begin in February 2023.
For questions or more information, contact Janette Derucki, Data Research Specialist, to learn more.