Does the Dynamic Indicators of Basic Early Literacy Skills Next Assessment Take a “Simple View” of Reading?

This study involved examination of the validity evidence of the Dynamic Indicators of Basic Early Literacy Skills–Next Edition (DIBELS Next) for a sample of 85 third- and fifth-grade students, in reference to the “simple view” of reading. Tests administered included DIBELS Next, Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test–IV (PPVT–IV), Group Reading Assessment and Diagnostic Evaluation (GRADE), and the New York State English Language Arts (NYSELA) test. DIBELS Next Oral Reading Fluency (ORF) and Daze scores were significantly correlated with GRADE and NYSELA scores. Daze scores also explained significant variance in GRADE scores beyond ORF only at third grade and not NYSELA scores at either grade. PPVT–IV scores explained significant variance in GRADE scores beyond ORF at both grades but only NYSELA at third grade. GRADE Vocabulary explained variance in both measures of comprehension and at both grade levels. Research and educational implications of these findings are discussed.     

Moving Toward Parity? Dominant Gender Ideology versus Community Journalism in High School Basketball Coverage

This research uses a content analysis to explore how male and female high school athletes are framed. In analyzing basketball coverage from 121 unique newspapers, results show that although boys received the bulk of the coverage, the gap in parity is much smaller compared to prior research. Furthermore, girls were generally not framed as overtly feminine. Still, the coverage also reflects lingering commonsense assumptions about gender, most notably in reference to the athletic body. The authors discuss the potential of high school sports coverage to challenge normative understandings of gender and sports and to consider the role community journalism standards may play in the construction of equitable and just interscholastic sports coverage.     

Development of the research lifecycle model for library services

Question:

Can the niche services of individual librarians across multiple libraries be developed into a suite of standard services available to all scientists that support the entire research lifecycle?

Setting:

Services at a large, research-intensive state university campus are described.

Method:

Initial data were collected via concept mapping by librarians. Additional data were collected at conferences and meetings through interactive poster presentations.

Main Results:

Services of interest to scientists for each of the stages in the research lifecycle were developed by the team to reflect the wide range of strengths of team members in aggregate.

Conclusion:

Input from researchers was the most effective tool for developing the model. A flexible research lifecycle model can be developed to match the needs of different service groups and the skills of different librarians.     

Taking the Mountain to Mohammed: The Effect of Librarian Visits to Faculty Members on Their use of the Library

Much has been written on liaison programs and faculty perceptions thereof, but little has been written on the effectiveness of specific liaison activities. This article contains the results of a survey that asked faculty to indicate whether meeting individually with a librarian changed their use of library services and resources. Although it was sent to only a small number of faculty (30), 40% of those who were contacted responded to the survey. Of those who responded, 92% indicated that meeting with a librarian had increased their use of at least one library resource or service.     

Voter Identification Laws: An Annotated Bibliography

This annotated bibliography is intended to serve as a guide for anyone researching voter identification laws. The bibliography describes research methodology, summarizes law journal articles, and notes useful electronic resources for tracking recent developments on this topic.     

Fine-Tuning the Institutional Repository: Evaluating the Self-Archiving Behavior of Researchers in Music

While self-archiving gains more traction as a means for scholars to make their research freely available, a perception persists that certain disciplines in the humanities lag behind the sciences in this regard. This article investigates the rate of self-archiving by scholars contributing to the top journals in the field of music, a discipline that traditionally falls within the humanities, although research in the field is highly interdisciplinary and draws heavily on multiple scientific fields. The contributors to these journals come from a range of background and interests, and represent colleges and universities from six continents.     

Collecting Sex Materials for Libraries

ABSTRACT

This article analyzes data gathered over a year-long survey of library employees' opinions of sexually related materials in library collections. Surveys generally examine patron attitudes rather than the attitudes of library employees, whose attitudes and beliefs can have a strong effect on the collection. The researchers discovered themes in the data, such as varying definitions and differences between pornography and erotica, legality issues and misconceptions, differing perceptions of censorship dependent on library type, and a possible lack of acceptance of non-heteronormative material. The survey and analysis serve as a contribution to the ongoing discussion of appropriateness of sexually related materials in libraries.