New Research Explores Social Media Learning

CHICAGO – New research published in the American Association of School Librarians’ (AASL) peer-reviewed online journal, School Library Research (SLR), examines activities, motives, and barriers associated with social media learning. SLR promotes and publishes high-quality original research concerning the management, implementation, and evaluation of school libraries. Articles can be accessed for free at www.ala.org/aasl/slr.

In “Social Media to Survive and Thrive: School Librarians Describe Online Professional Learning,” Michelle Cates shares the results of an online questionnaire that recorded perspectives on personalized learning networks. Results were categorized by media type (self-published content, curated content, microblogs, discussion forums, and social networks) and by user role (Passerby, Lurker, Networker, Content Creator, and Community Leader).

Cates, who works with instructional systems and learning technologies at Florida State, found school librarians participate in a vibrant online community that has been insufficiently studied in the past. The results of her study begin to fill in some of the gaps regarding school librarian use of social media for professional development. Her findings can guide individual users as they initiate or expand their social media use and can support leaders as they develop the school librarian community.

School Library Research (ISSN: 2165-1019) is the successor to School Library Media Research (ISSN: 1523-4320) and School Library Media Quarterly Online. The journal is peer-reviewed and indexed by H. W. Wilson’s Library Literature and by the ERIC Clearinghouse on Information & Technology. It welcomes manuscripts that focus on high-quality original research concerning the management, implementation, and evaluation of school libraries.

The American Association of School Librarians, www.aasl.org, a division of the American Library Association (ALA), empowers leaders to transform teaching and learning.