The following text may have been generated by Optical Character Recognition, with varying degrees of accuracy. Reader beware!

Unknown The Teaching Librarian volume 13, no. 1-2 21 and environmental level, and to analyze our data from all vantage points. He reminds us that both direct and indirect evidence of student improvement are valuable in shaping our story. Loertscher also urges teacher-librarians to watch and keep track of what he calls 'the ripple effects' of our interventions. Perhaps you teach a class how to use SmartIdeas™ to organize and analyze the information they have gathered on a topic. The students then apply their new skills in another subject area and suddenly you are swamped with requests from teachers for a similar lesson! These pebbles in the pond stories are very powerful evidence of your impact on teaching and learning. Very practical models for collaborating with teachers in designing effective intervention learning experiences are available in Ban Those Bird Units. In this publication, Loertscher urges teacher-librarians and teachers to start with curriculum expectations and decide what the information problem is and how best to design the learning experience to address the desired learning. The models offer approaches and strategies specific to the information need and take learning way beyond just using information to the levels of developing understanding. Dr Ross Todd and Carol Kuhlthau, of Rutgers University's Center for International Scholarship in School Libraries, recently completed a powerful research study in Ohio that is inspirational to all who care about kids and school libraries. Their study, Student Learning Through Ohio School Libraries, focused on what students and teachers had to say about the impact of school library programs in their schools. 99.4 percent of students in grades 3 to 12 believe school libraries and their services help them become better learners. 88.5 percent of the 13,123 Ohio students surveyed say the school library helps them get better grades on projects and assignments. 74.7 percent say it helps with homework. 92.4 percent say computers in the media center help improve their overall academic work. Back on the home front, we need to pay better attention to the knocking at the door. For years, Ken Haycock, our Canadian champion of school libraries, has been giving us data about 'what works.' He also has been telling us to have our 'elevator speech' at the ready. If we were to suddenly find ourselves on an elevator (or airport tarmac) with a school decision-maker, we should be ready with a two minute speech about the importance of school libraries and the work we do. Are we ready? Do we have our elevator speech and do we have homegrown evidence to back it up? We also need answers to these questions. ◆ How do school l i b r a r y programs improve student achievement? ■ What contributions am I making to student achievement in my school? ■ How does my library program boost student achievement? Find out more about Evidence-Based Practice and discover how easy it is to get started. Explore Yes You Can! The OSLA Toolkit for Student Success - an introduction is in the next article. Get your evidence organized and startknocking on (and down) doors! ❚ EV ID EN CE-BA SED PR A CTICE @ y ou r lib ra ry ®