Policy and PracticeThis month we’re looking into the Policy and Practice category. The article we selected investigates how one library system evaluated their Mother Goose program.
Article
Graham, Scott and Andre Gagnon. “A Quasi-experimental Evaluation of an Early Literacy Program at the Regina Public Library.” Canadian Journal of Information & Library Sciences. Jun 2013, Vol. 37 Issue 2, p103-121. Download article here.
Discussion Group Meeting
Sunday, November 4th from 5:30 – 7:30 pm. The Vancouver group will be meeting at the Athlete’s Village Housing Co-op Common Room located at 151 W 1st Ave. Please email us for more details.
Discussion Questions
Here are some suggested discussion questions to think about when reading through the pieces.
Critical Appraisal:
- What were the key objectives of the article? Are the objectives relevant to libraries?
- What conclusions did the authors come to and were they just?
- What were the strengths/weaknesses of the piece? (I.e. Was there bias? Did they use credible sources? Were their data gathering methods sound?)
Current Practice:
- Does your library run a similar type of early literacy program? How often do you evaluate this program?
- What methods has your library used to evaluate early literacy programs? Compare and contrast to the method presented in this article.
- What are the strengths and weaknesses of the evaluation method the article discusses? Are there other questions we can ask that help us focus our purpose for evaluation?
Can’t Make It To the Meeting?
There’s lots of ways to get involved! Participate online: share your thoughts on social media using the hashtag #lscjournalclub. Find a local group or try hosting a journal club meeting in your local community. Let us know about it so we can spread the word. If you set up a local group, test your presentation skills by leading the discussion.
Leave a comment here with any questions or your thoughts about the articles.
