Study Guide

Field 220: Library Information Specialist 
Sample Multiple-Choice Questions

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Each multiple-choice question has four answer choices. Read each question and its answer choices carefully and choose the ONE best answer.

During the test you should try to answer all questions. Even if you are unsure of an answer, it is better to guess than not to answer a question at all. You will NOT be penalized for choosing an incorrect response.

Objective 0001 
Understand various learning styles, stages of human growth and development, and factors that influence learning.

1. Which of the following student assessment strategies would most contribute to a library information specialist's effective instruction in information literacy skills?

  1. comparing students' mastery of a new skill with the national average
  2. collecting data on students' responses to questions about a newly taught skill
  3. asking students to reflect in writing on the process of learning a new skill
  4. examining how students use a newly taught skill to solve an authentic problem
Answer and Rationale. Enter to expand or collapse. Answer expanded
Correct Response: D.
Examining how students apply a newly taught information literacy skill to solve an authentic problem will enable the library information specialist to assess the students' mastery and real-world application of the skill. The assessment data would help the library information specialist determine whether the students need additional instruction to help them fully master the skill, as well as provide guidance in how to modify future instruction to enhance its effectiveness.

Objective 0002 
Apply concepts and skills needed to be an effective, knowledgeable educator and instructional partner.

2. In which of the following ways should a library information specialist communicate with teachers to best identify the resources required to meet students' information needs?

  1. charting timelines for instructional units by grade level and asking teachers to review them
  2. maintaining a digital request log where teachers can submit suggestions for helpful materials
  3. attending curriculum planning meetings with teachers at the beginning of each unit
  4. having teachers select materials to preview from a list of possible acquisitions
Answer and Rationale. Enter to expand or collapse. Answer expanded
Correct Response: C.
A library information specialist can effectively collaborate with classroom teachers by providing information resources that align with the curriculum. At curriculum planning meetings at the beginning of each unit, the library information specialist can discuss students' information needs with teachers and then ensure that the appropriate information resources are available for the students' use as needed.

Objective 0002 
Apply concepts and skills needed to be an effective, knowledgeable educator and instructional partner.

3. A library information specialist wants to help students develop the technical skills for incorporating images into their multimedia presentations. The library information specialist would most effectively achieve this goal by teaching students how to:

  1. articulate the rationale for choosing images.
  2. create a bank of topic-related images.
  3. use digital tools to manipulate and edit images.
  4. apply correct formatting in bibliographic citations of images.
Answer and Rationale. Enter to expand or collapse. Answer expanded
Correct Response: C.
The tools necessary for the technical task of incorporating images into multimedia presentations are predominantly digital. A library information specialist would best help students develop the technical skills to accomplish this task by teaching them how to use digital tools to manipulate and edit images.

Objective 0003 
Apply strategies to integrate information literacy skills and student learning standards into all aspects of the library program.

4. A library information specialist can most effectively contribute to the process of curriculum development by:

  1. meeting with teachers to integrate information literacy skills and content standards.
  2. teaching information literacy skills through integration with classroom goals.
  3. supplying teachers with instructional materials for resource-based teaching units.
  4. gathering materials based on teacher requests in advance of class projects.
Answer and Rationale. Enter to expand or collapse. Answer expanded
Correct Response: A.
Library information specialists are responsible for integrating information literacy skills and content standards in all library programs and ensuring that the programs align with classroom curricula. For this reason, meeting with teachers to integrate information literacy skills and content standards would be the most effective way for the library information specialist to contribute to the process of curriculum development.

Objective 0004 
Apply knowledge of children's, young adult, and professional literature.

5. A high school library information specialist has a goal of developing and promoting a collection that supports independent reading on STEM-related topics. The library information specialist could best achieve this goal by collecting and displaying titles:

  1. recommended by local business leaders, politicians, and professionals.
  2. that include best-selling books about young entrepreneurs.
  3. recommended by students and teachers from each school department.
  4. about inventors and inventions featured in young adult recommended reading lists.
Answer and Rationale. Enter to expand or collapse. Answer expanded
Correct Response: D.
Titles that are recommended for young adults and that focus on inventors and inventions would be an appropriate and engaging source of information about STEM-related topics for high school readers. Displaying such books in a high school library would be an effective strategy for sparking the students' curiosity about STEM-related topics and motivating the students to read the books independently.

Objective 0004 
Apply knowledge of children's, young adult, and professional literature.

6. A library information specialist is providing resources to a high school English class that is studying a play written by William Shakespeare. The library information specialist can best ensure that the students engage with Shakespeare's ideas in their preferred learning styles by providing:

  1. a video recording of a student production of the play at the high school.
  2. a range of print, audio, video, and Web-based materials related to the play.
  3. a print edition of the play as it was published during Shakespeare's lifetime.
  4. a Web site about Shakespeare that the students can edit collaboratively.
Answer and Rationale. Enter to expand or collapse. Answer expanded
Correct Response: B.
Research shows that multisensory instruction methods and materials provide students with more than one way to comprehend and learn, and are of special value in teaching students who have diverse learning preferences. By providing a range of print, audio, video, and Web-based materials related to the play that the students are studying, the library information specialist will best ensure that all students in the class are able to engage with the ideas expressed in the play.

Objective 0005 
Understand strategies for promoting reading and literacy.

7. A high school library information specialist is working on a goal of promoting leisure reading to foster students' written expression. Which of the following approaches by the library information specialist would best help accomplish this goal?

  1. encouraging students to join book clubs, participate in book blogs, and post short reviews on social media throughout the school year
  2. organizing a schoolwide 30-minute stop, drop, and read session each semester for all students, teachers, and staff
  3. hosting a visiting author so that students have the opportunity to hear about the process of writing a book
  4. tracking the most popular books circulated and providing a list of popular books to students through social media, through the school Web site, and on bulletin boards
Answer and Rationale. Enter to expand or collapse. Answer expanded
Correct Response: A.
Participation in book clubs, book blogs, and social media literary forums provides social stimuli that motivate participants to read for pleasure and respond to books in writing. By encouraging high school students to take part in these social forums throughout the school year, the library information specialist will promote the students' independent leisure reading and written expression.

Objective 0006 
Understand the importance of diversity in literature.

8. Which of the following statements provides the best underlying rationale for collecting historical, geographic, social, cultural, demographic, economic, and curricular data to use in support of the development of a school's library program and collection?

  1. Promoting understanding of student diversity and needs among library personnel is a crucial part of the training process.
  2. Establishing criteria for evaluating the costs and benefits of specific library services and activities is an effective management strategy.
  3. Distinguishing the responsibilities of library staff from those of the wider educational community provides an efficient basis for the division of labor.
  4. Applying knowledge of the diversity and needs of the learning community to resource allocation and maintenance is sound, evidence-based practice.
Answer and Rationale. Enter to expand or collapse. Answer expanded
Correct Response: D.
A school's library program is designed to serve the academic needs of the learning community. The collection and analysis of historical, geographic, social, cultural, demographic, economic, and curricular data allows a library information specialist to identify the diverse academic needs of the school's learning community and determine how well the library program is meeting those needs. The library information specialist can use such data analysis to decide how to maintain and allocate resources.

Objective 0007 
Understand efficient and ethical location and use of information.

9. Which of the following questions would be most helpful for students to ask when determining whether information found in a particular resource expresses a fact or an opinion?

  1. Who is the author's intended audience?
  2. Why is the author considered an expert?
  3. Are the author's sources of information clearly documented?
  4. Can the author's information be empirically verified in other sources?
Answer and Rationale. Enter to expand or collapse. Answer expanded
Correct Response: D.
Statements of fact present empirically verifiable information, rather than personal beliefs or opinions. When attempting to determine whether information found in a resource expresses a fact or an opinion, students can use reliable, credible sources to verify that the information is factual.

Objective 0007 
Understand efficient and ethical location and use of information.

10. When instructing students in the use of footnotes, endnotes, or citations for documentation in a research paper, a library information specialist should ensure that the students fully understand the need to:

  1. number citations consecutively and list them at the end of the document.
  2. indicate the information from other authors with parentheses.
  3. document each piece of information selected for use in the final product.
  4. document every source used during the topic-selection process.
Answer and Rationale. Enter to expand or collapse. Answer expanded
Correct Response: C.
The use of footnotes, endnotes, or citations for documentation in a research paper indicates to readers that the information in the paper is reliable and credible. Hence, students should be taught that these forms of documentation must be included in the final version of their research paper before it is made available to readers.

Objective 0008 
Understand strategies for ensuring ethical and equitable access to information and resources.

11. A parent of a high school student contacts the library information specialist to express concerns about the topic of a book in the school library collection. The library information specialist could best represent the school library code of ethics by explaining to the parent that the:

  1. library information center books are coded with the appropriate grade level.
  2. school library program is committed to the principle of intellectual freedom.
  3. library information center staff are authorized to select books for school reading.
  4. school library program is committed to preparing students for life in a global society.
Answer and Rationale. Enter to expand or collapse. Answer expanded
Correct Response: B.
Promoting students' intellectual freedom is a fundamental responsibility of public education in general and school library programs in particular. The library information specialist's best response to the parent's concern about the topic of a book in the school library collection would be to explain that the principle of intellectual freedom is an essential component of the school library code of ethics.

Objective 0009 
Understand information technology, research, and knowledge creation.

12. A library information specialist in a high school has created digital tutorials that describe the library information center's resources and made them available at school and online. In which of the following ways does this support student learning?

  1. Students no longer have to sort through extraneous research material.
  2. Students are able to access resource guidance independently at the point of need.
  3. Students are able to master different library information center resources at their own learning pace.
  4. Students no longer are required to attend whole-class instruction about the use of library information center resources.
Answer and Rationale. Enter to expand or collapse. Answer expanded
Correct Response: B.
Digital tutorials enable students to access resource guidance independently when they need it. A library information specialist best supports student learning by making digital tutorials available both at school and online.

Objective 0010 
Understand the library information specialist's role as an education professional in both the school and the library communities.

13. Which of the following goals would most likely be achieved by establishing a cooperative relationship between a school library information program and a local public or college library?

  1. increasing the efficiency of the school library information program services
  2. saving money allocated to the school library information program
  3. improving communication between patrons of the two libraries
  4. providing better library information services to students
Answer and Rationale. Enter to expand or collapse. Answer expanded
Correct Response: D.
Establishing a cooperative relationship between a school library and a local public or college library expands the scope of the school library information services, thereby offering students a wider range of services and resources.

Objective 0010 
Understand the library information specialist's role as an education professional in both the school and the library communities.

14. A new library information specialist attends a professional development workshop on effective school library services. The library information specialist's primary purpose for participating in this type of professional development activity should be to:

  1. analyze data to identify key areas for economizing library services.
  2. create a professional development plan to enhance the library information specialist's efficiency.
  3. learn how to apply research-validated strategies to improve library services.
  4. network with other school library information specialists interested in developing better library services.
Answer and Rationale. Enter to expand or collapse. Answer expanded
Correct Response: C.
Professional development workshops provide participants with opportunities to acquire and learn how to apply research-validated knowledge and tools. A new library information specialist's primary purpose for attending a professional development workshop on effective school library services should be to gain knowledge of how to apply research-validated strategies to improve library services. The information specialist could then attempt to apply this knowledge on the job.

Objective 0011 
Understand the library information specialist's leadership role.

15. Which of the following statements presents the best reason for the integration of a school library information program into a school's overall program?

  1. Research indicates a positive correlation between the integration of a school library information program and students' academic achievement.
  2. Evidence of an integrated school library information program increases a school's eligibility for educational grants and government funding.
  3. Assigning a school library information program partial responsibility for instruction allows classroom teachers more time to develop new teaching units.
  4. Studies indicate that the existence of a school library information program raises a school's level of parent/guardian involvement.
Answer and Rationale. Enter to expand or collapse. Answer expanded
Correct Response: A.
Promoting students' academic success is one of the principal objectives of a school library program. Research indicates that integrating the school library program into the teaching and learning of the curriculum and other educational programs at school enhances students' academic achievement.

Objective 0012 
Understand the library information specialist's advocacy role.

16. Which of the following actions would most effectively support a library information specialist's goal of advocating for intellectual freedom?

  1. including a student advisory board in decisions about the library program's new resource acquisitions
  2. providing resources in the library program that represent a diversity of experiences and viewpoints and allowing individuals to seek and receive information without restriction
  3. providing parents/guardians, teachers, and staff with an annotated list of the library program's resources, including notes about potentially controversial subjects
  4. developing a reconsideration process for formally challenged materials, programs, or services in the library program
Answer and Rationale. Enter to expand or collapse. Answer expanded
Correct Response: B.
Intellectual freedom is the right of every individual to seek and obtain, without restriction, ideas and information that represent diverse perspectives. When a library information specialist includes materials and resources that represent a diversity of experiences and viewpoints in the collection, and allows individuals free and open access to those resources, the information specialist is advocating for intellectual freedom.

Objective 0013 
Understand methods for evaluating and selecting print, nonprint, and digital resources in the collection.

17. A school library information center's online public access catalog (OPAC) is most likely to provide which of the following types of information regarding a specific periodical?

  1. abstracts of articles that appear in the periodical
  2. titles of articles contained in each issue of the periodical
  3. whether or not the periodical is part of the collection
  4. names of authors contributing to each issue of the periodical
Answer and Rationale. Enter to expand or collapse. Answer expanded
Correct Response: C.
An online public access catalog (OPAC) is an online database of materials held by a library and is designed primarily for locating books and other materials available at a library. Patrons would consult the school library information center's OPAC to determine whether the library collection includes a specific periodical.

Objective 0014 
Understand professional ethics in all aspects of the school library program.

18. Which of the following scenarios is the best proactive and preventative approach to teaching students about intellectual property rights?

  1. demonstrating a database's citation features when providing students with database instruction
  2. blocking Web sites at the library information center that contain plagiarized or improperly paraphrased information
  3. finding original source documents that teachers can use to confront students about plagiarized passages
  4. monitoring students as they create their papers and pointing out instances of improperly cited information
Answer and Rationale. Enter to expand or collapse. Answer expanded
Correct Response: A.
Databases with citation tools enable students to copy and paste correctly formatted source citations into their written work. Demonstrating to students how to use these tools will help students acquire the habit of citing sources, thus helping them respect intellectual property rights and avoid unintentional plagiarism.

Objective 0015 
Understand strategies necessary for the management of personnel, funding, and facilities.

19. During development of facility plans for a library information center that will include learning technology systems, which of the following actions would be most important for a library information specialist to take?

  1. including sufficient electrical voltage and telecommunication infrastructure for present and anticipated needs
  2. selecting furnishings specifically designed for the types of equipment used in the library information center
  3. creating a partitioned space for Internet workstations that will provide privacy for users
  4. regulating the temperature and level of sunlight to which electronic equipment and materials are exposed
Answer and Rationale. Enter to expand or collapse. Answer expanded
Correct Response: A.
The rapid growth and expansion of information technology means that library information centers must provide a telecommunication infrastructure that will meet anticipated needs as well as known present needs. Effective planning will reduce the cost of upgrading the telecommunication infrastructure to accommodate new learning technology systems.

Objective 0016 
Understand best practices for strategic planning and assessment.

20. As part of an ongoing evaluation of a library information program, a library information specialist has collected data indicating the number of teachers and students by grade level who have used the library information center each month. The library information specialist can use this type of quantitative data most effectively to:

  1. advocate for a budget increase to purchase new materials.
  2. prioritize existing and institute new services to better serve patrons' needs.
  3. make additional staffing requests to improve services to patrons.
  4. determine which and how many resources to deselect from the collection.
Answer and Rationale. Enter to expand or collapse. Answer expanded
Correct Response: B.
The library information specialist could use this type of quantitative data to determine and rank the frequency with which patrons use existing services and to identify services that are not serving the needs of the school community. The library information specialist could then use this information to modify or discontinue less successful existing services and to plan new services that will better meet the needs of the school community.