A Historical Study of Library Service in Dike Community Schools Dike, Iowa

This study was intended to record the stages in the development of the Dike School Libraries as well as to ascertain the significant influences in the the development of library services in a small Iowa community. The major source of data for this research was the personal interview. Librarians, teachers, administrators and students representing the span of school history from the early 1920 1 s to the present were interviewed. Other primary sources included NCA evaluations, applications for the School Library Media Program Award, and school board minutes. The researcher found the desire of the Dike high school to obtain NCA accreditation to be a major influence in the present level of high school library services in the Dike Community Schools. Other hypothesized influences, the rapid population growth in the mid-nineteen sixties, federal programs and the influence of individual librarians and administrators were found to have had an influence on library growth. Principal Kole\u27s interest in elementary libraries at a time when the Dike elementary school was in need of additional classroom space was a major influence in early elementary library development. Under the strong leadership of elementary librarians, especially Wilma Tyler, media specialist 1970-1981, the elementary library twice was recognized as the Iowa winner in the School Library Media Program of the year contest sponsored by AASL and Encyclopaedia Britannica Companies