What Motivates a Lifelong Learner?

Lifelong learners are people who display an attitude and ability that prompts them to learn across their life spans. Even in the testing environment of United States schools today, a goal of library media specialists is to help children become lifelong learners. The Self-Determination Theory (SDT, Deci & Ryan, 1985) provides a framework for examining a positive disposition toward learning, or the motivation to learn: the key attribute of a lifelong learner. Additional areas explored include contributions of school library research toward an understanding of student motivation, suggestions for further areas of study, and implications for school libraries.