School Library: A Place That Learners
Love to Come To . . .
A school library media program is more than the resources,
services, and people. It's more than a building space. It's the thinking
and synergy that occurs when you put all the elements of the learning
community together.
Read Position
Statement on the Role of the School Library Media Program from
American Association of School Librarians (AASL).
The school library professions have always been standards-driven (Mardis and Dickinson, 2009). Beginning with the 1920 report of the Charles C. Certain Committee and continuing through the Information Literacy Standards for Student Learning (AASL and AECT 1998), school library standards have served as a guide for school librariansand school library programs. They offer a vision for teaching and learning to both shape and lead our profession. They shape the library program and serve as a tool for school librarians to use to shape the learning of students in the school. Unlike curriculum-based standards, their implementation success relies on the successful cultivation of 'buy-in' from a range of disciplines and stakeholders throughout the schools and learning communities. Toward that aim, the American Association of School Librarians (AASL, 2007) developed a vision for the school library professions.
The AASL Standards begin by defining nine foundational common beliefs:
- Reading is a window to the world.
- Inquiry provides a framework for learning.
- Ethical behavior in the use of information must be taught.
- Technology skills are crucial for future employment needs.
- Equitable access is a key component for education.
- The definition of information literacy has become more complex as resources and technologies have changed.
- The continuing expansion of information demands that all individuals acquire the thinking skills that will enable them to learn on their own.
- Learning has a social context.
- School libraries are essential to the development of learning skills” (ALA).
Download and read the Standards for the 21st-Century Learner (2007) from AASL. Ask yourself: Are these elements addressed in the curriculum? Where? For added information and practical ideas about these learning standards for school library media, explore the materials at Strong Nests, Successful Students by Annette Lamb.
The Standards for the 21st Century Learner is a logical extension and replacement of the the Information Power guidelines of former decade. They impart a vision of the school librarian as an educational leader. They stat some common beliefs about teachers, libraries, students, and methods as an introduction to the 21st century standards.
Our textbook, Empowering Learners: Guidelines for School Library Programs from AASL is the handbook for the Standards; it offers helpful information in conceptualizing school library media specialist roles for contemporary times.
Note: If you are looking for a resource that provides concrete strategies for implementing and documenting the instruction of the AASL Standards then acquire or access a copy of Standards for the 21st-Century Learner in Action for your professional / personal library (Required text in S574 Information Inquiry for Teachers).
Download and read the MILE Guide: Milestones for Improving Learning & Education (2009, PDF doc). This is the latest guide to implementation and self-assessment of the 21st Century Skills Initiative (P21), The Partnership for 21st Century Skills.
This section of the course contains the following related topics you'll want to investigate:
Program Planning
Program Analysis
Evidence-based Decisionmaking
Approaches to Data Collection
Evaluation
Accountability
Will there always be library media programs?
What would happen if your physical space and collection were eliminated? Would you still have a program? What is your library media program really about?
If your program is rooted in things rather than thoughts and actions, there's a good chance that it won't be around forever. However if your program uses its physical space and collections to promote knowledge construction, information fluency, and life-long learning, it will thrive regardless of building renovation, cuts in materials budgets, and technical innovation.
Read Are
Libraries (and Librarians) Heading Toward Extinction? by D. Johnson
in Teacher-Librarian, Dec 2003.
Also read D.D. Coggins article: Making
the Library into a Cybrary from
Tech Learning, July 2003 and Trends
and Issues: What's Important for the 21st Century School Librarian? by
Carol Brown, Knowledge Quest, May/June 2005; 33.
Watch the video clip (Below) When I Become a Librarian (Length 2:27 minutes) that was created by different-thinking librarians in Mid-Del Public Schools (Aug. 2010).
Checking Your Understanding
Read Marcia Mardis and Gail Dickinson's (2009) Far Away, So Close: Preservices School Library Media Specialists' Perceptions of AASL's Standards for the 21st-Century Learner from School Library Media Research; 12. AASL.
“As instructional partners in our schools, librarians will continue their efforts to support student achievement by providing high-quality curriculum resources and opportunities for the acquisition of skills to prepare students for college and the workplace.
Many research and technology skills are imbedded in those standards, and this provides great potential for further collaboration between classroom teachers and school librarians.”
Kathy Mansfield, library media/textbooks consultant for the Office of Teaching and Learning at the Kentucky Department of Education.
Create a diagram demonstrating the mission and goals of school library media in a visual way.
In Indiana, preservice school librarians complete the Praxis exam for certification. Download and read the brochure for Indiana's Library Media Specialist Praxis Test (PDF doc) in IN (Similar documents can be found for other states at The Praxis Series from Educational Testing Service). Additional information can be found at Indiana Test Requirements.
Make It Real
Seems like the last few decades, our school libraries, schools, and our lives have been increasingly impacted by changes. Global, political, technology and economic changes. It makes lives and jobs interesting and poses several related challenges, but granted it sometimes makes people very uneasy. How do Standards fit into that mix? What should the focus be on for the school library media program?
Read Robin Cicchetti's posting (Dec. 2009) at the CCHS Learning Commons 2010. Also read Doug Johnson's discussion Dangerously Irrelevant Libraries (Nov. 2009) at The Blue Skunk Blog.
Then read Natasha Wanchek's (Mar. 2010) Library 2.0 Enter the Teacher Librarian Enthusiast from The Journal. Part2 of this article series can be read (optional choice) at Library 2.0: 8 Tips from Teacher Librarians.
Is the library program more than a physical place?
A tornado has destroyed the wing of your building containing your library media center and the gymnasium. Somehow the rest of the school building survived. However your center will be closed for the entire year. The school board is thinking about eliminating your position for the rest of the year.
Write a convincing argument explaining how the library program can stay vital even when the physical site is gone. Provide examples in the area of collaboration, leadership, and technology. You must come up with innovative ways to make your program remain vital.
Read More About It
AdvancED
http://www.advanc-ed.org/
Leader in advancing education excellence through accreditation and school improvement, AdvancED brings together the two largest national accreditation agencies - - the North Central Association Commission on Accreditation and School Improvement (NCA CASI), and the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Council on Accreditation and School Improvement (SACS CASI).
Learning About the Job: What Does A School Librarian Do? American Association of School Librarians.
http://www.ala.org/ala/mgrps/divs/aas . . . /learningabout.cfm
A starting point for learning / exploring the career field.
Lowe, Carrie A. (Nov. 2000). The Role of the School Library Media Specialist in the 21st Century. ERIC Digest. ERIC Clearinghouse on Information and Technology Syracuse NY. ERIC Identifier: ED446769
http://www.ericdigests.org/2001-3/21st.htm
Information Power does more than offer an inspiring vision of the future of library media specialists in the school. The authors provide standards for information literacy learning, as well as indicators for each standard. These standards create goals for all educators.
Partnership for 21st Century Skills
http://www.p21.org/
National organization that advocates for 21st century readiness for every student. Provides the MILE Guide.
Position Statement on Resource Based Instruction: Role of the School Library Media Specialist in Reading Development. American Association of School Librarians.
http://www.ala.org/ala/mgrps/divs/aasl/aaslissues/positionstatements/readingdevelopment.cfm
White House Conference on School Libraries
http://www.imls.gov/news/events/whitehouse.shtm
List of resources.
Standards / Regulations for School Library Media Programs
Indiana Code
http://www.in.gov/legislative/ic/code/
Searchable version of Indiana's complete legal code.
Indiana Standards and Resources at Indiana Department of Education
http://dc.doe.in.gov/Standards/AcademicStandards/index.shtml
Indiana's Academic Standards are revised on a regular basis; connect to the current standards at this site..
Johns, Sara Kelly. Heavy
Mettle.
School Library Journal, Dec 2001; 47(12), 41. (Access
requires login)
http://www.ulib.iupui.edu/cgi-bin/proxy.pl?url=http://search.epnet.com/login.aspx?direct=true&Auth
. . .
National Board Certification gives librarians a chance to prove their worth.
Learning 4 Life from AASL
http://www.ala.org/. . ./aasl/guidelinesandstandards/learning4life/index.cfm
This implementation plan is intended to help school librarians and their schools implement the Standards for the 21st Century Learner.
Library Media / Early Childhood through Young Adulthood at the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards
http://www.nbpts.org/for_candidates/certificate_areas1?ID=19&x=55&y=6
Information about the available certificate.
Library Media National Board for Professional Teaching Standards Listserve Site by Cynthia Wilson
http://www.oocities.com/educationplace/lmnbpts.htm
This site is to keep library media professionals abreast of the events and hopefully to provide a medium of communication as many pilot parts of the assessment and later begin their certification process.
National Educational Technology Standards (NETS) from International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE)
http://www.iste.org/AM/Template.cfm?Section=NETS
Planning Guide for Empowering Learners With School Library Assessment Rubric from AASL and Britannica
http://www.ala.org/ala/mgrps/divs/aasl/ . . . planningguide.cfm
A fee-based online tool intended to help school libraries plan, evaluate, implement, and advocate for effective library programs. Go beyond the basics to provide goals, priorities, criteria and general principles.
Video Introduction (Aug. 2010) with Lisa Perez (Length 6:36 min.)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RGQbpWpfj0E
Iowa School LIbrary Program Guidelines: Libraries, Literacy and Learning for the 21st Century (2007). Iowa Department of Education and the State Library of Iowa
http://www.iowa.gov/educate/index.php?option=com_docman&task=doc_download&gid=4769
Similar Resource:
Standards for Missouri Schools Library Media Centers (2008, PDF doc)
http://dese.mo.gov/divimprove/lmc/documents/library_standards_08.pdf
MEMO Information and Technology Literacy Standards (2009) (MN) http://memotech.ning.com/page/memo-information-and
School Library Programs: Standards and Guidelines for Texas http://www.tsl.state.tx.us/ld/schoollibs/sls/index.html
School Library Standars and Evaluation at Resources for School Librarians
http://www.sldirectory.com/libsf/resf/evaluate.html