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.
The library media program is an integral part of the learning community.
Information Power (p. 6-7) suggests seven goals of today's library media center including the following areas:
- Intellectual access to information
- Physical access to information
- Learning experiences encouraging information fluency
- Leadership, collaboration, and assistance to teachers
- Resources and activities promoting life-long learning for all
- Program providing local and remote information opportunities
- Learning opportunities for a diverse population
Read Mission and Goals of the School Library Media Program from Information Power.
Read Position
Statement on the Role of the School Library Media Program and the Position
Statement on the Value of Library Media Programs in Education from
American Association of School Librarians (AASL).
Read
the following sections in the course textbooks:
Morris; Appendix A - Key Documents
Information Power Chapter 4 - Learning and Teaching, Chapter 5 - Information
Access and Deliver, plus Appendices A - E.
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
C.A. Brown, Knowledge Quest, May/June 2005; 33.
Checking Your Understanding
Information Power - The school library media specialist's opportunities for cultivating authentic, information-based learning have never been greater, and the responsibilities are also more crucial than have even been. (p. 47)
Create a diagram demonstrating the mission and goals of the library media in a visual way. Use the Mission and Goals of the School Library Media Program from Information Power.
Make It Real
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
AASL Resource Guides for School Library Media Program Development
http://www.ala.org/ala/aasl/aaslproftools/resourceguides/aaslresource.htm
Web-based guides comprise a working bibliography of resources gathered by AASL staff and members to provide information about school libraries.
Bens, Shirley (Nov. 1997). Technology and the Changing Role of Teacher-Librarians. Coordinator of Learning Resources, Technology, and Libraries K-12. Winslow Center, Coquitlam, B. C., Canada.
http://www.sd43.bc.ca/libraryresources/lrc_tech.htm
The role of teacher-librarians in light of economic, employment, technological, and educational trends, considering also initiating and managing change in a Library Resource Center.
Bertoldo, Barbara & Golden, Bev (Dec. 2003) Recipe
for a Dynamic, Learner-Centered Program. Learning Quarterly. School Library Journal.
http://www.schoollibraryjournal.com/article/CA339653
How can a teacher-librarian help students and staff become successful users of ideas and information?
Capitalizing on the School Library's Potential to Positively Affect Student Achievement from the White House Conference on School Libraries
http://www.imls.gov/pubs/whitehouse0602/Resources.pdf
List of resources.
Curriculum-Based Library Program (Norris School District
Bakersfield, CA)
http://www.csba.org/ssd/samples/Instructional/instructional.htm
The role of school libraries in a small, low-wealth school district.
Ditchfield, Owen. Making the Media Center Truly a Center of Learning. Sagebrush Corporation.
http://www.sagebrushcorp.com/support/mediacenter.cfm
Information Power: Building Partnerships for Learning from American Association of School Librarians (AASL)
http://www.ala.org/aasl...
Learning About the Job (School Library Media Specialist) from American Library Association
http://www.ala.org/ala/aasl/...
A starting point for learning / exploring the career field.
Kuhlthau, Carol C. (Fall 1993). Implementing a Process Approach to Information Skills: A Study Identifying Indicators of Success in Library Media Programs. School Library Media Quarterly, 22(1).
http://www.ala.org/ala/aasl...
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.
Pharr, Faye (June 2002). Reflections of an Empowered Library. An address to the White House Conference on School Libraries
http://www.imls.gov/pubs/whitehouse0602/fayepharr.htm
A principal reports on her experience with revitalizing library initiatives in an overall plan for school reform; enhancing student learning by improving library services.
Program Administrator Role of Library Media Specialist from Baltimore
County Public School, MD
http://www.bcps.org/offices/lis/office/administrator.html
As a program administrator, the library media specialist guides and directs
all the activities related to the library media program.
Standards / Regulations for School Library Media Programs
Early Childhood through Young Adulthood / Library Media Overview from National Board for Professional Teaching Standards (NBPTS)
http://www.nbpts.org/candidates/...
Related Document: (PDF document)
NBPTS Library Media Standards
http://www.nbpts.org/pdf/ecya_lm.pdf
Indiana Library and Historical Board Automation Standards, Feb 1997.
http://www.doe.state.in.us/olr/library/libstand.html
Indiana Code
http://www.in.gov/legislative/ic/code/
Searchable version of Indiana's complete legal code.
Information Literacy Standards for Student Learning from American Association of School Librarians (AASL) and the Association for Educational Communications and Technology (AECT) (PDF document)
http://www.ala.org/ala/aasl/aasl...
Johns, Sara Kelly. Heavy
Mettle.
School Library Journal, Dec 2001; 47(12), 41. (Access
requires login)
http://search.epnet.com.proxy.ulib.iupui.edu/login.aspx?direct=true&Auth
. . .
National Board Certification gives librarians a chance to prove their worth.
Library Media National Board for Professional Teaching Standards Listserve Site by Cynthia Wilson
http://www.geocities.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://cnets.iste.org/index.shtml
Section:
Technology Foundation Standards for All Students http://cnets.iste.org/students/s_stands.html
Performance-Based Accreditation (PBA) Legal Standard #26 (Mar 2000)
http://www.doe.state.in.us/olr/library/pbals26.html
Standards and Core Lists from Suburban Library System (SLS), IL
http://www.sls.lib.il.us/reference/standcore/
Standards for Missouri Schools Library Media Centers
http://dese.mo.gov/divimprove/curriculum/standards/lmcstand.htm