LIBRARY MEDIA PHILOSOPHY

The School Library Media Center is a force for excellence in education.   An effective library media program is an integral part of the total educational experience, teaching students the basic processing skills necessary to connect them with information and ideas in all subject and interest areas.   These lifelong learning skills include developing critical thinking skills, promoting leisure reading and utilizing the full range of resource materials from print, multimedia and electronic sources.

A successful library media program provides access to information, as well as the resources and instruction in skills necessary for students to become independent learners unlimited by the boundaries of an individual library media center.   These information and technology skills are most meaningful when taught within a subject area, within an inter-disciplinary unit or within a unit that addresses an authentic, real-life need or problem.   It is equally important for the library environment to offer students a variety of literary genres, motivating them to appreciate the world of literature through reading, listening and viewing materials.

To prepare students for the future, the library media center must be a gateway to information. Students will need to know how to access, evaluate and choose from a constantly changing and growing reservoir of information for educational, personal and recreational purposes. The responsibility for helping students achieve information literacy involves the collaborative efforts of library media staff, teachers, technology staff and administrators. Since students need many carefully planned opportunities to access, use, and evaluate information in all subject areas and formats, information literacy and library skills are not taught in isolation but as part of the regular curriculum. Because library work and classroom work are done together, the teaching of the knowledge and skills of the various school subjects and the teaching of information literacy reinforce one another.

Reference: American Association of School Libraries,Information Power: Building Partnerships for Learning (Chicago: American Library Association, 1998).

The Library Media Specialist's Taxonomy

1. NO INVOLVEMENT.
The library media center is bypassed entirely

2. SELF-HELP WAREHOUSE
Facilities and materials are available for the self-starter.

3. INDIVIDUAL REFERENCE ASSISTANCE
Students or teachers retrieve requested information or materials for specific needs.

4. SPONTANEOUS INTERACTION AND GATHERING
Spur-of-the-moment activities and gathering of materials occur with no advance notice.

5. CURSORY PLANNING
Informal and brief planning with teachers and students for library media center involvement -- usually done in the hall, the teachers' lounge, the lunchroom, etc. (Here's an idea for an activity and new materials to use. Have you seen...? Can I get you a film?)

6. PLANNED GATHERING
Gathering of materials is done in advance of class project upon teacher request.

7. EVANGELISTIC OUTREACH
A concerted effort is made to promote the philosophy of the library media center program.

8. SCHEDULED PLANNING IN THE SUPPORT ROLE
Formal planning is done with a teacher or group of students to supply materials or activities for a previously planned resource-based teaching unit or project.

9. INSTRUCTIONAL DESIGN, LEVEL I
The library media specialist participates in every step of the development, execution, and evaluation of a resource-based teaching unit. LMC involvement is considered as enrichment or as supplementary.

10. INSTRUCTIONAL DESIGN, LEVEL II
The library media center staff participates in resource-based teaching units where the entire unit content depends on the resources and activities of the LMC program.

11. CURRICULUM DEVELOPMENT
Along with other educators, the library media specialist contributes to the planning and structure of what will actually be taught in the school or district.