Great job starting the Blogging project group 1. I just have a few comments in regards to school libraries. My focus area is school media and I feel it is vital that we see school libraries as more then a place to get children interested in books. This opinion of school libraries is causing many schools to close the doors of the media center when budgets get tight. Many elementary schools have a library and its focus is checking out books, but there are many school libraries and media specialist that do more then check out books.
I think Information Power, which is the handbook for every media specialist, says it best: "The goal is to assist all students in becoming active and creative locators, evaluators, and users of information to solve problems and to satisfy their own curiosity" (American Association of School Libraries and Association for Educational Communications, 1998, p. 2). The media specialist devotes a large amount of time to teaching information literacy to students, while collaborating with classroom teachers. The media specialist also assist administration and faculty in their information and technological needs. The media specialist is often an expert in school curriculum and the latest standards and benchmarks. Information Power (1998) states "this mission focuses on offering programs and services centered on information literacy and that are designed around active, authentic student learning..." (AASL & AECT, p. 6).
I just had to offer a bit more about school libraries. In our media specialist classes here at Wayne, it is stressed to us that we need to be seen as more then a "book checker" or we face losing our jobs. I think this class is a good starting point to change that way of thinking about the school media centers.
Works Cited
American Association of School Librarians, & Association for Educational Communications and Technology. (1998). Information power: Building partnerships for learning. Chicago: American Library Association.
18 comments:
I think you made many valid points here. Before entering the LIS program, I had quite the one sided view of a Media Specialist. Most of the ones that I had came in contact with in the past were stuck in a position just as you described. I never knew that they contributed so much more to the field that was being overlooked at times, especially by patrons.
Prior to taken this course I never connected librarians to media centers. I always thought of media center operators as techies.
The summary of the school media specialist is very complete.
What have been your experiences while you were in k-12 schools with library media specialists?
Everyone please share!
Ami,
What a great post about the role of school media specialist!
One of the reasons I decided to focus on school media is that I like the idea of collaborating with classroom teachers on bringing technology into the curriculum, assisting in the choice of books for their reading lists, etc.
The school media specialist is so much more than a "book checker!"
Dr. Hunt,
To answer your question- I will always remember my elementary school media specialist, Mrs. Nagy. I loved her! I was one of those kids who was ALWAYS reading. She was very encouraging, knew me by name, knew the kind of books I liked to read. I would write little stories and bring them to her, and she would read them and give me feedback. Honestly, she made more of an impression on me than just about any teacher that I ever had.
When I did my student teaching, the school media specialist at our library knew the name of every single student in the school. She always went out of her way to talk to them not just while they were in her media center, but also in the hallways and after school. She was also an important part of the school staff, always collaborating with the teachers.
That is the kind of media specialist I would like to be- one who makes real connections with the kids and functions as a valuable member of the school community.
School libraries have always been an awful disappointment to me. I never wanted the abridged children's versions; I preferred all the information I could find. My grandmother was a children's librarian at Sterling Heights Public Library, so I spent a great deal of time there.
In elementary school (K-3), I made an attempt to read every biography in the library. The set they had was really quite dumbed down for children, which really disappointed me. I started checking out more thorough biographies from the public library.
In middle school, library visits were brief and we were never encouraged to actually check out any books. I got out of a shop class in 7th grade to be a library assistant. The librarian was a grouchy old woman who made me re-shelve all the books while she sat and played solitaire. It was still better than shop class and I got to browse the books for the majority of the time.
My high school library was miniature and I spent free hours there talking to people. There were so few books I never actually took the time to check anything out. For all my high school papers I went to the public library.
In retrospect, I wish school librarians took an interest in the students and encouraged them to find books that interested them. All the librarians I've dealt with in school settings (with the exception of college) have been apathetic and abrasive. Their collection-building skills were non-existent. I'm not sure if there was no budget for a legitimate library or they were just bad at selecting books.
Side note: My parents own a collection of books that surpasses any school library I've ever entered, so my opinion of school libraries may be slightly colored by that fact.
I chose Michigan State University to attend for undergraduate because of their massive library. A tremendous amount of time in college was spent browsing the stacks. I also worked in their bibliography support/collection management department for three years. Working there motivated me to pursue this degree.
Currently I work in a middle school library that has been blessed with a brand new building. It's surrounded by windows with natural light, comfy chairs and is, by far, the most beautiful area in the school. Before and after school several kids use it as a hang out while they talk about books or randomly browse the selection. Both I and the head librarian are regularly taking requests for books that students would like to be added to the collection. After checking the reviews, we have been able to "special order" several books for the students which end up in our collection.
We are also equipped with a full computer lab along with 30 wireless laptop computers. Our homepage contains several helpful search links and will soon include a World Book Online link which we have recently purchased. This week, I will begin teaching the students and teachers how to use this valuable electronic resource. Technology is very prevalent in our library and the students are always filled with questions regarding the books and/or the computer usage.
Each day, I have experiences that prove school libraries are more than just books.
My experiences with K-12 school libraries was quite good. But, I also received reading encouragement and access to books that was not available to me at home/from my parents. Like the previous poster, I did not use my HS library for anything other than socializing. Papers etc. were researched at the public and University libraries. AS a mom with elementary aged kids, it seems like our K-5/6 media specialists are doing a really great job of introducing our kids to the joy of reading at a young age and maintaining that with them throughout their elementary years. I have noticed that ability to influence drop off in the middle and HS ages with older kids I know. Many of the kids I know that are of that age would rather spend time at local universities or public libraries. As this was my experience as well, as a HS student many years ago, it seems like this could be an area for attention/work in the library field: relevance with teenagers within the school system.
During elementary school I spent as much time in the school library as I could. Unfortunately, it was still only about once or twice a week. The library was very small, and it seemed that many of the books were outdated.
In middle school and high school, I used the media centers quite often. My parents didn't go to the public library, so most of my resources for projects were from the school libraries. They were larger than the elementary school library, and had several computers available.
In high school, the media specialist was very welcoming to the students. He had been a teacher, so he had relationships with many of the students already. He knew most by name. I always felt very comfortable there and spent many days before class in the media center.
I feel very lucky to have been exposed to media centers where the specialist truly cared about the students. Its unfortunate that some students didn't get the opportunity to feel comfortable and welcomed in their school library.
In elementary school, we only visited the library maybe once a week and only long enough for the class to check out books. While one half of the class checked out books, the others played educational games on the computers. Some years there weren't enough computers so we had to share with a classmate. The librarian, Mrs. Klein (however I only remember her name and what she looked like)basically checked out books and assisted students in finding books they wanted. Our classroom teacher assisted those on the computer.
I only remember visiting my middle school library on one occation. Pretty sad, huh? If I remember right, the only reason I went was for a "girls only" video, you know the one you had to have your parents sign a permission slip to watch. I don't think students were given the opportunity to visit the library when they wanted or needed to. However, a lack of visites may be due to the small, dark, musty smelling room it was in. I should mention that our district was in financial struggles during my middle school years (we didn't have sports and we only had five hours as opposed to six).
In high school, I frequented the school library for writing classes. I don't remember the media specilist at all. She was a person who stood behind the desk and waited for students to check out books. Once in a while she would assist students in finding a book and maybe help with accessing information from the computer. Mostly, the instructor of the class helped the students with their research.
I'm sure that my schools' libraries have changed since my experiences there, or at least I hope. I personally cannot wait to assist classroom teachers in incorporating technology and literature in their curriculum!
I feel like today's media specialists are a little more involved than the ones I have read about on this blog. I recently have done aiding and student teaching in two different elementary schools during my undergrad studies. Both media specialists were very involved with the library as well as the classroom.
I had the chance to observe for a whole morning the one media specialist and was very excited with what I saw. She spent time talking with teachers about what their next unit was and how she could enhance that in the students' library period. She also wanted to know how she could help in the classroom when she wasn't scheduled to be with the students. She planned special activities for Dr. Seuss' birthday and had students reading, using the computer, and making projects for this day. I did a fairy tale unit while student teaching and she was very eager to help me out and supplement it in the library. This was amazing to me because I didn't think she would help me out since I was only a student teacher.
I think that the media specialist role has changed a lot since most of us were in elementary school. There is more focus on collaboration with teachers. I think this is important to do because many teachers are too busy to think about the library and it gives them a reason to.
I do not actually remember checking out too many books from my high school library, but I do remember our media specialist. She was one of my favorite people in the high school. I would go in to the library to talk to her and discuss things like school work, college plans, career plans, good books, my meager swimming career, family and much more. The library was my favorite place to be and I would be in there whenever I had the chance - after lunch, in between classes, before school, during my independent study hours. She was one of the people who inspired me to first want to be a teacher and now to move into the libraries.
I think Ami is right School Libraries are more than just books.
Thanks for the great article. I am thrilled to find that the role of school media specialists is different than I pictured it. My memories of school librarians include cranky people telling us to be quiet while they waited behind a desk for us to pick out books from the meager selection.
My friend is a teacher and she states that in her school, the media specialist works with the teachers to find out what topics the classes are studying and finds creative ways to expand and enhance the lesson plans.
Finding out that these librarians are more than "book-checkers" has made me see that I need to gain more information about this position. It may be a career I would enjoy.
the second challenge school libraries have is the internet fast relpacing books, and non-children webs. with my teaching experience, children have t be taught to follow orders early. if they know certain websites are not opened in their school for some sanction, this sanctios should be seriously applied if a student is found on such a site. as a younger student i didnot even know a school liberian was a media specialist and get to know that i realise he or she is not only a media specialist but also an instructor and teacher. if parents are not told what their kids should view and what they shouldn't view, some don't even know making things harder for the media specialist to control
the analysis of the type of libraries and their challenges outlined widens my original knowledge of libraries. before entrying the LIS Program i knew a library as a house of books or a storage area for books. what is most intriguing is the fact that there are special libraries. these in my opinion should be encouraged.its intersting to know that even the military can have a library. this library is helpful not only to those in a particular field where this library is found but could also help those who visit those places. Just like schools need financial aid and support, special library too need support just as much.
since all library are liable to financial crash especial those that highly depend on the community, they could take responsibility for their finances. they should find ways of raising their own finances.some of this could be by organising talks on the importance of libraries. they could also organise film shows that will call the crowd like twice a month for registered members. libraries should also have a publicity sector that could send out members to solicite aids. with the forth coming dominating technology, sessions on learning hoe to use ebooks, eEncyclopdias and other elctronic resources could urge people to be will to support library growths.
I did not have a good experience with any of my media specialists. The one I had for k-6 was not helpful at all and many kids were afraid of her. It did not get much better in Junior High and High School, our media specialist was plain mean and unapproachable. I found going to the public library a lot more helpful and welcoming.
I agree the there were interesting points about the school media center. Unfortunately in my school district there are scarce media centers. The research indicates that a school media specialist increases acheivement so this is baffling to me. Right now my daughters will have to learn to take advantage of the library from me.
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