Why Should Principals Support School Libraries? -Review by Trisha Sabel
The opening paragraph peaked my interest in part because I have a master’s in educational leadership and agree with the statement “…many principals overlook libraries and librarians as potentially powerful instruments in that work because they have not been educated to the library’s value and library media research rarely appears in administrator publications” (Wilson & Blake, 1993). In review of my personal collection of educational leadership resources, I reviewed “Critical Technology: Issues for School Leaders” by Susan Brooks-Young. This text addresses the value of library media services and supports the role of the library media specialist in several aspects. Specifically the author states, “...it supports the fact that library/media specialists’ influence cannot begin and end at the library entrance. Library/media specialists must be active members of the school community, working collaboratively with administrators, teachers, students, and parents to help students achieve information literacy” (Brooks-Young, 15). This reiterates what is said in “Why should principals support school libraries?” The issue perhaps lies with ample examples of best practice of library media services. Case in point, we must continue to share, collaborate, and inform our school leaders of the value of library media specialist and the strengths we can bring to the school as a whole.
The other key point within this article is the importance of aligning the library media specialists’ position to enable them to collaborate and become effective in their role as a leader within the school building. To often the library media specialists’ role is relied upon to provide prep time for teachers and doesn't allow for a flexible schedule. This has become evident in my role, especially at the elementary level. By educating school administrators to the potential of expanding the leadership role, we will benefit student learning through needed time for collaboration.
Purcell, Melissa. "All Librarians Do Is Check Out Books, Right? A Look At The Roles Of A School Library Media Specialist." Library Media Connection 29.3 (2010): 30-33. Literary Reference Center. Web. 23 July 2012.
http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=lfh&AN=55822153&site=ehost-live
This article would be a useful addition to the toolkit because it discusses the many roles of a library media specialist and details how that role functions within the school setting. The roles mentioned and discussed are: leader, information specialist, teacher, program administrator, and instructional partner.
The main points included for each section are:
Leader: Active participation in the daily functioning of the school, collaboration with admin, teacher, students, and colleagues, professional commitment, promotion and advocacy, and sharing evidence of program success.
Instructional Partner: Collaboration with staff in students’ best interest, curriculum design/assessment, and helping students to bridge the gap between curriculum, resources, and knowledge.
Information Specialist: Finding and evaluating resources in all formats, integrating higher order thinking skills, helping students weed through the vast amount of information available, and teaching them the skills to do so independently.
Teacher: Encourages students to be thinkers, readers, and researchers, instruction of 21st century skills, and show teachers the best way to instruct students about this.
Program Administrator: Library procedures and management, assessing the needs of the school/district, inventory, committees, creating/enforcing policies, budgets, circulation, and more.
The inclusion of this article would be beneficial to administrators to see in the toolkit, they would be able to learn more about the various “hats” that librarians wear and the many duties that come with each role.
SHANNON, DONNA M. "Perceptions Of School Library Programs And School Librarians." Teacher Librarian 39.3 (2012): 17-22. Academic Search Premier. Web. 23 July 2012.
http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=aph&AN=71988595&site=ehost-live
This was a research study done focusing on administrator’s perceptions and support of school library programs. Research studies done in the past found that in general administrators had limited appreciation and understanding for their school library programs. This study was given to administrators who “get it” and had shown support for their school library programs, the study begged the question “What could we learn from them?”. The findings were interesting. The respondents of the study were asked both open and closed ended questions about the role of the librarian and the library program in a school. The study asked administrators to give strategies that other principals might use to support a library program; such as communicating to staff the importance of the library. The article noted that administrative support is crucial to the success of a school library program and that we need to educate administrators on three main points if we want our libraries to be successful: 1) the potential, positive impact on student learning and achievement, 2) the role of the school library/librarian, and 3) what they can do to help support the library within a district.
I think this article would be a very useful addition to the administrator’s toolkit. The author was very thorough in her study. Also, as an administrator, reading an article about a research study where a group of administrators who are already supportive of their school libraries were surveyed might be both very informational and very empowering.
Tiffany Braunel (see also submitted word doc.)
Trisha Sabel, Director of Library Services
Kiel Area School District
Julie Weideman (see also submitted word doc.)
Program Evaluation Tool - Designed as a program evaluation tool to evaluate the strengths and areas of deficiency in a school library system. Although it is suggested to evaluate the program every three to five years, I think a consistent three year rotation--in conjunction with the completion of the Three-Year Information Technology Plan would be most beneficial.
Why Should Principals Support School Libraries - A beneficial article that reflects the importance of a strong and growth oriented library media program. Strongly suggests the importance of administrative support to continue to provide high quality programs and materials to students and staff.
"Changing Education paradigms"-Reviewed by Trisha Sabel
An additional resource, although I have deviated from the prescribed published article in an educational journal, is a video “Changing Education Paradigms.” I found this video on the 21st Century Teaching and Learning website. As is obvious in much of what we review in professional development and the resources provided, administrators are constantly searching for relevant media to integrate with some profound message. I chose this video as it supports the change in education and I believe if we start to connect the change with the possibility of the library media specialist as an important change agent, the outcome can be beneficial to student learning and achievement.
This article first outlines how our education system is failing. There is a high dropout rate and those who go on to college are not prepared. “College instructors expect students to draw inferences, interpret results, analyze conflicting source documents, support arguments with evidence, solve complex problems that have no obvious answer, draw conclusions, offer explanations, conduct research, and generally think deeply about what they are being taught” (Zmuda). Teaching to the standardized tests has limited our students’ capability to do this. The article then goes on to explain what learning specialists are and how librarians qualify to act in this role. More importantly the article outlines the key role that librarians’ can play in helping administrator’s achieve the goals and plans for improvement they have through continued professional development and leadership. It confirms how librarians are agents of change if allowed the necessary resources to do so.
This article outlines the importance of information literacy and how it is becoming more important as the world changes at a more rapid pace. Specifically, it explains how changes in technology are changing the definition of information literacy. Participatory knowledge is a new aspect of information literacy. Students must not only consume information but they must know how to become collaborative information users with wikis, blogs, and user-created web sites. They must be skilled socially and in communication in order to be effective users. Another key point the article made is that the new literacy isn’t just about reading words. New technologies allow students to mix word with other things in order to communicate. Words will still be a part of the puzzle, but students need to be able to use sound, images, and video mixed with words in order to communicate. The role of the librarian is to ensure that our students are indeed information literate in regards to these changes.