Transcript Field Guide to an Evolving Species:

Library Media
Teachers and
School Libraries:
A Field Guide
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Why a field guide?
Libraries and librarians are evolving!
Many educators and
administrators have not
seen a working model
of today’s dynamic,
wired library media
center!
Today’s Library
Information Center
The “brain” of the school
 The center of engaged, active,
authentic, inquiry-driven learning
 Where information professionals, with
educational credentials, teach critical
21st century skills
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Habitat
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School building
But the library is not just a place!
The library’s virtual reach is extensive
(anywhere, anytime through its Web
presence!)
This reach may be long-lasting, and
demonstrated in:
– Love of reading, viewing, listening
– Lifelong, transferable skills relating to
information literacy and critical thinking
The library media
teacher is critical
in the learning
ecosystem!
S tudents:
ACTIVE
implement ors,
part icipants,
and
stakeholders in
t he problemsolving,
learning, and
assessment
processes
Librari ans:
Informat ion
experts, info lit
int egrat ors,
program
administ rators,
co-t eachers, coinstruct ional
designers, tech
leaders, t rainers
Technol ogy and
resources : tools
t hat assist in info
access,
communicat ion,
problem solving,
production
Ecosystem of an
information
literate learning
community
Library is a critical
component in an
information literate
school culture
Communi ty:
supporters of
instruct ional
programs.
Offers
aut hent icit y,
expertise,
apprenticeship
opport unities
Teachers:
Developers
an assessors
of inquirybased,
problem
solving
project s (in
part nership
with
librarians)
Admi nistrators:
Leaders who set
expectations for
high qualit y,
inquiry-based
learning and an
informat ion
literat e school
Michael
Wagman and
Joyce Valenza
Changes in the learning
ecosystem are supported by the
evolved library media center!
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Explosion in information and communication
technologies
Brain research (multiple intelligences)
Constructivism—students creating
knowledge
Standards, learning outcomes, evidencebased practice
Differentiating learning
Inquiry-based, resource-based,
project/problem-based, interdisciplinary
learning, driven by essential questions
The library media teacher is
the point person for:
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Knowledge of the whole curriculum
Teaching of literacies for all media
Intellectual property / fair use guidance
Effective pedagogical strategies
Intellectual freedom: assuring access to
information
Technology integration
Reviews / suggestions of software and print
resources for content areas
Literature in all formats
What goes on in today’s
library information
center?
Students:
 discover, engage in, discuss, and borrow
literature in traditional and emerging
formats
 learn to effectively use ideas and
information
 use information technologies to access,
evaluate, and communicate information
What does this habitat look like?
On any given day
you might see
students . . .
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Preparing multimedia presentations and
websites
Learning how to improve their Web
searches
Using high quality subscription databases,
highlighted on the library website
Learning how to evaluate information
sources
Learning how to ethically document
resources
Defending a thesis in a thoughtful
presentation
Reading books, browsing through
magazines, viewing DVDs, listening to
audio-books
Library Media Teachers,
guided by National and State
standards, ensure:
Students develop information literacy
skills
 Students know how to use current
technology applications
 Equity! That all students have
guidance and access (physical,
intellectual, and flexible) to high-quality
information sources on- and offline
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Library Media Centers are
where skills are applied!
School libraries are where the rubber
meets the road—
Where all the technology skills learned in
computer labs, where all the process skills
learned in language arts, are applied in
research and communication efforts.
Are librarians
an unnecessary
expense in a
digital information
landscape?
NO!
Why not?
A good library media
teacher is one of the best
educational bargains
in town!
In a wired school, library
media teachers are
information specialists:
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website developers
partners in creating instruction—
on- and off-line
database experts
upholders of intellectual freedom
protectors of intellectual property
technology leaders and scouts
trainers and integrators
The Internet cannot
replace libraries.
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The boxes and wires we put in
our classrooms and labs will have
little meaning unless information
professionals select quality resources
for them.
Information technology has little
value unless we teach students how to
effectively and ethically locate, analyze,
evaluate, synthesize and communicate
information.
But, a librarian cannot
do it alone!
But I am
really good!
Even if he or she is really good!
Process standards must be integrated and
assessed across disciplines and grade levels.
It takes a village!
Tech
Director
Classroom
Teachers
To raise an information literate child!
School Library Journal, Nov. 2002
How do you recognize
the evolved library
media teacher in action?
Roles of this species:
 Promoters
of literacy
 Information professionals
 Program administrators
 Instructional partners
As Promoters of Literacy,
library media teachers:
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Advocate for intellectual freedom,
(intellectual, physical, flexible access
for learners)
Motivate students to pursue individual
reading interests
Maintain lively interesting collections
designed to meet the needs of all learners
Promote lifelong learning
Encourage professional and curricular
reading and learning
As information
Professionals, library media
teachers:
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Integrate technology and information literacy into
the whole-school curriculum through curriculum
design and direct instruction!
Teach information skills critical in an informationrich landscape
Use expertise in information management, and
selection, storage, retrieval, and evaluation of
electronic resources and service
Train teachers and students to use new and
emerging information technologies
Model legal guidelines and information ethics
Are human links between technology and
knowledge
As Program Administrators,
library media teachers:
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Provide management expertise,
planning, and evaluation
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Advocate for the library program and
for the learners it impacts
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Have the knowledge, vision, and
leadership to steer the program
creatively and energetically in the
twenty-first century
As Instructional Partners,
library media teachers:
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Collaborate with teachers to design
authentic learning tasks and assessments
required to meet subject area standards
Teach literacy skills for all media
Analyze learning and information needs and
acquire resources to meet those needs
Provide curricular leadership in
information literacy
Design professional development
Function as critical member of the
curriculum and technology teams
Born Free?
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A teacher-librarian’s contribution
(evolution) is hindered when he or she is
tied to clerical duties and regular
coverages
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Libraries should not be an opportunity
to schedule teachers’ prep.
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To create effective library programs,
administrators must allow librarians to
function as professionals by providing
support staff and by scheduling classes
around students’ needs rather than
teacher planning time.
Endangered status
Teacher-librarians have been
threatened in several states, despite
evidence of their importance to the
ecosystem
 Situation especially critical in poor,
urban areas
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It’s a national problem:
[It’s a] “form of theft that is too often
irreversible . . . It is a conscious act of
social demarcation: a shameful way of
building barriers around a child’s mind,
of starving intellect, of amputating
dreams.”
Jonathan Kozol in Ordinary Resurrections, on New
York City Schools dismantling its school libraries.
Research shows:
Strong school library programs have a
measurable impact on student
achievement
A well-supported school library media
center, with an integrated curriculum, is
likely to raise reading achievement
scores by 10–20 percent.
Based on findings of Library Research Service School
Library Media Impact Studies http://www.lrs.org/
Research also shows:
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Professionally-staffed, well-stocked, and well-funded
library media programs are critical to the success of
schools in helping every child to learn.
Successful schools are those whose library media
specialists exercise a strong leadership role, integrate
library media resources into a standards-based
curriculum, and most importantly, collaborate with
classroom teachers.
The more time library media specialists are able to
spend teaching teachers as well as students to make
more effective use of information resources, the more
successful the school will be.
“Librarians, Teachers & Principals Agree.” Fast Facts: Recent Statistics
from the Library Research Service. ED3/110.10/No. 178. July 1, 2001.
School libraries are key
to learning!
The largest study of its kind to date revealed:
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99.4 percent of students indicated that the
school library and its services help them
learn.
Libraries are dynamic rather than passive
agents of learning
The school library has a strong role “as an
agent for individualized learning, knowledge
construction and academic achievement.”
2004 Ohio study Ross Todd and Carol Kuhlthau
http://www.oelma.org/SLFindings.html
Libraries count!
Effective library media programs—when led
by active, involved librarians—can have a
discernible positive impact on student
achievement regardless of student, school
and community demographics.
Hartzell, Gary. “Why Should Principals Support
School Libraries?” EDO-IR-2002-06. Nov. 2002.
Outlook for survival of
the species
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Some school librarians will thrive!
– Critical to the ecosystem
– Find resources and support
– Information literate school culture valued by
instructional team
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Some will fade
– Not critical to the ecosystem
– Unsupported
– Undervalued by instructional team
So, what is the
future of the
species?
Choose your own scenario!
Future School Scenario 1
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Library services are under/unfunded, undervalued
Students and teachers use free Web exclusively
No one advocates for students’ broad physical and
intellectual access to information
No one visits library. Print is not valued
Information skills are not taught or valued
Result:
Students go off to college or workforce unprepared
to effectively locate, evaluate, analyze, use,
communicate information
Future School Scenario 2
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Teachers and students recognize need for
information skills instruction across curriculum
Students and teachers use library’s online
databases and presentation resources
School library webpage is dynamic and essential
to student success
School librarian is key trainer in development
of online instruction
Teachers value and assess process skills:
information gathering, evaluation, synthesis,
ethical use
Result:
Learners graduate fully prepared to effectively
locate, evaluate, analyze, use information in an
information-rich world!
Teacher-librarians:
• Help learners learn!
• Help teachers teach!
• Manage knowledge and
learning!
• Are the human links between
technology and learning
“What a school
thinks about its
library is a
measure of what it
thinks about
education.”
Harold Howe, former U.S.
Commissioner of Education
For more information on the
library’s impact on student
achievement:
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Library Research Service
– http://www.lrs.org/
Information Power: Nine Information Literacy
Standards for Student Learning
– http://www.ala.org/aasl/ip_nine.html
Colorado and Texas studies by Lance,
Loertscher and Smith, summarized in: Hartzell,
Gary. “Why Should Principals Support School
Libraries?” EDO-IR-2002-06. Nov. 2002.
Library Research Service
– http://www.lrs.org/School_lib.html
Further Sources
Lance, Keith Curry. Proof of the Power: Recent Research
on the Impact of School Library Media Programs on the
Academic Achievement of U.S. Public School Students.
ERIC Digest. (ERIC Document Reproduction Service
No. ED 456 861), 2001.
– http://ericit.org/digests/EDO-IR-2001-05.pdf
Lance, K. C., and David Loertscher. Powering Achievement:
School Library Media Programs Make a Difference –The
Evidence. San Jose, CA: Hi Willow, 2001.
Lowe, Carrie. The Role of the School Library Media Specialist
in the 21st Century. ERIC Digest. (ERIC Document
Reproduction Service No. ED 446 769). 2000.
– http://ericit.org/digests/EDO-IR-2000-08.sht