The Multifaceted Role of the Library Media Program
The role of the Library Media Program within a K-12 school is as a central hub for learning, professional growth, and collaboration between all members of the school community. The librarian is responsible for a multitude of roles including those of program administrator, literacy expert, instructional partner, teacher, and information specialist. Being knowledgeable about all of these roles, and executing them effectively, allows for the library to become the core of information and 21st century skills for students, teachers, administrators, and parents. Schools are well past the dawn of the digital age, and in order to catch up with emerging technology and necessary skills, it is up to librarians to place themselves at the forefront of knowledge. This includes informing and supporting teachers of new pedagogies, literacies, and digital tools to increase student achievement and growth.
Despite the new focus on digital trends, the traditional role of the librarian as a literacy expert has not gone anywhere in the 21st century—in fact, it has grown. In addition to providing print materials to match student abilities and interests and to support curricular initiatives, digital resources also need to be curated. Online articles, interactives, pictures, and portals need to be evaluated and vetted before being added to resource lists. Additionally, a love for reading still needs to be nurtured in students who are more used to reading snippets of headlines and status updates than longer texts. All of these challenges are at the forefront of a librarian’s role and are vital to supporting student achievement.
Librarians have also proudly earned the title of teacher, both by creating and teaching their own lessons, and by collaborating with their colleagues to teach skills to support content area classrooms. Teacher-librarians have a unique set of skills that allow them to effectively integrate 21st century skills and technologies into their lessons, while aligning instruction with both AASL standards and those of the Common Core. By staying abreast of pedagogical theories, and available digital tools and resources, we are able to teach reading, research, and learning skills to foster the critical thinking, creating, and evaluating that applies to all classroom areas.
Through this teaching, librarians are also looked to as instructional partners who need to support and co-teach with their colleagues. They provide support through curation of differentiated resources, providing professional development on new digital tools, and addressing deficit skills within the library classroom itself. Having flexible time to plan and co-teach with colleagues is invaluable in allowing them to feel comfortable trying new strategies ,or applying research within their classrooms. This co-teaching can lead to teachers implementing effective research techniques, and utilizing digital tools, on their own in the future. It is vital as a librarian to share your expertise with teachers and administrators in your building so that they begin seeing you as a teaching resource they can turn to.
One of the strengths of librarians, and a title we have proudly gained, is that they are media-specialists. This encompasses the realm of information specialists, and alludes to the fact that their expertise lies broadly with finding information. In the 21st century, the amount of information that the internet has made available can be overwhelming. Knowing the proper tools to search through the sea of facts, and using this information effectively and ethically, can be tricky. By providing lessons to students, professional development to teachers and administrators, and learning sessions to parents, library media-specialists can begin passing their proficiency onto the stake-holders within their building. Being a reliable resource for the most current laws, resources, and search strategies, continues to make the job of advocating for our importance easier. It is imperative that all stake-holders within a building recognize our abilities to support student achievement by allowing the information overload to become navigable. This is how we stay most relevant and is, in my opinion, our most important role. Who knows what new information sources we may see in the future, but, just as librarians have continued to be information experts during a shift from a print to a digitally informed world, they will continue to do so with any new format that may appear.
Lastly, the Library Media Center is a program and needs to run effectively and efficiently within a school building. This means that patrons need to know how to access information, both print and digital, how to find resources, and that Library Media Specialists need to be continuing to hone their program to fit the needs of their clientele. Collections need to be ever-changing as populations change, action research needs to inform decisions and professional growth opportunities need to be sought after. By networking with other professionals and advocating for your program, a Library Media Center can continue to be the heartbeat within the walls of a school building.
The role of the Library Media Program within a K-12 school is as a central hub for learning, professional growth, and collaboration between all members of the school community. The librarian is responsible for a multitude of roles including those of program administrator, literacy expert, instructional partner, teacher, and information specialist. Being knowledgeable about all of these roles, and executing them effectively, allows for the library to become the core of information and 21st century skills for students, teachers, administrators, and parents. Schools are well past the dawn of the digital age, and in order to catch up with emerging technology and necessary skills, it is up to librarians to place themselves at the forefront of knowledge. This includes informing and supporting teachers of new pedagogies, literacies, and digital tools to increase student achievement and growth.
Despite the new focus on digital trends, the traditional role of the librarian as a literacy expert has not gone anywhere in the 21st century—in fact, it has grown. In addition to providing print materials to match student abilities and interests and to support curricular initiatives, digital resources also need to be curated. Online articles, interactives, pictures, and portals need to be evaluated and vetted before being added to resource lists. Additionally, a love for reading still needs to be nurtured in students who are more used to reading snippets of headlines and status updates than longer texts. All of these challenges are at the forefront of a librarian’s role and are vital to supporting student achievement.
Librarians have also proudly earned the title of teacher, both by creating and teaching their own lessons, and by collaborating with their colleagues to teach skills to support content area classrooms. Teacher-librarians have a unique set of skills that allow them to effectively integrate 21st century skills and technologies into their lessons, while aligning instruction with both AASL standards and those of the Common Core. By staying abreast of pedagogical theories, and available digital tools and resources, we are able to teach reading, research, and learning skills to foster the critical thinking, creating, and evaluating that applies to all classroom areas.
Through this teaching, librarians are also looked to as instructional partners who need to support and co-teach with their colleagues. They provide support through curation of differentiated resources, providing professional development on new digital tools, and addressing deficit skills within the library classroom itself. Having flexible time to plan and co-teach with colleagues is invaluable in allowing them to feel comfortable trying new strategies ,or applying research within their classrooms. This co-teaching can lead to teachers implementing effective research techniques, and utilizing digital tools, on their own in the future. It is vital as a librarian to share your expertise with teachers and administrators in your building so that they begin seeing you as a teaching resource they can turn to.
One of the strengths of librarians, and a title we have proudly gained, is that they are media-specialists. This encompasses the realm of information specialists, and alludes to the fact that their expertise lies broadly with finding information. In the 21st century, the amount of information that the internet has made available can be overwhelming. Knowing the proper tools to search through the sea of facts, and using this information effectively and ethically, can be tricky. By providing lessons to students, professional development to teachers and administrators, and learning sessions to parents, library media-specialists can begin passing their proficiency onto the stake-holders within their building. Being a reliable resource for the most current laws, resources, and search strategies, continues to make the job of advocating for our importance easier. It is imperative that all stake-holders within a building recognize our abilities to support student achievement by allowing the information overload to become navigable. This is how we stay most relevant and is, in my opinion, our most important role. Who knows what new information sources we may see in the future, but, just as librarians have continued to be information experts during a shift from a print to a digitally informed world, they will continue to do so with any new format that may appear.
Lastly, the Library Media Center is a program and needs to run effectively and efficiently within a school building. This means that patrons need to know how to access information, both print and digital, how to find resources, and that Library Media Specialists need to be continuing to hone their program to fit the needs of their clientele. Collections need to be ever-changing as populations change, action research needs to inform decisions and professional growth opportunities need to be sought after. By networking with other professionals and advocating for your program, a Library Media Center can continue to be the heartbeat within the walls of a school building.