Hit: Hiring a REAL Library Media Specialist

["Jeanette B. Heath" <heathf@DREAMSCAPE.COM>]

Hit:  Hiring a REAL Library Media Specialist

Information Power--has all the guidelines, etc. for school media
centers.  Also, talk to someone in the media resource division of your State
Dept. of Education.
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Check out "What Works: Research About Teaching and Learning Through the
School's Library Researce Center" by Ken Haycock.  (Rockland Press, 1992)
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There is alot of literature out there which supports the
placing of a qualified library media specialist in the library.  In your
case I think getting a copy of Information Power (published by the
American Library Association) would be a good starting point, as would
getting a copy of your state's requirements for the job.  It is such a
diservice to the school to have an unqualified person in the position,
especially in this day of increased curriculum responsibility and the
integration of technology into the scope and sequence.  Yes, she can
probably check out books and read to students but I doubt she has a clue
about the remaining 90% of the job and I'm afraid the library probably
reflects that.  Harsh but usually true.   Barbara Weathers
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There are two important research documents which make a case for an
elementary library media specialist:
the Colorado Study, available from Scarecrow Press
and The Power of Reading, by Stephen Krashen.
If you are unfamiliar with them, call your BOCES School Library System
Director.  They are also summarized in School Library Journal, May 93 issue.
Keep me posted.
Carolyn Giambra, SLMS President, CGiambra@aol.com
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Mrs. Jeanette B. Heath
Library Media Specialist
Red Creek Jr./Sr. High School
Red Creek, NY 13143
Heathf@dreamscape.com