TARGET: Library Media Specialists--Where Do They Come From and

[Maureen Simmons <upprduck@DIGITAL.NET>]

A) Where do Library Media Specialists come from?  Are they worn-out teachers
or Library Science grads?  Are there other areas that they come from?  Do
they come from corporate libraries or training?

B)  I wonder if your schools have plans to transform Library Media
Specialists and Technology Specialists into Cybrarians in the future.
Cybrarians would combine the talents of research and computer technology to
help students retrieve and also create on the web.  Or would the Computer
Science Teacher and the English Teacher vie for that assignment?  How
strongly does the Internet play into your current responsibilities and your
future responsibilities and career plans?

I ask this question because I am a Training Designer with a Bachelors in
Secondary English and a Masters in Instructional Technology, and I feel that
there could be a wonderful future in developing informational media sources
and production in the schools, and that the media specialists will be doing
it.  I also believe that the Internet will be the primary media within 5 to
10 years.  What do you think?

I would like to post a hit report on this topic, but I also wonder if you
could send your responses to LM_NET@LISTSERV.SYR.EDU so that each response
would be seen by the group since this is a broad inquiry.


Maureen Simmons
Instructional Designer/Owner
Internet Media Training Center
upprduck@digital.net