Blurred Lines: The School Librarian and the Instructional Technology Specialist

Abstract

Empowering Learners: Guidelines for School Library Media Programs (AASL, 2009) charges school librarians “to play a leading role in weaving such skills throughout the curriculum so that all members of the school community are effective users of ideas and information” (p. 46). Providing leadership in technology integration for the purposes of learning is paramount and the responsibility for leading this movement to prepare learners for participating and succeeding in our global society is seemingly placed with school librarians. While school librarians were once the sole person responsible for technology in the schools, the proliferation of technology in education has resulted in the emergence and adaptation of roles and responsibilities, one such role being the instructional technology specialist. This article reports findings on how the presence of an instructional technology specialist can either enable or deter a school librarian enacting a leadership role in technology integration.