Higher education media management in the 90s

Abstract

If we were to describe the typical school as revealed through this survey, we would make the following points: 1. Schools housed media services mainly in academic divisions, with the result being that the emphasis was mainly on service to the classroom teacher. 2. Administration of media centers was often a one-person job, with the average school spending about $38.71 per student, or $225,000 for all non-print operations, a large portion of that on personnel. 3. Non-print operating personnel included 1.5 administrators, 1 clerical person, 2 people concerned with maintenance and media distribution, 1.5 people engaged in media production, and just over 9 student helpers. 4. The non-print media operation spent about 15% of its funding on commodities and equipment. Our mythical center had a static year in terms of personnel, but if changes were made, staff was added rather than eliminated. 5. A representative media center at the twoyear school level was housed within a main library operation and often shared staff with other functions of the library service. A fouryear school media center, on the other hand, was a separate operation, often headed by a director who reported to a central academic administrator. 6. Finally, the typical media center operation was found on a campus of 5,800 students, located in the Great Lakes or Rocky Mountain regions, and if it provided any services beyond the normal media distribution or production functions, most often maintained a regional film library which served nearby schools.