School Library Media Specialists Research Articles

From School Library Media Specialist to Academic Librarian: Finding and Landing the Job for You!

The following article denotes a library media specialist’s journey to obtain an academic librarianship position through the lens of imposter syndrome. The information contained in the article is presented through a singular lens and provides insight to help inspire library media specialists to apply and obtain future academic librarian positions.

School library media specialists: An evolving profession in a pandemic

In March 2020, Michigan’s school library media specialists, along with the entire educational community, found themselves facing unprecedented challenges brought by the disruption of the COVID-19 pandemic. As learning shifted online, the roles of school library media specialists shifted as well. Three southeast Michigan school library media specialists were interviewed to obtain their perspectives regarding the adaptation to distance learning, as well as how they predicted educational practices will evolve going forward. The educational practices of learning commons, guided inquiry, co-teaching, and information literacy were found to be particularly valuable during the shift to distance learning. The increased dependence on these practices during the pandemic will likely result in increased implementation of these practices when face-to-face learning resumes.

Assessing Pre-service Teachers' Beliefs About the Role of the Library Media Specialist

The revision of Information Power (1998) focuses on building partnerships for greater student learning. While not a radical departure from the previous edition (1988), the recent document emphasizes both greater collaboration and leadership and increased involvement with the technologies of information and learning. This study set out to determine whether teacher education programs were preparing tomorrow's teachers to expect and accept the redefined role of the school library media specialist. It involved the development and the administration of a scale to assess pre-service teachers' beliefs about the role of the school library media specialist. The results of the pilot study reported here are preliminary but suggest that while pre-service teachers distinguish three distinct sets of functions they place more emphasis on those functions associated with information access and delivery than on those related to learning and teaching. Further, pre-service teachers do not appear to understand the role areas of learning/teaching and program administration.

Web-based Instruction for School Library Media Specialists: Unleash the Power of the World Wide Web

A Web-based distance learning course developed with World Wide Web Courseware (WebCT) is the focus of this study. The course, Advanced Reference: Online Searching Techniques, concentrated on assisting students in developing skills for searching Internet resources, in particular the resources and databases of the Georgia Library Learning Online (GALILEO) initiative. The sources of data were logs from the synchronous chat area, bulletin board postings, e-mail communications, course usage statistics, student projects, and structured interviews with the participating students. Results from the preliminary study indicate the following: (1) participants' attitudes towards Web-based instruction are positive and (2) Web-- based instruction provides a learning environment in which participants can develop electronic literacy skills and share their ideas and projects.

School Media Programs and Middle Grades Science Achievement: Results of a Study Performed in Michigan, USA

This paper describes a research study, completed in late 2004, in which the researcher examined the relationship between school media programs and science achievement in grade 8 students in Michigan schools. This paper reports the results of a mixed method sequential explanatory study undertaken to uncover the connection between school media programs and science achievement as well as the factors present in the relationships between school library media specialists and science teachers that encourage student achievement on state-mandated standardized tests.

An investigation into the teaching of information literacy skills by teachers in New Zealand secondary schools

There is very little research looking at how much teachers from any country actually know about information literacy and at how they develop information literacy skills with their students. This contrasts research in recent years which focuses on the influence that school libraries, teacher librarians and/or library media specialists have on student learning. For some time international government and educational bodies, including New Zealand, have recognised that all citizens need skills and processes to enable them to become information literate. This paper reports on findings from a research project which investigated the understanding, knowledge and teaching of information literacy processes of secondary teachers from five urban co-educational state secondary schools.

Increasing Science Literacy through Collaboration between Teachers and School Library Media Specialists

This paper presents current research, and complementary perspectives on how and why interdisciplinary collaboration efforts contribute to positive outcomes for student science achievement. Undergraduate students, practising science teachers, and school library media specialists are included in this discussion.

School Libraries Serving Disadvantaged Populations in the USA

School library media specialists in the United States were surveyed to determine their perceptions of the most critical needs in their school libraries. The purpose of the survey was to develop information to be shared with grant-making agencies and foundations to provide suggestions in determining how money might be appropriated for spending. Results of the survey may also be used to compare the priorities of the general population of school library media specialists with those of specific subsets, such as those serving disadvantaged populations.

Librarians' Perceptions of the Greatest Needs in School Libraries

School library media specialists in the United States were surveyed to determine their perceptions of the most critical needs in their school libraries. The purpose of the survey was to develop information to be shared with grant-making agencies and foundations to provide suggestions in determining how money might be appropriated for spending. Results of the survey may also be used to compare the priorities of the general population of school library media specialists with those of specific subsets, such as those serving disadvantaged populations.

Through the lens of new school librarians

We examined the issues related to delivering service excellence through the lens of 39 graduating school librarians in written assignments for the final course of their certification program, as they focus on what is needed to apply standards to become an effective school library media specialist in the 21st century. Of the 16 issues identified, the concern over technology and their role as a technology specialist dominated the ranking. The results reinforce the ongoing need for education program coursework that continues to emphasize the role of technology in the 21st century school learning environment.

Diverse Roles and Challenges for Teacher Librarians

Central to creating lifelong learners, supporting curriculum, and implementing reliable information access, the library media centre is the umbrella for the school’s core subjects and the library media specialist is the connection between information and diffusion of that information to students. This paper examines school library media specialist roles in the United States and international schools, using the Quality Schools International (QSI) K-12 international school in Tirana, Albania, as a case study. Particular emphasis is placed on technology challenges, education requirements, and the impact of these elements on students, in particular the third culture students found in many international schools.

Dig into Information Literacy with Tools of Collaboration

One achieves more success at one’s job when using proper tools. The more the tools are applied to tasks, the more they become second nature to the user. There are tools of collaboration that will help the school library media specialist and the teacher produce an environment of learning conducive to student achievement. By using these tools for the teaching of information literacy skills, the teacher and the school library media specialist can guide students through dynamic, rewarding, and successful inquiry-based, researchbased units of study. Four essential ingredients in the collaboration are partnership, planning, process, and product.

Benefits of Collaboration between the ESOL Teacher and the Library Media Specialist

With class sizes, administrator expectations, and general workloads increasing, ESOL teachers can feel overwhelmed. This article describes the benefits that ESOL teachers may experience when collaborating with school library media specialists (LMSs) regarding the differentiation of instruction, collaborative planning of lessons, technology integration, and student relationships.

Benefits of Collaboration between the ESOL Teacher and the Library Media Specialist

With class sizes, administrator expectations, and general workloads increasing, ESOL teachers can feel overwhelmed. This article describes the benefits that ESOL teachers may experience when collaborating with school library media specialists (LMSs) regarding the differentiation of instruction, collaborative planning of lessons, technology integration, and student relationships.

The Nuts and Bolts of Educating Pre-Service School Librarians for Quality Reference Work

School librarians and their professional work lie at the heart of providing information in easily accessible formats to students, teachers, staff, administrators, and parents. School librarians play important roles in promoting critical thinking, the wise use of information, and the encouragement of democratic societies. This article outlines a paradigm for the pre-service education of the modern school librarian and school library media specialist. This discussion reflects the influence of state-endorsed standards, examinations, and certifications in how school librarians are educated for service in civil society. Based on examples provided by Texas School Librarian Certification Standards, this article outlines major curriculum areas that preparation programs for school librarians and library media specialists offer today's pre-service students.

Reference Knowledge and Skills for the School Library Media Specialist: An Emphasis on Advocacy

This article discusses the role of the K-12 librarian as a teacher-librarian, highlighting the self-advocacy that school library media specialists often needs to exercise in promoting themselves as equal partners in the education process. Through a strong grounding in reference and instruction, such as that offered in one online school library media specialist certification program, school library media specialists will be prepared to be their own advocates and thus generate support from colleagues, including teachers, administrators, trustees, and parents. With a strong grounding in reference and instruction, they will be prepared to collaborate with teachers and contribute to the educational experience of the students while ensuring the future of the profession.

Assessing Vocational Development in Prospective School Librarians

Objective – To explore the motivations for choosing school librarianship as a career.
 
 Design – Narrative research, qualitative interviews.
 
 Setting – The School Media program specialization in a Master of Library Science program at a large research university.
 
 Subjects – Five graduate school students seeking initial certification as school library media specialists.
 
 Methods – The researcher employed narrative research, based on career construction theory and the Life Story Interview, (McAdams, 1995). This methodology is a set of loosely-structured, open-ended questions designed to encourage detailed, in-depth responses from the participant teller, combined with a more structured Career Style Interview (Savickas, 2005) designed to elicit self-defining stories. 
 
 Data was collected through qualitative interviews, using personal narrative interviews that focused on the entire life of each person from birth to present (Life Story Interviews) and additional questions in an interview format (Career Style Interview.)
 
 Data was collected and analyzed in two stages. The analysis first examined participants as individuals then tried to identify commonalties among the stories. Each life story was examined to determine a career style on the basis of vocational personality, career adaptability and life theme. The interview data was then analyzed for thematic connections and occupational choice. 
 
 Main Results – The final analysis identified the following themes as relevant to the study, and to the career choices of graduate students planning to be school librarians: parental expectations; career changers; librarian mentors; prior library work experiences; reading; library experiences; altruism-service; desire to work with children; financial stability and security; flexibility of work schedule; emotional distance; and vocational personality.
 
 In general, the participants appear to value safe, traditional career choices that allow them to put family first and maintain a flexible work schedule, while also providing financial stability and security. Those who are already teachers noted interest in a job that provides relief and emotional distance from the everyday social problems of students. All five noted the “love of reading” as a motivation for choosing this career path. 
 
 The vocational personality of each subject was determined through interpreting their answers on the Career Interest Surveys, using Holland Occupational Theme RIASEC codes: Realistic, Investigative, Artistic, Social, Enterprising, and Conventional. The vocational personality of all five students did not match the predominant code for school librarians. None exhibited a resemblance to the “enterprising” type, the most prominent personality for successful school librarians. All five did exhibit “artistic” vocational personality, and the researcher notes that this may be an explanation for the choice of librarianship as a second career, as artistic types take longer to find a compatible career match. The researcher also notes that the final code is a “best estimate” for each subject. 
 
 Conclusion – Examining the vocational development of the five graduate students through vocational personality, career adaption and life theme afforded a broader viewpoint than traditional survey studies. The determining of vocational personality type may be helpful to recruitment efforts to the profession, and help make the career choice more visible.

School Library Media Specialist-Teacher Collaboration: Characteristics, Challenges, Opportunities

The most successful school library media specialists are those who collaborate with teachers as full partners in the instructional process. Without assertive action by the school library media specialist, however, school administrators and teachers are likely to be more aware of the media specialist’s administrative role than the roles of teacher, instructional partner, and information specialist. Reductions to library media staff and finding common planning time are examples of serious challenges, but these are not insurmountable. In the context of well-planned instructional projects, collaboration with teachers is a primary way that school library media professionals can demonstrate that their work is a vital part of the academic life of their schools, and a positive factor in improving student achievement.

School Library Media Specialists: What’s in a Name? A lot it seems….

School Library Media Specialists: What’s in a Name? A lot it seems….

Flexible Scheduling May Have a Positive Impact on School Library Circulation

A Review of:
 Gavigan, K., Pribesh, S., & Dickinson, G. (2010). Fixed or flexible schedule? Schedule impacts and school library circulation. Library and Information Science Research, 32(2), 131-37. 
 
 Objective – To determine whether a significant, positive relationship exists between flexible scheduling in elementary school library media centers and per-pupil circulation statistics.
 
 Design – Online survey.
 
 Setting – Library media centers in public elementary schools in two states of the United States.
 
 Subjects – A total of 88 elementary school library media specialists completed the survey.
 
 Methods – A 22-question online survey was created using Inquisite software. A link to the survey was sent via e-mail to a 600-person random sample of public school library media specialists whose names were drawn from the memberships of the North Carolina School Library Media Association and the Virginia Educational Media Association, with combined memberships totalling approximately 2,000. A random sample of 600 was chosen to provide a 95% confidence level with a confidence interval of plus or minus three points. The survey included questions about school schedules (flexible, partially flexible, or fixed), collection size, circulation statistics, total student enrolment, school type (elementary, middle, or high), school location (urban, rural, or suburban), percentage of students eligible for free and reduced price lunch, numbers of full-time professional library media specialists employed at the school, access procedures, and library closure information. The survey response rate was 29.3% (176 respondents). Because fixed versus flexible scheduling is an issue that primarily affects elementary schools, the authors further narrowed their subject pool to 88 elementary school respondents. Data were analyzed using SPSS 16.0 statistical software. Correlation analysis, including the analysis of covariance (ANCOVA), was used to compare differences in the three scheduling types and to control for other variables (such as location, socioeconomic status, collection size, staffing, days closed, and others) that may affect circulation. 
 
 Main Results – Of the 88 elementary school responses, 33 (38%) had fixed schedules, 44 (50%) had partially flexible schedules, and 11 (13%) had totally flexible schedules. Fifty-three schools supplied data regarding per-pupil check-out, and the average number of books checked out per student per year was 52, across all types of schools. The number of book check-outs per pupil differed according to schedule type. Students in schools with fixed schedules checked out an average of 51 books per year, those in schools with partially flexible schedules checked out 46 books per year, and those in schools with totally flexible schedules checked out 71 books per year. When the authors adjusted the data for other factors affecting circulation (such as location, socioeconomic status, collection size, staffing, and others), they found that students in schools with fixed schedules checked out 57 books per year, those in schools with partially flexible schedules checked out 68 books per year, and those in schools with totally flexible schedules checked out 102 books per year. The authors concluded that schedule accounts for 21% of variation in the rate of book check-out per pupil.
 
 Conclusion – These results suggest that the type of schedule used in elementary school library media centers does have a significant relation to circulation statistics. Specifically, when library media centres employ flexible scheduling, students are likely to check out more books per year on average. Although these results are not generalizable, this study provides much-needed research into the relationship between scheduling and circulation, and establishes a basis for further studies in this area.