Defining a 21st Century
School Library Media Program
“Technology has
profoundly impacted the school library, providing access to information that
was once available in only the largest academic and research libraries. The
Internet, far from making libraries obsolete, reinforces the need for
instruction in critical thinking and evaluation of information. All of these
are essential teaching areas for the school library. Technological and
information literacies, along with reading development and promotion, are basic
to the mission of the 21st century school library,” (Iowa, 2007).
The mission of a 21st Century School
Library Media Program, in summary, is to provide students and staff with access
to a wide range of materials and technologies, encourage literacy and a love of
reading, develop 21st century skills (Framework,
2013), support the learning of all students, and inspire curiosity and
creativity. It must adapt to support today’s world of information, technology
and digital natives and foster a desire for lifelong learning.
High quality information resources are
no longer primarily paper based and so 21st century media programs adapt to
provide access to digital resources. Media specialist stay on top of technology
trends, evaluate, and provide access to quality, relevant informational
materials (print and digital) that are to be used throughout the curriculum.
As part of a 21st Century Media
Program, library media specialists work with classroom teachers to design
authentic learning experiences to give students the necessary skills to survive
and thrive in the 21st century. These skills include the ability to locate,
evaluate, use, create, and communicate information. The media staff creates an
environment that is inviting, engaging and designed to support 21st learning.
The Infrastructure - What it Would Look Like
Staffing:
● Each
building would have a fully licensed school library media specialist (6 total
in Richfield), who is engaged in professional duties, provides regular staff
development in information literacy, information technologies and integration
into content areas.
● Each
building would have sufficient clerical (1 FTE per building/minimum of 32 hours
a week) and technical help to allow the media specialist to perform professional
duties listed above (in lieu of spending time on clerical and technical
duties).
● The
district would have a Media-Tech director, leadership team, or department chair
responsible for planning and leadership.
● Media
Specialists would participate in district level technology planning and provide
staff training.
● The
media program would have support from district and building leadership.
● The
media specialist would be knowledgeable about student achievement data, content
area standards and curriculum.
Curriculum:
● The
information and technology literacy curriculum would be integrated into all
content areas where appropriate.
● The
media specialist would be an active member of grade level and/or team planning
groups and curriculum writing committees.
● The
media program would be examined as a part of the content area curriculum review
cycle.
● Information
and technology skills would be taught by media specialists in collaboration
with classroom teachers rather than in isolation.
● Flexible
scheduling in the building would permit the media specialist to be a part of
teaching teams and collaborate on info-tech projects.
● A
clear set of information and technology literacy benchmarks would be written
for each grade level based on 21st
Century Learning Standards such as the International Society for Technology in
Education (ISTE) National Educational Technology Standards (NETS), the American
Association for School Libraries (AASL) Standards for the 21st Century
Learners, Minnesota Educational Media Organization (MEMO) Information and
Technology Literacy Standards; and Common Core; standards which include and
call for:
○ Improving
higher-order thinking skills, such as problem solving, critical thinking, and
creativity.
○ Preparing
students for their future in a technology-dependent competitive global job
market.
○ Mastery
of multiple literacies, including technology literacy, and information literacy
(the ability to locate, interpret, use, evaluate, create, and communicate
information).
○ Sharing
knowledge and participating ethically and productively as members of society.
○ Fostering
students’ abilities to effectively communicate and collaborate.
Collection
& Facility:
● The
media center print and digital resources would align with and support the
curricula and would be well weeded and current.
● Materials
would be available in multiple formats to meet the needs of different learning
styles.
● Sufficient
computers/devices and Internet access would exist to allow use of digital
resources.
● The
media center would have an atmosphere conducive to learning and would be
available to the community.
● The
media center would serve as a “hub” for technology and information and would
house tech and media staff.
● Media
center staff would maintain a frequent web-presence in linked resources for students,
staff, and families.
● The
collection would have a wide variety of online reference tools such as
databases, encyclopedias, etc.
● The
program would have a wide variety of software (on-site or in the cloud) that
would allow students access to collaborative learning, and graphic creation and
presentation.
● The
budget would reflect both a maintenance and growth component to the program and
would take into consideration technological needs.
● New
technologies would be identified and added to collection when appropriate to
instructional needs.
This 21st Century Media Center space
includes pods of collaborative spaces, wireless access, and plenty of outlets
to allow use of devices and computers.
Instructional Technology:
21st Century Media Centers. Forsyth County Schools. March 23,
2012.
Forward Steps
The
Library Media Center of the past ... 
Richfield Middle School Media Center, prior to 2010
… moving into the 21st Century. 
Sage Hill
School Library, May 14, 2013
Richfield Middle School Taking Steps Toward
a 21st Century Media Center ...
RMS 6th grade students were actively engaged in a research
project which required them to find information. While trying to model a 21st
Century Media Center, the lack of outlets, insufficient wireless, slow
functioning devices, and lack of equipment left many students without the
ability to access rich online resources. The tables had to be pushed to the
very few outlets available, which was necessary to recharge the devices with a
short battery life. Notice the students in the middle (right photo) who were
using print resources that currently have an average age of 1993 at RMS. The
information they are accessing in the print resources is 20 years older
than the information the students using the digital reference materials were
able to access.
21st Century School
Library Media Program Recommendations
Below you will see recommendations for a 21st media
program. It is not much different than what has been proposed in the past.
That’s because the model is still effective. There is a great deal of research that supports that a sufficiently
staffed and well stocked media center can positively impact student
achievement.
So what’s different?
Media programs and spaces are dynamic. They are constantly
changing to meet the needs of users and provide equal access to
information and technology.
From their early beginnings, the goal of libraries was to give
all users equal access to information implementing the latest technology and
practices. Starting with the concept of organizing information in one place to
make it more accessible, to the introduction of the Dewey Decimal system (which
is currently being re-vamped by forward thinking media specialists), to what has
been spelled out in these pages, media staff and media centers continue to be a
place where people can visit either in person or now virtually to access
information and learn about technology.
So why do we need media
staff – aren’t the resources enough?
Without people, the media center stagnates. Technology
isn’t maintained. Resources get old. Shelves get crowded with outdated books.
New information resources and technologies are not introduced or supported. And
those individuals that don’t have access to these resources through other means
are cut off.
But can’t teachers teach
information and technology skills in their curricula?
Some teachers can and will. In fact, it should be an
expectation for teachers to integrate these skills. However, just like any
subject, we can’t assume that every teacher is going to be good at it. Teachers
are experts in teaching their subject matter. But they may need assistance when
it comes to media skills. There are many great teachers who would like to use
information resources and technology more. But they may need some assistance
and training to navigate the exponential amount of continuously changing tools
and resources out there.
Even the digital native generation varies in their exposure to
devices and technical abilities. There is a definite population of students who
don’t have access to new technologies at home. Those that do can certainly use
phones, get on YouTube and socialize on Facebook. But can these digital natives
find and access credible information? Do they know what credible information
is? Can they use it ethically? Creatively? Collaboratively? As stated, like any
subject, some have more skills than others.
And what about the
current media centers – aren’t they sufficient?
As mentioned, the amount of new information resources and
technology tools has grown exponentially. Also, students are being asked to
research, collaborate, create, communicate, etc. in ways that were not
available just a few years ago. These developments have new infrastructure demands
and require a new way of teaching and learning.
Staffing, Support and Space
Full time media specialist in each building (6 FTEs total) –
responsible for:
●
Teaching students in information and technology
literacy – flexible schedule
●
Leading staff training
●
Aligning curriculum
●
Library and collection management (more info below)
●
See supporting information above for details
Media paras:
●
RHS, RMS and STEM = 1.5 to 2 media para positions (7.5
- hour min./day FTE) per building
●
Cent, RDLS and SH = 1 media para position (7.5 - hour
min./day FTE) per building
●
Responsibilities include: student management in media
center, book checkouts, cataloging, AV tech management
Tech paras (for consideration in the tech department staffing):
●
RHS, RMS, STEM = 1 FTE tech para per building
●
Cent, RDLS and SH = 1 FTE tech para split between two
locations (need to include DO, RCEP, etc.)
Collection Management:
●
Align with curricula
●
Select and purchase
●
Promote and display
●
Weed!
●
Needs to include digital offerings
●
Equitable funding between schools
Space:
●
Hub of school – digital café
●
Area for collaboration for students and teachers
●
Staffing sufficient for assistance to all learners
●
21st Century (includes digital)
resources/content to support curricula and a love of reading
Again, is the 21st Century Media Program model
different from the past? Structure – No. Teaching, content, tools and
infrastructure – Yes! We are providing education and support for things that
weren’t even in existence a short while ago. We are striving to design any
time, any where learning using new resources and tools that are becoming
available. We have evolved and will keep doing so to serve students and staff
while offering equal access and opportunities to all learners.
Resources & Bibliography
21st Century School Library Programs: A Vision.
University of Wisconsin. Retrieved on May 9, 2013 from http://merlin.uww.edu/uwsslec/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=92&Itemid=182
Empowering Learners: Guidelines for School Library
Media Programs. 2009. American Association of School Librarians.
Framework for 21st Century Learning. Partnership for 21st Century
Skills. Retrieved on May 9, 2013 from http://www.p21.org
Instructional Technology: 21st Century Media Centers. Forsyth
County Schools. March 23, 2012. Retrieved on May 9, 2013 from http://www.forsyth.k12.ga.us/Page/31241
Iowa School Library Program Guidelines. Iowa Department of
Education and the State Library of Iowa. 2007. Retrieved on May 9, 2013 from http://educateiowa.gov/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=959#documents
Johnson,
Doug. January 10, 2012. A 12 point
Library Program Checklist for School Principals. Blue Skunk Blog. Retrieved
on May 9, 2013 from http://doug-johnson.squarespace.com/blue-skunk-blog/2012/1/10/a-12-point-library-program-checklist-for-school-principals-2.html
National Educational Technology Standards. 2012.
International Society for Technology in Education. Retrieved on May 9, 2013
from http://www.iste.org/standards
State of the Library: October/November. 2012. Sage
Hill School Library. Newport Coast California. Retrieved on May 14, 2013 from http://libraryatsage.blogspot.com/
School Libraries in the 21st Century. Library of
Michigan. Retrieved on May 9, 2013 from http://michigan.gov/libraryofmichigan/0,2351,7-160-34169_51980---,00.html
School Libraries Count: National Longitudinal Survey
of School Library Media Programs. American Association of School
Librarians. 2009. Retrieved on May 9, 2013 from http://www.ala.org/aasl/sites/ala.org.aasl/files/content/researchandstatistics/slcsurvey/2009/slc2009.pdf
Standards for the 21st Century Learner. American
Association of School Librarians. Retrieved on May 9, 2013 from http://www.ala.org/aasl/sites/ala.org.aasl/files/content/guidelinesandstandards/learningstandards/AASL_Learning_Standards_2007.pdf
Who school librarians are and Learning4Life. American
Association of School Librarians. 2009. Retrieved on May 9, 2013 from http://www.ala.org/aasl/aboutaasl/aaslcommunity/quicklinks/el/elwho
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