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School Library Media Specialists: Essentially Administrators

by Martha Alewine

“I’m married to the smartest woman in the world!” was my husband’s opening remark, which certainly made me sit just a little taller. “Wow,” I thought, “he’s finally admitted it in public!” He went on to say that it wasn’t because I knew the answer to everything, but because I knew how to find the answer. As school library media specialists (SLMSs), our main focus is to help our customers solve their information needs by teaching them how to find the answers.

Characteristics of Effective Administrators

How we manage, or administer, our program determines how well we can meet our clients’ information needs. Information Power: Building Partnerships for Learning lists program administrator as one of the main job functions of SLMSs.1 A search through Information Power yields such terms as collaborator, guide, director, advocate, leader, manager, planner, communicator, and supervisor to describe the SLMS as administrator. Compare that to Roget’s Interactive Thesaurus, which lists synonyms such as ambassador, manager, organizer, overseer, supervisor, leader, authority, pilot, producer, guide, and encourager.2 My personal list of descriptors for administrator includes advocate, cheerleader, visionary, risk-taker, curriculum specialist, instructional leader, information specialist, lifelong learner, communicator, team player, and team builder.

All three lists have words and ideas in common, and all three lists could easily apply to a principal or SLMS. The similarity between the two is understandable. After all, both relate to the entire faculty and student body; they share an administrative point of view. Both demand a comprehensive perspective of the school’s curriculum. Both are accountable for staff supervision, monetary expenditures, and creating and maintaining a program to maximize student achievement.3

Transition to State Consultant

Yet, as a building-level SLMS long before the publication of Information Power, I never thought of myself as an administrator. Whether it was working as a SLMS at the elementary, middle, or high school level, opening a newly renovated media center, or opening a state-of-the-art high school with cutting-edge technology, I just did what I thought should be done to have an effective program. (I even found time at the elementary level on a fixed schedule to collaborate with many of the teachers, thanks to supportive administrators.)

As I made the transition from successful SLMS to state consultant for school library media services with the South Carolina Department of Education, I wondered if what I learned would help me. Admittedly, the prospect of being an administrator was exciting and just a little intimidating. Would my list of administrator descriptors guide me through these new professional duties?

Since 1946 South Carolina has had a consultant for school libraries. The original responsibility involved supervising the state’s school librarians. Today the job focus is described in a document that was written by our School Library Media Services Advisory Task Group:

    The mission of the state library media consultant is to advocate for
    high-quality school library programs, to support the state library
    media specialists, and to serve as a liaison to other groups and
    organizations working toward excellence in education.4

As lofty as this mission statement sounds, I quickly found that the challenges I faced as a SLMS are the same at the state level: garnering administrative support; collaborating with curriculum specialists (rather than teachers); planning and providing staff development; being intentional about my personal professional development; conducting program evaluations; working for a supervisor with little understanding of library media programs or their impact on student learning; managing time efficiently; and developing a public relations and advocacy program. Using Information Power and the Appreciative Inquiry model for change (see sidebar), I began the task of defining the role of state consultant for school library media services.

Discovering what my predecessors had done that was good, working, and still effective in the changing educational climate of the late 1990s meant spending a year researching and talking to individuals and groups across the state. The results showed the state consultant was:

• a mentor for new and experienced SLMSs;
• a teacher, planning and delivering professional staff development; and
• an advocate for new and continued support of school library media centers.

An added benefit to this year of discovery was making connections, what Gary Hartzell calls “building bridges,” with other department of education offices, professional associations, and district personnel.5 Collaboration is as difficult to achieve at the state level as at the school level for similar reasons--lack of time, fear of turf invasion,lack of understanding about what school libraries can offer. Yet, collaboration is equally important in both jobs.

Dreaming encourages an individual or group to image what the future could be if the best of the past were expanded and enhanced. “When you do more of what works, the stuff that doesn’t work goes away.”6 While looking for what was working, I discovered my predecessors had merely reacted to events and situations rather than taking a proactive role. Studying the current situation and deciding how to be proactive, while keeping the things that worked, generated such ideas as:

• establishing a school library media services advisory committee;
• developing state professional standards for SLMSs and a corresponding evaluation instrument;
• offering new forms of professional development;
• writing program recommendations for school library media centers and accompanying evaluation rubrics;
• establishing new avenues for communication;
• establishing a structure for communication with and among district library media coordinators;
• writing a guide for integrating information literacy and technology education into the curriculum;
• collecting such data about school libraries as staffing, funding, scheduling, age and size of the collection; and
• expanding the collaborative connections already in place.

Designing how to make the dreams a reality requires support, input, and ownership from the state’s SLMSs, district media coordinators, and administrators. As a SLMS, my responsibilities included serving as department chair and library staff supervisor. My management centered on building a library media center staff team. All school library media center staff members were included in the management and program decisions, giving everyone ownership into the program. Employing this philosophy at the state level, I began soliciting volunteers to work on various committees and projects. The response from building-level SLMSs, district media coordinators, principals, superintendents, and other educators has been, and continues to be, enthusiastic, sustained, and dedicated to enhancing our school library media programs. Despite the commitment and enthusiasm of my committee members, we quickly discovered that writing implementation guidelines and strategies is accomplished more quickly than actualizing them. Still, I can truly say that everything we have accomplished so far has truly been a joint effort of many people in the school library and education communities.

Phase IV of Appreciative Inquiry is the delivery of products and projects conceived and planned during phases II and III. The most gratifying part of the process, this phase documents many new state initiatives related to the list of dreams in Phase II:

1. Established a school library media services advisory committee. The School Library Media Services Advisory Task Group was established to show the state’s SLMSs that their state consultant talks the talk and walks the walk. My long-standing advice has been to establish a school library media center advisory committee, but without one myself I found it hard to justify this advice. The School Library Media Services Advisory Task Group works with me to evaluate what has been accomplished, identify trends and issues of importance to school libraries, and develop strategies for addressing those trends and issues. The group meets annually to review the past and focus on the coming year.
2. Developed state professional standards for SLMSs and a corresponding evaluation instrument. The state board of education approved ADEPT (Assisting, Developing, and Evaluating Professional Teaching) performance dimensions for SLMS, our state professional standards, in June 2003. Statewide implementation for professional evaluation purposes began in August 2003. <www.scteachers.org/adept/evalpdf/LMS.pdf>.
3. Wrote program recommendations for school library media centers and accompanying evaluation rubrics. Catalyst: Setting the Standards for Student Learning through School Libraries contains the department of education’s school library media center program recommendations. Achieving Exemplary School Libraries: Library Media Center Evaluation Rubrics was written based on Catalyst, accreditation standards, and best practices. The rubrics are currently in draft format and will undergo field tests during the 2003-2004 school year. Based on the field test data, we will revise the rubrics for statewide implementation in 2004-2005. <www.myscschools.com/offices/technology/ms/lms>.
4. Offered new forms of professional development and established new avenues of communication. We now offer continuing professional development specifically for SLMSs. Three graduate courses are offered yearly through the LMS Institute. Courses combine face-to-face and online instruction. Further, the LMS Annual Start-Up Meeting is a two-day live teleconference broadcast each August that focuses on information, resources, and other issues pertinent to managing an effective library media program. Guests include curriculum specialists, technology specialists, guidance counselors, representatives from the South Carolina Association of School Librarians (SCASL) and AASL, the University of South Carolina School of Library and Information Science, South Carolina Education Television, and South Carolina Instructional Television. Bimonthly Town Meetings are one-hour live programs usually focusing on one particular topic, such as privacy laws, copyright, information literacy, and DISCUS-South Carolina’s virtual library. In addition, we produce two major teleconferences each school year covering such topics as new library construction, book repair, book talk techniques, and student-produced news programs. Best Practices in Library Media Centers is a series of five twenty-minute videos on such topics as collaboration (SLMS to teacher and teacher to SLMS), effective use of instructional television, new construction, and an administrator’s guide to effective library media programs. These productions would not be possible without the support and cooperation of South Carolina Educational Television.
5. Created a structure for communication with, and among, district library media coordinators. District library media coordinators now meet semi-annually as a group. During a full day of information-sharing sessions, guest speakers present on a wide range of topics, such as No Child Left Behind, privacy issues, staff development for SLMSs, and state initiatives pertinent to school libraries. We have also established an electronic discussion list to facilitate communication and information sharing among district library media coordinators.
6. Provided new avenues for communication: Communication is now technology-based, using the school library media services Web page <www.myscschools.com/offices/technology/ms/lms>; the SLMS E-News, an electronic newsletter (archive copies are available on the Web page); the electronic discussion list for the South Carolina Association of School Librarians (SCASL); a electronic discussion list for district library media coordinators; and live broadcasts from South Carolina Educational Television.
7. Wrote a guide for integrating information literacy and technology education into the curriculum. The South Carolina K-12 Information Literacy and Technology Education Integration Guide <www.myscschools.com/offices/technology/ms/lms> shows schools and districts how to incorporate information literacy and technology skills seamlessly into the curriculum.
8. Collected data about school libraries such as staffing, funding, scheduling, and age and size of the collection. The LMS Annual Survey <www.myschools.com/offices/technology/ms/lms> is an online survey for collecting this data.

Building on Our Successes

So what’s next? Our first priority will be finalizing the rubrics for evaluating school library media centers. We will field test the rubrics during 2003-2004 and implement them statewide during the following school year. These evaluation rubrics, combined with the LMS Annual Survey data and Palmetto Achievement Challenge Test (PACT) scores, will help us show the positive impact of school libraries on student achievement.

Information literacy, technology education, and curriculum integration are absolute necessities if we are to prepare our students for the future. The Fall 2003 LMS Institute course, “Curriculum Design, Addressing Standards, and the Big6,” will focus on writing standards-connected lesson plans that are information literacy and technology rich. These lesson plans will become part of the South Carolina K-12 Information Literacy and Technology Education Integration Guide, showing our teachers and SLMSs concrete examples of curriculum integration in practice.

Some job responsibilities are continuous and must be managed around the top priority projects. Each week brings new requests from district superintendents or principals for assistance with their library media programs. Being responsive to requests from busy administrators is key to building advocacy and involving all stakeholders in creating and maintaining quality school library media programs.

Expanding the visibility of school libraries continues to be a necessity. Our direct focus as SLMSs is on teaching students how to be information literate, yet so much of our work is done behind the scenes working with teachers. Presenting at state conferences, such as the South Carolina Social Studies Council Conference, EdTech (South Carolina’s educational technology conference), the South Carolina Council of Teachers of English conference, and the South Carolina Association of School Librarians conference, demonstrates to ourselves and to others how quality library media programs improve student learning. Presenting at local conferences sponsored by school districts, as part of district staff development days, further increases the visibility of our school libraries.

Conclusion

So back to my original question: “Would my list of administrator descriptors guide me through these new professional duties (as state library media services consultant)?” My list continues to be useful and a good reminder of my primary considerations. What worked for me as a SLMS has been essential in my state role.

First and foremost, be proactive, which is more than generating ideas and planning programs. Being proactive means:

• Knowing your customers. What are their interests? What is important to them? What are their informational needs? Use surveys, interest inventories, and focus groups to help you answer these questions.
• Knowing the standards and the curriculum. What are the academic standards for the grade level where you work and the school’s curriculum? Where can the literacy and technology standards integrate into these? Without this knowledge you will be at a loss when attempting to collaborate with the classroom teachers.
• Becoming a team builder and a team player. Unfortunately, SLMSs must still justify why they are needed. Use every opportunity to build bridges with teachers and administrators. Be creative and open to new ideas and encourage the creativity of your colleagues. Remember that we are all working toward the same goal: improved student achievement.
• Considering the benefits to your customers for any program or service that you offer. It’s never about you. Ask yourself how each decision you make improves student achievement.
• Keeping your word. You must establish your credibility with administrators, teachers, and students. My personal set of rules for following this advice include:
  • Once a school or district visit is scheduled, I will not cancel it unless my school or district contact person initiates the change.
  • When I am offsite, I record an extended absence message on my voice mail telling callers where I am working and when they can expect a return phone call, generally within twenty-four hours.
  • If I am in the office, I will try to answer e-mail immediately, always within twenty-four hours.
  • Develop a reputation for finishing what you start no matter how long the process. Ideas are easy to generate but bringing them to fruition can be challenging. Case in point: We began writing our state professional standards for SLMSs in mid-1998. After many field reviews, field tests, and rewrites, our state professional standards were finally approved by the state board of education on June 12, 2003. The process was irritating, frustrating, and nerve-wracking, but ultimately very gratifying.
  • Do not exhibit your frustration level to your customers. I have often given the following tongue-in-cheek advice to SLMSs: Keep bubble wrap in the backroom of the library. When the frustration level is just too high, put a large piece on the floor and jump up and down on it. This has the benefits of releasing your frustration and providing excellent exercise at the same time!
  • Be intentional about your own professional development. One of my husband’s seminary professors told his class that within five years of graduation each one of them would be dead from the neck up. Expand your learning to include areas outside your current responsibilities and embrace those moments of serendipitous discovery. For example, my use of Appreciative Inquiry came through a study of leadership and school reform efforts. In addition, invest some time reading what your students are, or should be, reading.
  • Maintain your professionalism in your verbal and written communication and in your appearance and demeanor. Presenting yourself as a professional is part of establishing and maintaining your credibility, garnering administrative support, and establishing collaborative partnerships with classroom teachers.
  • Dare to dream. Ask yourself, “What would happen to my library media program if . . .” “What would happen to student learning if . . .” The LMS Annual Survey and the library media center evaluation rubrics are the direct result of asking such questions as: “What if school libraries received sufficient state funding?” “What if we could give an accurate picture of the state of our school libraries through statistical data?” “What if we could provide administrators, district media coordinators, and SLMSs with a tool to evaluate the library media program based on state recommended program guidelines and best practices?”

Are school libraries where we want them to be? No, but we will keep asking “What if . . .”

References

1) American Association of School Librarians and Association for Educational Communications and Technology, Information Power: Building Partnerships for Learning (Chicago: ALA, 1998).
2) Roget’s Interactive Thesaurus, <http://thesaurus.reference.com>. Accessed 1 July 2003.
3) Jean Donham, Enhancing Teaching and Learning: A Leadership Guide for School Library Media Specialists (New York: Neal Schuman, 1998).
4) Sandra Kerka, “Appreciative Inquiry,” Trends and Issues Alert 41 (2003), <http://ericacve.org/docs/tia00109.pdf>. Accessed 30 June 2003.
5) Gary Hartzell, “Take the Initiative: Five Proactive Strategies for Expanding Your Influence,” School Library Journal 49, no. 6 (June 2003): 39.
6) Joe Hall and Sue Hammond, What Is Appreciative Inquiry? <http://lib1.store.vip.sc5.yahoo.com/lib/thinbook/whatisai.pdf>. Accessed 30 June 2003.

Bibliography

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Martha Alewine