Roles%20of%20the%20Media%20Specialist

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Roles of the Media Specialist

• Letitia Green
• MEDT 7487

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The Roles of the Media Specialist

• Information Power has described the role(s) of
  the media specialist in the exact way in which I
  have learned to become one. There are four main
  aspects to the job based upon my understanding of
  what it is that I am to do/become in order to be
  effective in my role. It is definitely a job
  that requires a great deal of dedication,
  expertise and hard work.

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Roles of the Media Specialist Continued

• The library media specialist has many roles and
  responsibilities including teacher, instructional
  partner, information specialist, and program
  administrator (Information Power, p. 4-5).

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Media Specialist as Teacher

• Sixteen years of experience
• Worked as a teacher, coach, mentor teacher,
  grades 6-8 as a certified teacher, grades k-12 as
  a substitute teacher
• Becoming a Media Specialist has been the greatest
  shift from the classroom I have experienced to
  date

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Media Specialist as Teacher continued

• In the role of teacher, the school library media
  specialist (SLMS) collaborates with teachers and
  Instructional Technology Specialist to ensure
  that students acquire the necessary information
  technology competencies and information literacy
  skills and the opportunities to integrate those
  skills into a standards based curriculum.
• Teacher. The teacher librarian must be an
  effective educator and curricular leader. The
  media specialist must possess up-to-date
  knowledge and skills on a wide range of
  educational topics including teaching, learning,
  and information literacy.

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Media Specialist as Teacher continued

• Media Specialist as Teacher Video
• Click on the link above for additional
  information on this topic.
• According to Information Power, the media
  specialist as teacher is a very powerful role
  that is unavoidable and absolutely necessary.
• Information Power (1998) has identified
  collaboration between media specialists and
  classroom teachers as critical to "support
  authentic, information-based learning."

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Media Specialist as Information Specialist

• Information Specialist. The teacher librarian
  must be an expert in locating, evaluating, and
  synthesizing information. Whether collaborating
  with the principal on a budget issue or teaching
  fifth graders to use electronic databases, the
  media specialist must model strategies for using
  a spectrum of traditional and new information
  tools and resources.

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Media Specialist as Information Specialist
continued

• This is probably the most challenging aspect of
  the program for me. As a teacher, I am used to
  utilizing technology as both a learning and
  teaching tool for students, but I had not
  envisioned my role as being the person primarily
  responsible for our schools technology until now.

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Media Specialist as Information Specialist

• In Information Power (1998), the SLMS is viewed
  as having expertise in acquiring and evaluating
  information sources in all formats."

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Media Specialist as Instructional Partner

• Information Power identifies the role as
  Instructional Partner, but I have coined it as
  Collaborator. Either way, this role is vital to
  the overall success of the media center and the
  library community as a whole.

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Media Specialist as Instructional Partner
continued

• In Information Power (1998), collaboration
  between media specialists and classroom teachers
  was identified as critical to "support authentic,
  information-based learning.

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Media Specialist as Program Administrator

• As stated in Information Power (1998), the SLMS
  is "proficient in the management of staff,
  budgets, equipment, and facilities" and works
  with other administrators and teachers to form
  policies, design activities, and provide
  leadership that would ensure outstanding use of
  information and information technology.

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Media Specialist as Program Administrator
continued

• As someone who will be ultimately responsible for
  the media center as a whole, it is important that
  the media specialist has a positive relationship
  with stakeholders and can stand strong as the
  primary advocate for the media center and media
  specialists alike.

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Roles of Media Specialist- Conclusion

• The role of the School Library Media Specialist
  is provide a comfortable atmosphere for students
  to relevant skills that will continue to equip
  them for learning in a technological world that
  is constantly evolving. Resources of all types
  are critical for the 21st century learner to
  remain competitive in this global environment.
• In addition to the role of collaborating with
  teachers to provide lessons to meet the specific
  needs of the students, managing the facility as
  an administrator, todays 21st Century SLMS must
  be able to teach technology skills, maintain and
  update the collection to relate to the school's
  curriculum and promote 21st Century literacy
  skill to all students, especially those with
  diverse needs and multi-cultural backgrounds.

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References

• American Association of School Librarians (1998).
  Information power Building partnerships for
  learning. Chicago American Library Association.
• Lamb, Annette (n.d.). The Role of the Media
  Specialist. Retrieved from http//eduscapes.com/sm
  s/overview/specialist.htm