21:262
School Library Media Program Administration
Summer,
2006
Syllabus
Class
meeting: 9:00
a.m. to 12:10 p.m. Wednesdays,
June 7- July 26
Instructor: Mary
Jo Langhorne
School
of Library and Information Science
Telephone: 331-1659
Email: mjlanghorne@mchsi.com
Office Hours: 12:15
to 1:30 p.m. Wednesdays
11:00
a.m. to noon Thursdays
or by appointment
Course
Goals:
At the end of this course, the student will be able to:
1.
Articulate
a statement of philosophy and purpose for a school library media program in
terms of the national standards of the American Association of School
Librarians.
2.
Design
programming to implement the roles of the school library media specialist in
teaching and learning, information access and delivery, and program administration
3.
Apply
management principles to the school library environment
4.
Understand
leadership in the context of the school library media program.
Expectations:
This course is intended to provide an understanding of the
development and management of a school library media program. To maximize the
experience, students are expected to complete all required readings, to attend
and actively participate in class sessions, and to complete all assignments.
Participating in in-class discussion
and activities is critical to your success in this class. Bring to class: energy, questions, ideas and
relevant resources discovered in reading/researching outside class
Texts:
1.
AASL/AECT.
Information Power; Building Partnerships for Learning. ALA Editions, 1998.
2.
Donham,
Jean. Enhancing Teaching and Learning 2ND ed. New York: Neal Schuman, 2004.
3.
Readings
as supplied and from journals available from online databases (EBSCO Host and
others).
Grades
|
|
The final exam will cover required readings as well as ideas
covered in class sessions.
Late assignments will be reduced by 2 points per week,
beginning immediately after the due date. All assignments must be completed.
Attendance is considered a part of class participation. If a student must miss
a class, it is expected that the instructor will be notified in advance.
Assignment
2: Journal Review. Due June 28
a.
Choose
three journals from the list below (or others to be identified—check with
Mary Jo) to briefly describe:
·
target
audience
·
type of
articles
·
special
features
b.
Select
one of the three journals from “Part a”. Read one year's issues. Write a
description of the journal to include:
·
target
audience
·
type of
articles
·
special
features
·
describe
situations when you would envision that a subscription to this publication
would be helpful to a library media professional.
c.
Choose
two particularly good articles, summarize them, and critique them.
d.
Share
information about one journal in class.
Journals to choose from: http://www.sosspotlight.org/ Spotlight
|
Book Links Knowledge Quest Teacher Librarian School
Library Media Activities Monthly
Library Media Connection Horn Book |
Voice
of Youth Advocates School
Library Journal The New
Advocate Multimedia
Schools School Library Media Research LM_NET
(list serve; use for Part a only) e.
|
Assignment
3: Paper/Presentation: literature review. Due July 19. (Presentation may be due
earlier)
Possible topics:
·
the
role of the media specialist in
technology
·
faculty-librarian
collaboration
·
public
relations/advocacy
·
meeting
the needs of special populations
·
reading
incentive programs
·
print
vs. electronic resources
·
leadership
and the library media specialist
·
censorship
in the school library media center
·
school/public
library cooperation and combined public/school libraries
·
high
school and higher education cooperation
·
current
trends in reading instruction and their impact on the SLMP
Choose a topic and critically review the professional
literature in an essay that describes issues surrounding the topic, research
about it, and insight into recommended practice. Identify key issues or
questions unanswered by the literature as well. Limit the essay to not more
than 10 pages. Include your own perspective on the findings, such as
recommendations for further research, recommendations for action by
professional organizations or lawmakers, strategies for practitioners,
proposals for professional training, or other action-oriented responses.
Decide upon critical ideas and prepare a one-page summary of
your essay and a brief bib and present your findings to the class on the
assigned date. Presentations will be about 10 minutes. Presentation dates will
be assigned beginning July 6.
Students will keep a notebook of
reflections on readings, class discussion and activities. Each week’s entry
will include a summary of key points from the readings, class, questions that
are unresolved about the day’s discussion, and thoughts about the announced
topics for the next class.
Class
Schedule
Date
|
Objectives |
Readings
|
June 7
|
What
vision of school library media programs do we hold? ·
History
of school library media programs ·
Mission/goals
and program planning ·
Characteristics
of successful library media specialists ·
Impact
on student achievement What is the role of the library
media specialist? ·
Teaching
and Learning ·
Information
Access and Delivery ·
Program
Administration How does the library media
specialist achieve program goals: ·
Collaboration ·
Leadership ·
Technology |
Required: Information Power Chapters 1-3 Donham. Enhancing Teaching and
Learning.
Chapters 1, 2 Please read prior to class. |
June 14
|
What is the role of the library
media program in the overall instructional program of the school? What does collaboration mean in the
context of the school library program? What is the role of literature in
the elementary library media program? Guests: Barbara Stein and Victoria
Walton |
Required:
Information Power Chapter 4 Donham. Enhancing Teaching and
Learning. Chapters
6, 9 “Literature as the Basis for
Information Literacy”. Langhorne. Developing Information Literacy K-12 New York, Neal Schuman, 2004. (provided by instructor). |
June 21
|
Creating a climate for
learning: How does the library
media program provide physical and intellectual access to information? ·
Policies
and procedures ·
Technology
and the library media program ·
Information
literacy ·
The
library web page How does the design of facilities
enhance access? What considerations go into the design of a library/media
center facility? Guest: Denise Rehmke School Websites Presented and
Discussed |
Information Power Chapter 5 Donham. Enhancing Teaching and
Learning. Chapters
10, 11,12 Braxton, Barbara. “Putting Your
School Library Online.” Teacher
Librarian (April
2004): 52. Lau, Debra. “The Shape of Tomorrow” School
Library Journal
(March 2002): 57-60. Recommended: Johnson, Doug. “Building Digital
Libraries for Analog People.” Knowledge
Quest,
March/April 2000. Website: http://www.doug-johnson.com/dougwri/diglib.html Iowa City Community School District
Library Media Program Website. http://www.iccsd.k12.ia.us/Library/Index.htm Mesa Area County School District
Policy and Procedures Manual. http://www2.mesa.k12.co.us/dse/Media/Policy.cfm Neumann, Heidi. “What
Teacher-Librarians Should Know about Universal Design.” Teacher Librarian, Dec. 2003, Vol. 31 Issue 2, p17,
4p |
June 28
|
How does scheduling affect the
function of the library media program? How are the collections of the library
developed and maintained? ·
Selection
Policy, Censorship ·
Selection
tools ·
Automation ·
Characteristics
of quality collections ·
Weeding Guest:
Susan Richards Journal
Review Assignment Discussed |
Required Donham. Enhancing
Teaching and Learning. Chapters 7, 8 Lowe, Karen R. “Resource Alignment:
Providing Curriculum Support in the School Library Media Center.” Knowledge
Quest (Nov.-Dec.
2001): 27-32 (provided by instructor) . Recommended:
Information Power: Appendices Manning, Patricia. "When Less
Is More: Cultivating a Healthy Collection" School Library Journal (May 1997): 54-55 “Weeding The Library Media Center Collections” http://www.iema-ia.org/IEMA209.html |
July 5
|
How can we best use the human
resources at our disposal to maximize program effectiveness? ·
Roles/job
descriptions ·
Training ·
Communication ·
Evaluation
·
Customer
service How does the budgeting process work
and how can I assure appropriate an appropriate budget for my program? ·
Budget
planning ·
Alternative
fund-raising options Guests: Mia Beesley and Sarah Latcham Presentations |
Required: Information
Power Chapter 6 Donham. Enhancing Teaching and
Learning. Chapter 4. Dickinson, Gail . BUDGETING As Easy
as 1-2-3. Library Media Connection, Mar2004, Vol. 22 Issue 6, p14. Recommended: Miller, Marilyn and Marilyn
Schontz. “The SLJ Spending Survey.” School Library Journal, (Oct 2003):
52-60. Todaro, Julie Beth. “Make ‘Em
Smile: 10 Essentials for Good Customer Service.” School Library Journal
(January, 1995): 24-29 |
July 12
|
What are the responsibilities of
the school librarian to administrators, parents and the larger community? ·
Organizational
culture ·
The
principal ·
Teachers
and other staff ·
Connections
to the learning and library communities ·
Connections
outside the school Presentations |
Required:
Donham. Enhancing Teaching and
Learning. Chapters
3, 4(review) & 5 Information Power, Chapter 7 Recommended: Hartzell,
Gary. “The Power of Audience:
Effective Communication with Your Principal.” Library
Media Connection, (October 2003). |
July 19
|
What skills are necessary to manage
in an ever-changing environment? ·
Leadership ·
Program
advocacy ·
Networking ·
Communications ·
Collaboration How do we assure continuous program
improvement? ·
Program
evaluation ·
Using
data effectively Presentations Literature Review Due |
Required: Donham. Enhancing Teaching and
Learning. Chapter
13, 14 School Libraries Work! Scholastic Library Publishing, 2004 (Provided by
instructor). Iowa School Library Media Center
Survey. (Bring to class). http://www.silo.lib.ia.us/for_ia_libraries/statistics/schools/index.htm Recommended: Jones, Patrick. “Why We Are Kids’
Best Assets.” School Library Journal (Nov. 2001): 44-47 “Make the Connection: Quality School Library Media Programs
Impact Academic Achievement In Iowa” http://www.aea9.k12.ia.us/statewidelibrarystudy.html Hartzell, Gary. “Ready…Aim…Aim
Again.” School
Library Journal. (February
2003). Minnesota Standards for Effective
School Library Media Programs. http://www.memoweb.org/htmlfiles/linkseffectiveslmp.html |
July 26
|
What are the major issues currently
impacting library media programs? What professional development
opportunities support our efforts? ·
Professional
organizations ·
National
certification ·
Iowa
Teaching Standards and the SLMP Guests:
Virginia Miehe and Wendy Ziegler Final |
Required: Johnson, Doug. “The Seven Most
Critical Challenges That Face Our Profession”. http://www.doug-johnson.com/dougwri/7challenges.html NAT BOARD CERT ARTICLE Recommended: Eisenberg, Michael with Danielle H.
Miller. “This Man Wants to Change Your Job.” School Library Journal (September 2002): 46-50. Maine ASL Evaluation Kit.
http://www.maslibraries.org/resources/slmseval/slmseval.html |