Empowering Learners, Chapter 3, pg. 33-36, 38-40

Empowering Learners, Chapter 3, pg. 33-36, 38-40

The Learning Space

            This part of the chapter covers the learning space—both the physical space and the virtual space. It’s the library media specialist’s job to make sure the library is an inviting place that encourages students and teachers to come and browse, work on homework, have small group discussions, work on projects and even teach whole classes. The school library media program needs to be flexible and serve the needs of the students and teachers. The scheduling for use of the library and the hours of operation should be flexible and fit the needs of the students and teachers. A library Web site with easy access to databases, “instructional interventions” and other resources that students and teachers can access from outside of the library should be available at all times and should include access to other local libraries and academic sites. (Woolls, 33)

            The physical make up of the library should include some comfortable seating for group discussions and projects, individual seating for homework or reading, a technology area for working on computers, a  video production area, wireless access for students and teachers with laptops and shelved, organized material easily available for everyone to use.

            The well-designed Web site can be a student’s best ally. It needs to be easy to use, with easy access to databases, graphic organizers, pathfinders, classroom reading lists, research writing guides and much more. There should also be links to other libraries and academic Web sites. If it’s possible, linking to a twenty four hours a day ask-a-librarian service can be helpful.

Collection and Information Access

            The library media specialist works with teachers and students to ensure that the collection of materials, both print and non-print, is up to date, appeals to a variety of ages, ethnicity, reading levels and informational needs. Surveys are a great way to get feedback from students on their likes and dislikes and should be used regularly. They need to protect the rights of students to access information and they should ensure that the collection supports the curriculum and classroom activities. The LMS must occasionally weed the collection to make sure it stays up to date and fresh, as well as keep up with new updates in library inventory software systems.

            It is important for library media specialists to do what they can to provide access to a wide range of information and to protect the student’s rights to access that information. That means the LMS must provide access to information for students who don’t have computers at home by providing other means of retrieving the information. The LMS must encourage the school district to support new technologies and to limit the filtering of said technologies. “The selection policy and collection development plans are used to regularly evaluate the collection. The SLMS uses data to build a rationale for funding and to evaluate the usefulness of the collection for promoting reading.”

Works Cited:

AASL. Empowering Learners: Guidelines for School Library Media Programs. Chicago: American Association of School Libraries, 2009.