Mission

My mission as a School Library Media Specialist will be to actively support the school's educational program by helping all members of our community be successful consumers of information.

Vision

The Library Media Center is a welcoming place where students feel free to explore materials of personal interest as well as assignments while also providing instruction to foster competence and to stimulate interest in reading, viewing and using information and ideas.  In our efforts to provide the best level of access and environment for our community, the LMC seeks to respect the rights of all patrons in the media center.

The Library Media Center provides all members of the school community with access to information, reading and research assistance.  To accomplish this, the LMS must attempt to remove barriers that exist between our community and information resources.  While remaining respectful of limitations which are placed in response to parental responsibility, the LMC must try to find ways to overcome social and economic barriers to information.  The ultimate goal that the LMC should always be working toward is the completely free and open access to information in all formats.  Accessibility shall also refer to the facility, the staff and the resources and shall be based on instructional need. Parents and community members are part of the school community.  They will be encouraged to participate in and support the program.  The LMC strives to utilize collaboration with other educators in designing learning strategies that meet the needs of individuals.

Philosophy

According to the AASL, the purpose of the Library Media Specialist is to be “knowledgeable about the curriculum and classroom activities” while working “cooperatively with the classroom teacher to integrate information skills into the curriculum.”  However, it seems that with in that definition, the parallel role of the Library Media Center, to provide support materials for the curriculum and classroom activities, and a place where the classroom teacher can integrate information skills into the curriculum is still too passive.  If we are to adequately serve our community, which includes students, faculty staff and parents, then we cannot behave like a well laid stretch of road that no one notices until it starts to fall apart. Because the library community is faced with ever more diverse and proliferating information choices in regards to their academic, work and personal lives, the LMC must become the realm of a content expert to actively support the explicit educational goals of the school as well as anticipates the implicit information needs of the larger community.  In doing so the LMC must help our patrons learn not only to navigate, but also to interact with the information critically and responsibly.