The Value of School Libraries in Learning

Since FY08, the School Librarian/Media Specialist position in Prince George's County Public Schools has been cut some 55%.  In the age of information technology with the push for innovative teaching techniques, it is evident that our school system is adversely impacting the learning environment by drastically reducing a key supportive position.

By mid 2001, researchers affiliated with the Library Research Service of the Colorado State Library and the University of Denver had completed four statewide studies on the impact of school library media programs on the academic achievement of U.S. public school students: 

* Information Empowered

* Measuring Up to Standards

* How School Librarians Help Kids Achieve Standards, The Second Colorado Study

* Good Schools Have School Librarians:

Philosophically, these studies are rooted in the Information Power model espoused by the American Association of School Librarians and the findings from six decades of research related to the impact of school library media programs on academic achievement.

Information Power

The latest edition of the American Association of School Librarians' Information Power: Building Partnerships for Learning (1998) identifies three roles for school library media specialists (LMS). In a learning and teaching role, the LMS advances the instructional goals of the school. As a provider of information access and delivery, the LMS develops collections and services and facilitates their use. And, as a program administrator, the LMS serves as the library media center (LMC) manager as well as a school-wide advocate and trainer for information literacy. 

As Learning & Teaching the LMS:

• is part of a planning and teaching team with the classroom teacher,
• teaches information literacy, and
• provides one-to-one tutoring for students in need. 

In Information Access & Delivery the LMS:

• maintains quality collections of books and other materials selected to support the curriculum and
• maintains state-of-the-art technology that is integrated into the learning/teaching processes.

In Program Administration the LMS:

• advocates for information literacy with the principal, at faculty meetings, and in standards and curriculum committee meetings,
• provides in-service programs for teachers on resource-based learning, integrating information literacy into the curriculum, and getting the most out of technology, as well as teaching students. 

If Prince George's County Public Schools are to regain its status as a top educational institution in the United States it must reconsider its position on School Librarians/Media Specialist. School library media programs should be funded sufficiently to employ both professional and support staff and to have both information resources in a variety of formats and the technology necessary to extend the LM program beyond the walls of the library media center. Library media specialists should be recognized and utilized by principals and teachers as professional colleagues in the teaching and learning enterprise.

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