module 1 groupwork
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8/7/2019 Module 1 Groupwork
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The Many Roles of a School Library Media Specialist
The school library media specialist (SLMS) holds many different roles in our
21st century school systems. The SLMS is responsible for wearing the hat of a
teacher, information specialist, instructional partner, program administrator and as
a leader. Each of these individual roles are essential to “instill a love of learning inall students and ensure equitable access to information” (Empowering, 7). The
ranking of importance of each of these roles will perhaps change in the future, but
at the present time the role of the teacher is still held in high regards by many
SLMS’s. As a teacher, it is the SLMS’s job to develop students who produce and
contribute to their own learning experiences. As future Emporia State SLMS’s, it is
important to understand the role of the SLMS as a teacher and how this role
matches the conceptual framework Emporia State has developed.
One of the important roles a school library media specialist has is that of a
teacher. It is necessary that students see the SLMS not just as someone that can
check out books, control discipline, and help with basic computer problems. Oneway this can be accomplished is by taking over a teacher’s class for one or more
days. A librarian could teach subject matter if they felt comfortable or
research/paper writing skills. At the minimum a SLMS could team teach with the
classroom teacher. Making teachers aware that you genuinely want to teach their
class should allow these opportunities to arise. It is also important for SLMS to
encourage pleasurable reading and comprehension skills in each student. It is the
duty of the SLMS to find resources that match the current trends and the individual
interests of their student population. During this time of teaching/instruction the
LMS can help the students become “… critical thinkers, enthusiastic readers, skillful
researchers, and ethical users of information.”(AASL, 2009)
In today’s educational atmosphere, school library media specialists are relied
upon to provide extra instruction and supplementary curriculum to both students
and faculty. As such, the Emporia State University’s conceptual framework provides
strong guidelines to school library media specialists who operate in a variety of
roles within the school setting. As a librarian, the conceptual framework requires
librarians, as well as teachers to engage in most effective practices, reflect on what
they teach everyday to make themselves a better librarian/teacher, and be willing
and able to change as the students do. We also have a duty to belong to
professional organizations to keep up with the best practices of the profession.
Lastly, we as SLMS are providing a service to society because we are encouragingour students to explore literature and expand their horizons in ways that they could
only do through books.