His main focus is a return to the functions of the library media program which need to be tied to the curriculum and assessments of the school. The library media program (and he emphasized that the word library needs to be used) needs its own curriculum and assessments. The professional is a teacher not support staff. A vision statement is an essential starting point. (He diss'd the AASL Learning Standards as being incomprehensible and lacking a vision statement.)
The 3 functions of LMC program are information literacy learning, reading advocacy, and information management. The program should be directly connected to the school's priorities, goals and objectives, assessments, and document the program's effectiveness.
Some of his statements caused a flurry of discussion:
- Collaboration is a means not an end,
- Avoid isolation,
- Coordinate and manage information literacy for the entire school,
- You can be an effective teacher librarian without a "library".
- The online catalog is becoming almost irrelevant,
- Print reference collections are obsolete.
- Forget about selecting and cataloging books. Use ASE's (article search engines) like EBSCO or Proquest.
He suggested creating advisory groups including administrators, teachers, parents, and students to determine which of the 3 functions is essential and then concentrate on that function.
Slides and notes will be available here and on this wiki shortly.
