Quality in school library media programs: focus on learning - Perspectives on Quality in Libraries

Library Trends, Wntr, 1996 by Barbara Stripling

Evolution of a Vision

The overall focus of school library programs from 1950 to the present can be characterized in four stages: a concentration on collections in the early and mid-1950s; a focus on the library program to make the collections useful, which emerged from national standards in 1960 and 1969; a major emphasis on instruction as revealed by the 1975 and 1988 standards; and finally the current shift to a focus on learning and a complete blending of process and content instruction.

Collection

By the early 1950s, leaders of the field were trying to define the role of the school librarian. A 1953 issue of Library Trends on school librarianship included an article by James (1953) that outlined five tasks for librarians: (1) provision of books and audiovisual materials to students and faculty; (2) assistance with curriculum development; (3) class visitations; (4) consultation with departmental groups; and (5) preparation of bibliographies for course units (pp. 316-20).

Despite the illusion of involvement with curriculum, librarians at this time probably maintained the somewhat passive role of assisting students and teachers only when asked. Much of the professional emphasis was placed on building centralized collections, many of which had their origins in pooled classroom collections. The Sputnik launch in 1957 resulted in the release of some federal funding for school libraries with the idea of building collections to turn libraries into resource centers.

Along with the emphasis on collections, there was also a slight movement toward involvement in the school instructional program during the 1950s. The involvement was often characterized in terms of collection use - the librarian might consult with a teacher on the most appropriate sources for particular units; the librarian might teach students about relevant sources. In 1956, the American Association of School Librarians (AASL) issued a statement about the role of the school library ("a center for print and nonprint") and school librarians ("coordinators, consultants, and supervisors of instructional materials") that again revealed the emphasis on collection use (Craver, 1988, p. 48).

Program

The 1960s were turbulent for schools just as they were for society as a whole. New subjects were added to the curriculum (humanities, fine arts, communication), and new teaching strategies were tried (team teaching, tracking, block scheduling) (Craver, 1988, p. 49). In 1960, AASL(1960) issued national standards for school libraries that emphasized the teaching role of librarians, but the teaching was materials-based. Librarians were to teach students how to use library materials in relation to classroom units. School libraries were starting to develop programs that would make their collections well used.

The 1969 standards, issued jointly by AASL and the Department of Audiovisual Instruction of the National Education Association, placed greater emphasis on curricular and instructional planning with teachers. These standards recognized that the resources and services that formed the library program included use of audiovisual materials: the school library became the media center; the school librarian was renamed the school library media specialist. Although the standards did not recommend changing the nature of library instruction beyond helping students use the media center, the standards did lead the way in establishing with administrators and teachers that instruction and curriculum were primary role responsibilities of school library media specialists, and that nonprint had joined print to make the library a different place with expanded opportunities and resources (AASL and Department of Audiovisual Instruction, 1969).