Kelli Carr

991628323

CIMT 606 Proficiency 4 Option #1

November 28, 2011

Carr 991628323 CIMT 606, Fall 2011 Proficiency 4 Opt 1

Option #1: Interview either a school or public librarian about this proficiency. When you make your appointment be sure to share the proficiency with them so they may think about the interview prior to your arrival. Prior to the interview develop a set of interview questions that address the focus of the proficiencyif time permits share the questions with your interview subject so they will have had time to reflect on their responses prior. Many of the guiding questions provided for this proficiency could be adapted as interview questions. During the interview be sure to ask your subject about the role of their library boardfor school librarians you would want to ask about the role of the principal and school board. When conducting the interview be sure to take basic notes while remaining engaged in the interview. After the interview, be sure to thank the interviewee for his/her time. A hand-written follow-up Thank You note is a nice professional touch as well. Write up your interview findings by describing the type of library where the subject works, the town/city in which it is located, and their professional credentials, i.e. professional training, how long in their current (past) position(s). The meat of your interview should be written in a conversational narrative tone. Your concluding section should summarize your findings with particular attention given to any surprises or insights that you experienced during the interviewthat is, things that you would not have thought of without benefit of a practicing librarians experience.

The media center at St. James High School in Murrells Inlet, South Carolina is located just off the center commons area of a two-story public school building. It is not a large media center, but it is uniquely situated where a combination of natural-lighting and task lighting make for an inviting environment. The upholstery and flooring are a rich navy blue that gives the library that comfy feeling. The circulation desk is small and serves its purpose well. There is a significant recording studio and a work room where a production class produces the morning show and scrolling announcements throughout the school day. Just to the left of the circulation desk is a room designated

Carr 991628323 CIMT 606, Fall 2011 Proficiency 4 Opt 1

as a computer lab with an area for teacher directed instruction and cozy couches for group book talks and research groups. There are four administrators, one library information specialist, and a library information clerk serving 1400 students at this school in a county of about 38,000 students. The LIS has an MLIS from the University of North Carolina Greensboro. She has served as an LIS for twenty years: 8 years at the middle school level and 12 years at the high school level. She has had the opportunity to create two initial collections in two brand new schools. Mrs. Schlidt believes it is very important for an information specialist to be involved at school and district levels. She has presented before the School Board on behalf of libraries. She keeps the library as inviting as possible, managed well, and keeps the environment as conducive to thinking, reading, and creativity as possible. She attends conferences, has an online presence with RSS feeds and blogs, and she reads as often as she can. When asked about policies, Mrs. Schlidt says that she has noticed, in the different settings that she has served, there are commonalities in selection policies, procedures for challenging materials, policies for use of video, acceptable use policies, and cataloging. The policies in her media center are set by Horry County Schools Library Information Services which are taken from the ALA and AASL policies and are endorsed by the HCS school board. The procedures implement the policies at the school level. Those procedures may vary somewhat school by school. Most procedures are set by the LIS at the school level and are endorsed by the building administrator. Mrs. Schlidt states the support of the school administration of the information center is

Carr 991628323 CIMT 606, Fall 2011 Proficiency 4 Opt 1

of utmost importance for it to function well. She continues by saying that without an effective working budget, the library information specialists hands are tied. Money, well spent, she says, drives the purchase of materials for print, non-print, technology, public relations and administrative needs. All materials are purchased to support students and staff in their educational needs. Without money, materials are not relevant, available, and the library program becomes ineffective. She goes on to say that if the administration sees the money well spent and the outcome of the purchases is evidenced in the use of the media center program, the principal or building administration will be more willing to continue to funding the program. The second most important thing that a principal can do for the media center is to be aware of and support the LIS policies and procedures. If the information center is always negative, restrictive, unwelcoming, outdated, and unused then the principal has a big concern on his/her hands and the program is dead in the water. The final topic that we discussed was politics. Mrs. Schlidt says that politics at any level can filter down to library services in the school. She says that in tight financial times, libraries can be one of the first services to be cut. It is essential, she says, to have active, welcoming library programs in all of our schools; dead programs, she says, make it difficult for those schools that have good programs. She says along with politics comes keeping an eye on religious overtones and censorship activities that may affect the daily routine of the media center program. She says that it is lastly important to work with the PTSO and the School Board, to advertise what is good about your library program, to stay relevant, and to try to have many positive interactions with the community that you serve.

Carr 991628323 CIMT 606, Fall 2011 Proficiency 4 Opt 1

It was insightful her hear from the high school LIS point of view. The use of the money that they have seems to be the biggest difference. At my school, I do not have a library media center budget per se. I collect fees that go to the general budget of the school, and I pull funds from there as needed. At the high school level, she has funds to use or lose. We both have a book budget that is set by the county as per student monies. Reflecting on this interview, I am not quite sure that I had an ah ha moment, but I do know that she was contagiously enthusiastic and warm. This is something that I struggle with being shy and reserved. I admire her passion for her position, and I want to continue to surround myself with people like her. I will continue to stay in contact with her and use her as a resource as much as possible.

Source: Barbara Schlidt, LIS, St. James High School, Murrells Inlet, South Carolina

PROJECT SUBMISSION CHECKLIST

Carr 991628323 CIMT 606, Fall 2011 Proficiency 4 Opt 1

NOTE: The most frequently occurring problem with projects has to do with not following instructions regarding submission. These errors, particularly a few of them, are time consuming for you and for me to troubleshoot. As a result, the following checklist has been developed in an effort to eliminate the problem. Failure to include this checklist with each submitted project or failure to adhere to any submission rule will be costly in my grading of your worka deduction of 10 pts. Each item on the checklist is referenced in the course syllabus, so you might want to check there for further clarification. INSTRUCTIONS: Include this checklist as the last page of all submitted project work X Saved text file in correct format, Word for Windows (.doc file extension) or as Rich Text Format (.rtf file extension)

X Named saved file appropriately, e.g. John Smith would name his word processing file for proficiency #1 as smith656prof1.doc. X Included cover sheet with prescribed information X Restated project verbatim X If applicable, adhered to page length specifications X Included a header or footer with last name and course number on each page of the project X Used Times Roman or Arial font only X Unless instructed otherwise, double-spaced body text X Incorporated pictures and/or illustrations as appropriate