School District of Rhinelander Job Description Adopted 46.1 /s/ 03/24/88 Superintendent of Schools Revised 05/15/03 Revised 01/10/11 TITLE School Library Media Specialist QUALIFICATIONS 1. Valid Library Media Specialist certificate (901/902) or equivalent. Preference given for dual 902/903 or Professional WI license. 2. A master's degree from a program accredited by the American Library Association preferred. 3. Preference given for experience in administering a school Library Media Center (LMC). 4. Such alternatives to the above qualifications as the Board of Education may find appropriate and acceptable. REPORTS TO WORK RELATIONSHIPS JOB GOAL Building Principal and Director of Curriculum and Instruction Provides direction to library media paraprofessional(s) who comprise(s) the school library staff, and, if applicable, volunteers and student assistants. Consults with the building principal regarding an annual library media professional s (LMP) evaluation. To provide the leadership and expertise necessary to ensure that the school library media program (SLMP) is aligned with the mission, goals, and objectives of the school and the school district, and is an integral component of the learning/instructional program. This goal is accomplished by: 1. Ensuring that students and staff are effective users of ideas and information. 2. Empowering students to be critical thinkers, enthusiastic readers, skillful researchers, and ethical users of information. 3. Instilling a love of learning in all students and ensuring equitable access to information. 3. Collaborating with classroom teachers and specialists to design and implement lessons and units of instruction, and assessing student learning and instructional effectiveness. PERFORMANCE RESPONSIBILITIES Leader As a leader, the School Library Media Specialist (SLMS) creates an environment where collaboration and creative problem-solving thrive. The SLMS is an excellent communicator who instills enthusiasm in others by making them feel they are important members of a team. Strong leaders foster an environment of creativity, innovation, and openness to new ideas, welcoming and encouraging input from others to create consensus. They anticipate future obstacles and continually retool to meet challenges. The SLMS demonstrates his/her role as a visible and active leader within the school community, an advocate for the School Library Media Program (SLMP), and a professional member of the school library community by: 1
1. Serving on decision-making teams in the school. 2. Taking an active role in school improvement and accreditation activities. 3. Benchmarking the SLMP to school, state, and national program standards. 4. Sharing expertise by presenting at faculty meetings, parent meetings, and school board meetings. 5. Creating an environment that is conducive to active and participatory learning, resource-basted instructional practices, and collaboration with teaching staff. 6. Sharing with the learning community collaboratively developed and up-to-date district policies concerning such issues as materials selection, circulation, reconsideration of materials, copyright, privacy, and acceptable use. 7. Encouraging the use of instructional technology to engage students and to improve learning, providing 24/7 access to digital information resources for the entire learning community. 8. Collecting and analyzing data to improve instruction and to demonstrate correlations between the SLMP and student achievement. 9. Maintaining active memberships in professional associations; remaining current in professional practices and developments, information technologies, and educational research applicable to library media programs. 10. Advocating for library media programs and the guiding principles of the library media profession; the SLMS is an active, accessible, and informed proponent of the library media profession by: advocating, communicating, and promoting opportunities to improve the profession; maintaining frequent and timely communication to stakeholders through the school and library website, parent newsletter, e-mail, and other formats, such as local cable access television, video/audio streaming, and on-demand video/podcasts; using local, state, national, and international school library data and research to engage support; writing articles and submitting regular reports providing evidence of what the library and SLMS do to prepare learners to be successful in the twentyfirst century; maintaining an effective public relations program; demonstrating a commitment to maintaining intellectual freedom. Instructional Partner As an instructional partner the library media specialist (SLMS) works with teachers and other educators to build and strengthen connections between student information and research needs, curricular content, learning outcomes, and information resources. The SLMS demonstrates his or her role as an essential and equal partner in the instructional process by: 2
1. Participating in the curriculum development process at both the building and district level to ensure that the curricula include the full range of literacy skills (information, media, visual, digital, and technological literacy) necessary to meet content standards and to develop lifelong learners. 2. Collaborating with teachers and students to design and teach engaging inquiry and learning experiences and assessments that incorporate multiple literacies and foster critical thinking. 3. Participating in the implementation of collaboratively planned learning experiences by providing group and individual instruction, assessing student progress, and evaluating activities. 4. Joining with teachers and others to plan and implement meaningful experiences that will promote a love of reading and lifelong learning. 5. Providing and planning professional development opportunities within the school and district for and with all staff, including other library media specialists. Information Specialist As information specialist, the school library media specialist (SLMS) provides leadership and expertise in the selection, acquisition, evaluation, and organization of information resources and technologies in all formats, as well as expertise in the ethical use of information. The SLMS ensures equitable access and responsible use of information by: 1. In accordance with district policy, developing and maintaining a collection of resources appropriate to the curriculum, the learners, and the teaching styles and instructional strategies used within the school community. 2. Cooperating and networking with other libraries, librarians, and agencies to provide access to resources outside the school. 3. Modeling effective strategies for developing multiple literacies. 4. Evaluating, promoting, and using existing and emerging technologies to support teaching and learning, supplement school resources, connect the school with the global learning community, communicate with students and teachers, and provide 24/7 access to library services. 5. Providing guidance in software, web-based applications and hardware evaluation, and developing processes for such evaluation. 6. Understanding copyright, fair use, and licensing of intellectual property, and assisting users with their understanding and observance of the same. 7. Organizing the collection for maximum and effective use. Teacher As a teacher, the school library media specialist (SLMS) empowers students to become critical thinkers, enthusiastic readers, skillful researchers, and ethical users of information. The SLMS supports students' success by guiding them in: 1. Reading for understanding, for exposure to diversity of viewpoints and genres, and for pleasure. 2. Using information for defined and self-defined purposes. 3. Building on prior knowledge and constructing new knowledge. 3
4. Embracing the world of information and all its formats. 5. Working with peers in successful collaboration for learning. 6. Constructively assessing their own learning and the work of their peers. 7. Becoming their own best critics. Program Administrator As program administrator, the school library media specialist (SLMS) works collaboratively with members of the learning community to define the policies of the library media program and to guide and direct all activities related to it. The SLMS maximizes the efficiency and effectiveness of the school library media program by: 1. Using strategic planning for the continuous improvement of the program. 2. Ensuring that library media program goals and objectives are aligned with school and district long-range strategic plans. 3. Using effective management principles, including the supervision of personnel, resources, and facilities, in developing and implementing program goals and objectives. 4. Using evidence of practice, particularly in terms of learning outcomes, to support program goals and planning. 5. Generating evidence in practice that demonstrates efficacy and relevance of the school library instructional program. 6. Conducting ongoing action research and evaluation that creates data that is used to inform continuous program improvement. 7. Co-Supervising, training and evaluating support staff, which may include volunteers, and student assistants. 8. Preparing, justifying, and administering the library media program budget to support specific program goals. 9. Establishing processes and procedures for selection, acquisition, circulation, resource sharing, inventory, etc., that assure appropriate resources are available when needed. 10. Supervising annual inventory and weeding collections to assure resources are upto-date and available when needed. 11. Creating and maintaining in the school library media center a teaching and learning environment that is inviting, safe, flexible, and conducive to student learning. 12. Selecting and using effective technological applications for management purposes. 13. Participating in the recruiting, hiring, and training of other professionals, library paraprofessionals, students, and volunteer staff. 14. Arranging for flexible scheduling of the school library media center to provide student accessibility to staff and resources at point of need. 4
15. Ensuring equitable physical access to library media facilities by providing barrierfree, universally designed environments. ADDITIONAL PERFORMANCE RESPONSIBILITIES 1. The employee shall remain free of any alcohol or illegal substance, and shall not use controlled substances (other than as prescribed) in the work place throughout his/her employment in the District. 2. Perform any and all other duties as assigned by the Building Principal and/or Director of Curriculum and Instruction. TERMS OF EMPLOYMENT EVALUATION Current teachers' negotiated agreement. Performance of this job will be evaluated in accordance with provisions of the Board of Education's policy and administrative guidelines. 5