Library/Media Specialist – Alburgh Community Ed Center (Alburgh, VT)

The goal of Alburgh School library is to enhance student achievement and foster the appreciation of literature by ensuring that students and teachers are effective users of ideas and information. This goal is accomplished by:

• providing intellectual and physical access to materials in a variety of formats.
• providing instruction to foster literacy competence and stimulate interest in accessing, evaluating, and applying information and ideas.
• promoting literacy throughout the day.
• collaborating with other educators to design learning so that students’ literacy needs are met.
• serving as an independent and supervised learning center.

When the school library is reaching its goal, students will visit the library frequently to access the full range of available information resources including print and non-print materials, electronic databases, and information systems. The library media specialist will know students by name and communicate with them about their personal and school-related interests. Students who come to a fully functioning library will exhibit on task behaviour associated with the appropriate use of materials. A large number of students will come to the library asking for a “really good” book, and will congregate in the library because it is a safe and inviting place.

When the school library is reaching its goal, teachers will be collaborating with the library media specialist to develop units and lessons that provide authentic learning for students. They will expect and get the resources and materials they need for their curriculum. They will engage in continuing dialogue with the library media specialist who will make them aware of resources related to the curriculum.

This job description is organized into three areas: Learning and Teaching, Information Access, and Program Administration. The descriptive statements within each of the three areas are followed by examples of activities the library media specialist may perform in fulfilling that role.

• Performs the duties of information specialist, teacher, and instructional consultant as a specialist in learning literacy resources and strategies.
• Collaborates with teachers and team teaches research related projects.
• Integrates a research model across all grade levels, including in-service for teachers.
• Develops online, web-page orientation lessons to help students distinguish differences in information among databases, encyclopedias and the internet.
• Teaches basic library skills so students become independent and life-long learners.
• Collaborates with teachers to integrate research, information retrieval skills, and literature appreciation into the curriculum.
• Networks among teachers to develop activities, which stress literacy and interdisciplinary strategies.
• Implements activities that relate all areas of the curriculum as a kickoff to the school-wide silent independent reading program.
• Provides literature connection to the science and social studies curriculums.
• Meets with teachers to get to know curriculum programs and classroom needs in order to help teachers see relationships between multiple curriculum areas.
• Co-teaches units with classroom and subject area teachers.
• Assists teachers and students in the literacy skills of using information resources and incorporating information skills into classroom curriculum.
• Utilizes current research and methods in the areas of technology, library and information resources, and learning and teaching.
• Attends workshops and reads professionally to be a resource for technology and literacy concerns of the school.
• Attends subject area workshops to focus instruction toward benchmark issues.
• Exercises leadership and serves as a catalyst in the instructional program, providing services to students and staff.
• Serves on committees designing literacy and learning activities for instruction.
• Participates in grade level, departmental, and staff meetings.
• Uses a variety of materials and activities to stimulate and maximize learning to help students achieve educational and personal goals.
• Provides areas for independent work.
• Encourages students to use print and non-print resources on assignments.

• Creates and maintains a collection development process which includes such aspects as maintaining accurate and current catalogs and records, weeding, and inventories.
• Selects materials and technology, which support the school’s educational philosophy and curriculum.
• Purchases new materials and deletes outdated items from the collection to provide materials so students can meet the benchmarks.
• Involved in the check-out process to increase awareness of book circulation to make informative decisions concerning collection development.
• Provides leadership in adhering to established policies, laws, principles of intellectual freedom and ethical behaviour.
• Serves on the district technology committee who develops acceptable use policy.
• Reinforces freedom to read.
• Provides opportunities for student involvement through classes.
• Provides staff in-service to help teachers develop lessons to eliminate copyright violation and plagiarism.
• Selects and provides resources and technologies needed to integrate and produce authentic learning experiences.
• Introduces multimedia options to students so that they can demonstrate a clear understanding of their research.

• Develops short and long-range goals to guide the development of the library program including technology.
• Promotes the library media program, services, and its materials by maintaining a positive relationship with students, staff and community.
• Presents book talks with students, e.g. Young Reader’s Choice nominees, Newbery winners.
• Prepares displays on special events, e.g. Banned Book Week, Black History Month.
• Attends faculty, grade level, team, and Supervisory Union meetings.
• Develops relationships with other staff members in order to function as a member of the school culture.
• Develops and implements policies and procedures to accommodate a “mixed” environment with classes scheduled for regular times and flexible access for staff and students when students are free to come and go from the library as needed.
• Works with administration and staff to implement a technologically advanced facility and program.
• Serves on school technology committee.
• Teaches search strategy skills and web site evaluation to students and teachers.
• Maintains Alburgh School’s web page.
• Assists teachers with web page development.
• Provides in-service for teachers demonstrating how to use information literacy resources and technology.
• Provides trouble-shooting for technology in collaboration with Supervisory Union technology staff.
• Evaluates library media programs, services, facilities, and materials to ensure optimum use.
• Surveys students and teachers on level of service and satisfaction.
• Reads professional literature to gauge programs against national trends.
• Maintains records to reflect use of information resources and shares findings with administration.
• Prepares and oversees a library media program budget which reflects the needs of the entire school community.
• Researches prices for materials teachers need to supplement the benchmarks.
• Requests funds to purchase library media materials and equipment.
• Purchases and maintains classroom sets of resources.
• Selects, trains, and supervises student assistants and adult volunteers.
• Maintains and enhances professional knowledge in technology and trends in information literacy by participating in professional organizations and activities which relate to the library media program and technology.

• Bachelor’s degree and valid State of Vermont teaching certificate.
• State certification as a school library media specialist.
• Desire to continue career improvement.

• Master’s Degree in Library Science, Master of Educational Technology, or comparable degree.

• The library media specialist reports directly to and is evaluated by the Alburgh School principal.