Introduction
The K-12 Library/Media Skills Curriculum presented is part of a collaborative effort among the four licensed library/media specialists and in consultation with members of all academic areas. The scope and sequence was created, reviewed, and revised to reflect locally identified needs and respond to professional recommendations of national reports. Among the sources consulted are, Standards for the 21st Century Learner IN ACTION developed by The American Association of School Librarians, and Ohio Department of Education Academic Content Standards for K-12 Library, Technology and Core content curricula.
The work was organized around these common beliefs: School libraries are essential to the development of learning skills. Reading is a foundational skill that prepares students for a global society and is vital to lifelong learning. The implementation of technology skills and the ethical use of information are crucial for the future of the education of 21st Century learners.
Resources
- Academic Content Standards, K-12 Guidelines: Library. Columbus: Ohio Department of Education Center for Curriculum and Assessment, 2003. Print.
- Standards for the 21st Century Learner In Action. Chicago: American Association of School Librarians, 2009. Print.
Philosophy
This course of study prepares students to grow and adapt in a technological society in which they will spend significant portions of their lives locating, evaluating, utilizing, and communicating information in different formats within a diverse and collaborative community. Students are encouraged to be independent and effective users of such information. Additionally, the curriculum encourages students to develop an appreciation of reading and engage in personal reading from a variety of literature genres.
Mission
The overall mission of the Indian Hill Library/Media Centers comes from our philosophy that the district library/media centers, staffed by licensed media specialists, are a unique and indispensable learning environment within each school. The centers contain vital, useful, and current information appropriate to research and pertinent to the curricula. They provide opportunities for students to meet their educational, aesthetic, social and vocational needs. The presence of well-organized, accessible collections promotes the appreciation of literature and the development of lifelong reading patterns and information gathering skills. Library/media centers provide essential print and electronic resources and services to implement and support the goals and objectives of the school district.
Library/Media Specialists provide leadership in stimulating and enriching the school climate through their role as teachers, collaborators and role models. Librarians work cooperatively with teaching staff in planning units of instruction, teaching information literacy skills and the research process. Librarians emphasize the importance and pleasure of reading as a life-long activity.
Professional selection by the Media Specialist provides resources for many levels of interest and ability. These resources include: books, electronic databases, Web 2.0 tools, research links and materials for teachers’ professional development.
Information Literacy
Effective school library media programs provide information literacy skills instruction.
Information literacy is the ability to locate, process, evaluate and utilize information. School library media programs provide information resources in a variety of formats and readability levels. The school library media specialist teaches students how to access, use and evaluate information resources efficiently and ethically based on academic or personal need. This instruction should be correlated to specific academic content standards and taught as an integrated process.