recommended standards for educational library media programs in illinois — 1983

Foreword

The State Board of Education is pleased to have developed this document in cooperation with numerous individuals and professional organizations including the Illinois Association for Educational Communication and Technology, the Illinois Association for Media in Education, and the State Board of Education Media and Library Advisory Council.

Quality library media services are essential components of educational offerings, and it is our hope that Illinois educators will find this document helpful in implementing and updating effective educational library media programs.

Donald G. Gill
State Superintendent of Education

Introduction

School library media centers are essential to the total educational program of every school in Illinois. In an ever-changing society, the most important function of the school through the library media center is to provide skills which will enable students to continue to learn throughout their lifetimes. Library media centers accomplish this function by providing a coordinated, centralized, and economically efficient organization of resources and through instruction in retrieval skills. These centers also provide recreational and cultural materials to encourage personal growth. (See Appendix A.)

These recommended standards attempt to discuss all aspects of library media service within the schools of Illinois. Included are three phases of development. Phase I should be both practical and achievable by every school system within the state. Phase II represents normal growth beyond Phase I and indicates a higher level of achievement. When school districts complete Phase III, they should consult national standards of continued growth and improvement of their library media programs.

Much of the statement of standards is a quantitative measure of staffing, space, materials, and equipment of the library media center facility, but the qualitative aspect suggested under program and services is equally important. It is suggested that the library media personnel in each school district review the material in this document, analyze the local program to identify strengths and weaknesses, and then progress toward specific goals.

Evaluation of the school library media program is a continuous process of measuring the effectiveness of the program in attaining instructional objectives and in satisfying the interests of local users.

Recommended Standards for Educational Library Media Programs (Qualitative)

The following general statements describe various recommended qualitative standards for school library media programs:

Staff. Library media specialists are provided to make unique and vital contributions to the total educational program of the school. This professional staff works directly with teachers and students providing a wide variety of services. Continuing education for library media specialists is essential to the improvement of program development. Support staff with specific skills and special abilities enable the library media specialists to concentrate on professional services and activities. The school library media specialist should participate in the instructional design and planning of the school curriculum. Each school district should develop a written job description for the library media specialist.

Program. The focus of the library media program is to facilitate and improve the learning process through a sequential skills program as an integral part of the curriculum. The library media staff, teachers, and administrative media personnel should work together to provide every opportunity for the social, cultural, and educational growth of each student. The library media center's program, collections, and environment should provide a broad spectrum of learning opportunities for large and small groups and for individual students.

Space Recommendations. Space must be provided and functional areas must be created to accommodate the resources and services of the library media program. Every center should provide basic space and additional space as the library media program develops and expands. The media facility should be central to the instructional areas. The use of library media centers for scheduled study halls should be discouraged as this practice limits access to resources and staff.

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It shall be the responsibility of the school district to provide access to the library media facilities by handicapped persons in compliance with Section 504 of Public Law 93-112 and Public Law 94-142.

Collection. Each library media center should maintain a complete record of all holdings, both print and non-print, as well as equipment.

Materials Selection. Each school district should develop a materials selection policy approved by its local board of education. This policy should specify principles which will guide the selection of library media materials and identify those individuals and groups responsible for fulfilling this function.

Books. Standard selection tools will provide a basis for the initial collection. Library media personnel should work with the faculty, administration, and students to determine the needs of each attendance center. The number of titles and the number of volumes a library media center holds must be recorded to indicate duplication, the need for which will vary with the requirements of individual schools. Selection of specialized materials should be coordinated with other area schools, public libraries, and others as appropriate.

Reference Materials. The library media center should provide a core reference collection including, but not limited to, current encyclopedias, dictionaries and directories, atlases and almanacs, as well as access to additional information services. Interlibrary loan should be included as a reference service.

Periodicals. Annotated lists of recommended titles may be found in the various selection aids. The collection should include titles for recreational interests as well as curricular needs, and Readers' Guide to Periodical Literature should be provided as an index to the magazine material. For small collections, library media personnel and teachers are advised to give preference to those periodicals which are indexed in Abridged Readers' Guide to Periodical Literature and in Children's Magazine Guide. Larger collections may include specialized publications to match the school's curricular needs.

Newspapers. The newspapers in the collection should provide local, state, national, and international coverage and represent differing editorial and reporting policies. Additional newspapers should be selected for their special features appropriate to the school curriculum and local interests.

Non-print Media. Listening and viewing materials should be available to provide resources for the academic needs and general interests of students and teachers. To insure a quality collection of non-print materials, the library media staff and teachers should use authoritative selection aids and preview all materials before purchase.

Films/Video Recordings. Many variables affect the size of film and video collections owned by individual schools so standards cannot cover every situation. When rental charges for a film or video recording equal from one-seventh to one-fifth of the purchase price of the film, it is often cost-effective to purchase. School districts should have access to cooperative holdings and/ or good rental sources. To insure a quality collection of non-print materials, the library media staff and teachers should use authoritative selection aids and preview all materials before purchase.

Graphic Materials. Graphics suitable to the needs of the instructional program should be available. Where graphics are produced locally, the media center should have equipment and supplies to meet production needs.

Maps and Globes. The collection should include a variety of maps and globes for circulation from the library media center. Some maps may be provided in alternative formats, such as transparencies.

Vertical File Material. Carefully selected, specialized, and ephemeral materials are valuable reference aids. The collection should be well organized and maintained by updating and weeding.

Expenditures. Funds for the initial collections of all materials in newly established media centers should come from capital outlay and not from the amount recommended for annual expenditures for materials. In providing annual funds for materials, a suggested minimum amount is 1 percent per student per year of the current state average per pupil instructional costs.

Pattern of Organization. Individual school districts should select a pattern of organization that will best provide the services outlined in this document.

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Interlibrary Cooperation. Library networks provide unparalleled opportunities for a variety of information services and allow rapid technology transfer in library systems. School library media specialists should be knowledgeable of and participate in interlibrary activities when and where available. (See Appendix C.)

Technology. Accelerated technological change has affected and will continue to affect all aspects of library media service. Library media center programs and methods for delivery of services are changing as materials in new formats (microforms, videotapes, videodiscs, and computer programs) are added to collections.

Communications technology and computer-based storage and retrieval techniques make possible more rapid and efficient resource sharing. Libraries of Illinois must work together to provide maximum benefits with maximum economy. Cooperation and coordination are needed to make cost-effective choices from the great variety of equipment, materials and systems available. To ensure access to instructional media and information data bases for all library users, it is essential that systems for resource sharing be compatible.

Computer technology is being utilized in many schools throughout Illinois. It is recommended that school library media specialists:

1.  Be knowledgeable of the capabilities, applications and implications of computers in school programs;

2.  Understand how the computer can be incorporated into school programs;

3.  Be able to operate and to help users operate the microcomputer;

4.  Participate in the selection and evaluation of microcomputer hardware and software, catalog and house software, schedule hardware and software, and provide leadership in using computer technology.

District-Level Media Services

Effective school library media programs at the building level are dependent on administrative and supervisory coordination at the district level. School systems that make provision for district media services under the direction of a qualified library media director are able to provide a broader range of services than is possible at the building level alone.

Staff. The professional staff should possess competencies and specialization in both library media and subject areas in order to provide leadership in the development of services at the district and building level. Support staff should be provided for the implementation of the district program. The number of positions is determined by the size of the district and the scope of program operations. Recommendations are:

One full-time district coordinator of school library media services with appropriate professional qualifications in management, administration and supervision where it is more cost-effective to centralize services. Technical support staff for special services such as graphics, photography, televison production, computer technology and centralized processing.

Facilities. The district library medial facility should be part of or near the district administrative unit and should be planned to accommodate services such as: materials acquisition, evaluation and production, housing and circulation of highly specialized resource materials, centralized processing and in-service education. Space should be provided for centralized storage of equipment as appropriate.

Program. The coordination of district orgram services should include, but not be limited to:
Strategies for the establishment and development of library media programs in the individual buildings;
In-service training for building library media staff;
In-service training for the entire district faculty in the effective use of materials and equipment;
Centralized acquisition and processing of materials;
Policies and procedures for resource shaing between buildings;
Specialized materials production;
Provision of film/video services.

Collections. The district collection should include such items as films, videotapes, computer software, expensive realia, supplementary equipment and a professional collection of books, periodicals, and curriculum materials. A district union catalog should be maintained for bibliographic control. Computer access may be more cost-effective.

Budget. The district-level budget should be sufficient to support the district-level program.

Special Considerations for Low-Enrollment School Districts

Outstanding library media programs may be found in Illinois' low-enrollment school districts. It should be recognized that a low enrollment does not necessarily mean an inadequate program. Full-time professional staff, large collections of materials and equipment, and spacious facilities may be found in school districts of all sizes.

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In some low-enrollment districts, the library media program is in transitory stages of development. The need for a good program is recognized and progress toward meeting standards is being made. In still other districts, circumstances may prevent the full implementation of the program within the foreseeable future.

Alternative temporary approaches are suggested for providing essential components in the library media program. It should be remembered that these alternatives offer less than minimal opportunities and resources for students. However, they may bring to low-enrollment school districts some of the benefits of a complete program and allow a low-enrollment school to comply with Section 4-2.18 in the Illinois State Board of Education, Document Number 1. (See Appendix B.)

Personnel. An effective program can be developed where adequate human and material resources are allocated to achieve balanced growth. Alternatives to consider are:

• Employment of one library media specialist with responsibilities for more than one school building within a district, or for two schools in separate but neighboring districts.

• Contracting with another agency for a specified number of days of a library media specialist's time.

• Employment of a half-time library media specialist.

• Employment of a library media specialist on a divided assignment combining library media service and another related professional capacity.

• Employment of a part-time support staff para-professional to assist library media professionals with nonprofessional duties.

In a school with a part-time library media specialist working with teachers rather than with students may become necessary. However, some portion of the part-time assignment should be allocated for writing with students.

Efforts should be directed toward relieving the part-time professional employee of the routine tasks of operating the library media center, providing maximum time for work with students and teachers. The employment of noncertified personnel and/or the use of volunteers will free the library media specialists from nonprofessional duties. However, clerks and volunteers should be supervised by a certified its and Ron.Whenever possible, materials should be ordered pre-catalogued and shelf-ready. Careful scheduling of part-time personnel is required to avoid excessive time spent in traveling from one school to another.

Materials and Equipment. An appropriate collection of materials and equipment is basic to the library media program. In a low-enrollment school district, the size of the materials collection is related to the curriculum and to the range of ages, interests, and abilities represented. Therefore, it is recommended that minimum collections in the Standards be considered as applicable to low-enrollment school districts. Since the low-enrollment school may not have the space or personnel to handle sizeable collections, some alternatives are:

• A small basic collection of reference and other materials and equipment located centrally within each school building and augmented by access to a larger collection.
•  A district collection of print and non-print materials and the necessary equipment available to each school in the district on a circulating basis.
•  Arrangements for direct services from other sources. Such services may supplement the district's basic collection or provide related services. Equipment is usually not available through such sources although purchase or repair of equipment may be arranged.
• Some schools may have to rely on circulating classroom collections of materials from a larger centralized collection.

Facilities. Space to house materials and equipment, an area adequate for student activities involving the use of materials and equipment, and space to accommodate library media staff are essential to a library media program. However, for low-enrollment schools, these physical facilities may be the most difficult component to provide.

Alternatives to be considered are:

•  Conversion of one or more classrooms;
• Acquisition of one or more relocatable classrooms;
•  Reassignment of space previously allocated to other activities;
• Joint use of areas such as resource centers or special purpose laboratories, providing these areas have open access during the day;
•  Use of facilities on or near the school site shared with other information or educational agencies, providing these facilities are easily accessible to students.

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Appendix A

Instruction in the Use of Libraries

Utilization of information is basic to virtually every aspect of daily living in a democratic society, whether in the formal pursuit of educational goals or in independent judgment and decision-making. In our post-industrial, increasingly complex society, the need for information daily becomes greater.

Libraries are a major source of information; however, their effective use requires an understanding of how information is organized and how individuals can retrieve that information. Many individuals have an inadequate understanding of how to determine the type of information needed, locate the appropriate information, and use it to their best advantage. Instruction in the use of libraries should begin during childhood years and continue as a goal of the formal educational process in order to prepare individuals for the independent information retrieval essential to sustain lifelong professional and personal growth.

It is essential that libraries of all types accept the responsibility of providing people with opportunities to understand the organization of information. The responsibility of educating users in successful information location demands the same administrative, funding, and staffing support as do more traditional library programs.

The American Library Association encourages all libraries to include instruction in the use of libraries as one of the primary goals of service.

Adopted by the American Library Association Council
July 2, 1980.

Appendix B

4-2.18 Media Programs

a. Each attendance center shall provide a program of media services to meet the curricular and instructional needs of the school. The Standards for Educational Library Media Programs in Illinois¹ is suggested as a guide for program development.

The Illinois Program for Evaluation,
Supervision and Recognition of Schools
State Board of Education
Document Number 1, 1977, page 17.

1 Revised edition entitled Recommended Standards for Educational Library Media Programs in Illinois, 1983.

Appendix C

Whereas each individual has a right to equal opportunity of access to information that meets his or her needs . ..

and Whereas, a national library network built upon strong individual library collections, including the collections of school libraries, will provide greater access for all concerned . . .

Therefore, the Illinois State Board of Education firmly supports the concept of a National Library and Information Services Network and encourages the active participation of school library media programs in the development of such a network.

Resolution Adopted by the Illinois State Board of Education
May 10, 1979.

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