Got Clout?

How much power do you wield as a library media specialist? School Library Journal recently surveyed school librarians nationwide to find out just how much clout they have. Of those 770 who responded, 66 percent say their principals are very supportive when it comes to library collaboration with teachers, and 29 percent say their principals are somewhat supportive (only five percent say principals see them as no more than a relief teacher). Meanwhile, almost half say teachers perceive them with great enthusiasm. Overall, the authority of the library media specialist is on the rise.

Pam Nutt is the embodiment of a dynamic librarian whose importance extends beyond the school library: it's become second nature for teachers to hand her their lesson plans, and it's not uncommon for Nutt to teach up to three classes a day. A library media specialist at Moore Elementary School in Spalding County, GA, Nutt was voted Teacher of the Year in 2001, the first time a school librarian in the county has earned that honor. The very fact that Nutt's colleagues view her as a teacher, speaks volumes about her influence. She also enjoys the strong backing of her principal.

But it wasn't always that way. When Nutt arrived as the new librarian four years ago, she was faced with these daunting facts: the school's pre-kindergartners to fifth graders ranked almost dead last on Georgia's standardized test scores, and Moore was the only elementary school in the district on the governor's list of failing schools. Needless to say, the library was rarely used.

Although some of Moore's students still read below grade level, the library is now buzzing with children, book circulation has more than tripled, and Moore is no longer on the state's list of failing schools. That's quite an achievement, considering the school is surrounded by run-down, government-subsidized buildings where drugs and crime are rampant and 20 percent of its entirely minority student body (450 African Americans and three Hispanics) are labeled transient, meaning most of these kids will relocate during the school year. Principal Martha Taylor credits the turnaround largely to a renewed focus on the library, and Nutt's success at integrating its vast resources into the classroom curriculum. "[The library] is the focal point of the school," Taylor says. "We can't teach in isolation any more."

Yet not every librarian is in Nutt's enviable position. Kathleen Martinell, a K–12 media specialist from Lima, MT, says she's been continually ignored for most of her 15 years on the job even though she's offered to take her services straight to the classroom and work with kids outside of school hours. Teachers still see her as a threat and the current principal just can't figure out her exact function, she adds. It's no wonder that one of Martinell's biggest concerns is students' lack of basic research skills when they graduate. According to the SLJ survey, more than nine out of 10 respondents say their number-one priority is to provide students with access to a diverse range of quality information. Martinell blames the universities that offer education degrees because they fail to teach budding educators about the library's importance, not to mention how to use its resources properly. "The whole realm of education needs to be changed," she says.

Despite the contrast in support between Nutt and Martinell, an overwhelming 90 percent of library media specialists say they're satisfied with their jobs and the amount of respect they receive. Obviously, that sense of fulfillment is directly linked to the level of cooperation teachers and technology coordinators give them, how much purchasing power they have, and the extent to which they feel the library is being used.

Luckily, many schools not only encourage but also require teacher-school librarian collaboration: 46 percent of school librarians teach classes without a teacher present, a little more than half doing so with a flexible teaching schedule. And although 95 percent instruct students on how to use print and online resources, more than half also teach other subjects. Lorna Smith, for example, teaches psychology and speech classes on top of her job as the media specialist at Uniontown High School in Kansas. As a result, she gets to select and purchase textbooks for her classes. About two-thirds of a school library budget is spent on books and periodicals, and it's no surprise that a majority of media specialists authorize purchasing decisions when it comes to library books, print references, and magazines. Yet one very promising finding is that 30 percent of librarians actually recommend and evaluate vendors for the purchase of classroom textbooks. About 71 percent of media specialists say they volunteer to sit on committees requiring their expertise, and that includes textbook selection committees.

The advent of the Internet has certainly helped the library become a focal point in schools—nearly one-third of librarians say they are also the decision makers when it comes to purchasing online reference products, databases, and library computer software, and 16 percent authorize the purchase of Internet-related technology. However, almost three out of four recommend or evaluate vendors for online references, databases, and library computer software, with nearly half doing so when it comes to library computer hardware and the Internet. Edwin Holton, a library media specialist at the Crooked River Elementary School in St. Mary's, GA, even assists in the selection of computer software and CDs for the classroom. And when it comes to the school's technology coordinator, 68 percent of librarians say the relationship is truly collaborative, with nearly half sharing the technology-related buying decisions. That's good news, since 64 percent of respondents say they also teach students how to use and evaluate Internet resources.

How much money are school librarians making? The median annual salary is $43,600, but it's $36,500 with less than five years experience and $50,000 with 15 or more years on the job. About 91 percent of school librarians say their pay is comparable to that of teachers', and 67 percent say they're very satisfied when their compensation is compared to that of other educators. Interestingly, years of experience and level of education appear to have a direct correlation with the size of one's budgets—the average materials budget is $11,751, but $13,546 for those with MLS degrees. The same rule, however, isn't ironclad when talking about buying power. Some fairly green media specialists, including Diane Taylor of Long Beach, CA, are given full authority over library purchases simply because they've proven themselves to their administrators. Despite all the cost cutting in schools nationwide, those surveyed say they expect a slight dip—1.7 percent—in their budgets for the 2002–2003 academic year.

Taylor, a former science teacher and a librarian at Long Beach Middle School, says California threw her media center a lifeline in 1999 when the state allocated almost $30,000 to each school specifically for the purchase of library resources. Taylor describes her predecessor, who spent more than 20 years on the job, as very traditional—in short, she kept old, outdated, dusty books. Although the student population was about 1,400, hardly anyone passed through the library.

Not anymore. Taylor is one of the nearly 40 percent of media specialists who say their libraries are very integrated into the school curriculum (45 percent say it is somewhat integrated, and 16 percent say there is little or no integration). With a fully flexible schedule at her library, kids check out books all the time (as of last month, 13,000 were already checked out, compared to 18,500 books for the entire 2000–2001 school year). Like most librarians, Taylor finds flexible scheduling more conducive to learning. About 52 percent of school librarians have flexible teaching schedules, while 37 percent have fixed schedules; 11 percent have both.

What's Taylor's approach to learning? Let's just say, it's very much in your face. Taylor, who's on her way to getting an MLS from San Jose (CA) State University School of Library and Information Science, cites David Loertscher, a professor at the school, as the person who taught her about information literacy. Fifty-four percent of those surveyed use the American Association of School Librarian's Information Power and 49 percent use the Big 6, a popular learning taxonomy. Taylor's information literacy program includes both.

One of the first things Taylor did was gather several teachers to create a group called "Seek Like Minds," whose purpose was to attract kids into the library. The result? Online research is now a dominant feature at her media center. A case in point: history teachers signed up for a library session several months ago, but Taylor turned that into a long-term literacy project. Kids have been reading books and searching primary documents on the Web for an assignment on the Civil War. One of Taylor's eighth grade students, an underachiever who received failing grades, is now thrilled by the information he's discovering on the Net, and he eagerly awaits visiting the library. Taylor has weeded 8,000 out of 12,000 books, she continuously evaluates print and online resources, and she's successfully integrated computer skills into her lessons. To make sure she stays ahead of the curve, she regularly meets with teachers to discuss their teaching agendas. Although she's only completed one-third of her graduate degree program, Taylor's already earned the trust of her principal and teachers. In turn, they've given her full authority to make all library purchases and to recommend computer-related items and textbooks in all departments. "Until Diane came, people didn't realize what they could do with the library," says Erin Hill, an eighth-grade language arts teacher who works closely with Taylor. "Now we're taking full advantage."

Although media specialists have made some headway in gaining influence in their schools, there's still a long way to go. Less than 46 percent of those surveyed say their principal is "very informed" about what the school media center has to offer, and that figure needs to rise. Even though media specialist Richard Blank spent years as a youth librarian in a public library, he says he faced an enormous learning curve when he arrived at Sandy Hill Elementary School in Jenison, MI, seven years ago. Suddenly he had to cater to the needs of eight different grade levels, pre-K to sixth. But luckily, he had the support of the principal and teachers, who formed a library committee to establish specific teaching standards for each grade.

Soon after, Blank felt confident enough to customize his own information literacy program, called "Problem Solving," which is based on the Big 6 model. He has created a newsletter to keep everyone informed about library activities, regularly sits with teachers from each grade to establish benchmarks, volunteers on numerous committees, including the finance committee, and functions as the school's technology coordinator, working closely with teachers. Blank recommends sending teachers surveys asking how they perceive the library, and whether the librarian is meeting their needs. "If you don't know how they see you, you won't know if you need to change," he says.