SLJ's Technology Survey

Library media specialists are involved in technology in a big way. That's the overwhelming conclusion of School Library Journal's first-ever survey on technology and the role of the library media specialist in using it. Of the 1,571 K–12 media specialists from all 50 states who responded to our survey, 60 percent collaborate with teachers in the effort to integrate technology resources into classroom learning, and 67 percent help plan technology programming at their school. Nearly all of our respondents (95 percent) provide instruction in technology to students, while 84 percent say they instruct their fellow teachers, as well.

With this study, we attempted to gauge the changing role of library media specialists, as technology resources continue to gain prominence in both the K–12 curriculum and the library media center. According to our findings, school librarians are imparting information skills to students, to be sure. But they are also involved in planning and implementing technology policies, purchasing and maintaining equipment, and training teachers, proving that library media specialists are taking the lead in education technology.

Among those leaders on the front lines is Cheryl Beatty Roger, the library media specialist at Roger Ludlowe Middle School in Fairfield, CT, who says that teaching students to use information wisely and responsibly is her biggest challenge. "We live in a cut-and-paste world, and it is important that students learn how to research properly," she says. "But we also need to educate teachers so that they will hold students accountable for their work."

Indeed, Roger is among the 84 percent of media specialists who are training teachers in technology-related skills. Survey respondents report helping teachers locate and evaluate information with technology resources, as well as learn to use these tools themselves. For her part, Roger assists her teaching colleagues with a range of other services, from posting PowerPoint tips on her library Web site to showing them, step-by-step, how to use the presentation system in their classrooms.

The extent of the media specialist's role in professional development is a significant finding. And it demonstrates that these educators are putting technology tools that improve student achievement in the hands of teachers, as well as students.

Media specialists often jump at the chance to collaborate with teachers. So it's no surprise that many survey respondents are forging cooperative partnerships that involve technology. Sixty percent of our sample told us that they work together with classroom teachers specifically to integrate information literacy and National Educational Technology Standards (NETS) into classroom instruction. "I work a lot with the computer teacher to do projects that relate to the social studies or science curriculum," says Kathryn Piscitello, a media specialist at Highland Avenue Elementary School in Midland Park, NJ. "I also work with the art teacher, who does a project that comes out of this research, as well as the fourth-grade teachers and their state reports. And then there's collaboration on the fly," she says, describing the more spontaneous opportunities when she learns of a classroom lesson and tries to work in skills accordingly. Piscitello's overarching goal with all these efforts is to impart information-literacy skills. And collaboration activities are ideal, she says, "because they allow you to teach the skills in a real setting, rather than in isolation."

Meanwhile, Janelle Langford, a library media specialist at Bluestone Middle School in Skipwith, VA, partners with her teaching peers "so that students and teachers are prepared to fully and properly utilize information sources," she says. Her efforts include training sixth graders, together with their reading teacher, in how to use the library's online databases and conduct Boolean searches. "It's pretty basic, but my sixth graders really need it," says Langford, who sees the payoff in seventh and eighth grade as the kids tackle research in higher level subjects.

But despite her contributions to student information skills, Langford says, "It's rare for teachers to approach us—we really have to sell [collaboration]." Piscitello's experience is similar. "Younger teachers are certainly more open to it," she says, with a chuckle. "So you have to grab them early."

Besides taking the lead in teacher collaboration, library media specialists are also assuming a major role in the administration of school technology. More than two-thirds of survey respondents serve on their school's technology committee and half of them help devise technology-use policies for their school. In addition, 30 percent have a seat on the technology team for their district.

And when it comes to making purchasing decisions, library media specialists wield plenty of buying power. They are involved in purchasing technology at all levels, for the school library and beyond. Sixty percent of those surveyed say they help purchase hardware and software for the media center, 30 percent help buy software for the entire school, and 40 percent participate in decisions about software districtwide.

Peter Mohn, the library media specialist at Snohomish Freshman Campus, a ninth-grade school in Bothell, WA, is a member of the school's technology team. "The only thing I don't help make a decision on is what computers are purchased—that's decided at the district level," he says. Otherwise, Mohn says he's involved "in everything else," including purchasing software and all other technology equipment, such as digital cameras and LCD projectors, developing the school tech plan, and training and coordinating staff to implement it.

When asked about his background, Mohn, a 25-year veteran educator with a degree in instructional technology, says, "I've been doing technology forever." And he believes many of his media specialist colleagues are just as tech-savvy. Still, Mohn says the biggest challenge is "Getting district administrators and school board members to understand that library media specialists are the technology leaders in their schools."

Whether recognized or not, library media specialists are key players in technology. But this is nothing new. After all, school librarians have been the "AV" resource people for years. Well before the advent of desktop computers, audiovisual equipment was housed in the library. The school librarian maintained the good ol' projector and taught teachers how to use what was the top tech tool of its day. And media specialists have been introducing new technology to their colleagues ever since.

Librarians also have a hand in other tech-related services. For example, most respondents told us that they maintain both the hardware and the software in the media center. In fact, about 50 percent of them also install the library's software. Beyond the media center, nearly one-fourth of the respondents, or 22 percent, are responsible for maintaining school software, and 20 percent say they maintain classroom computers. Network administration falls on the shoulders of eight percent.

Library media specialists are also responsible for resources on the Web. Two-thirds, or a little more than 1,000 respondents, have a library Web site. And approximately 70 percent said that their sites include a Web-based, online public-access catalog, or OPAC; online databases; curricular links; and other resources that students can access 24/7. These same media specialists told us that they designed and created the library site and also maintain it. And about 31 percent of respondents also manage the school's Web site.

Identification and evaluation of Web resources that support the curriculum has become a valuable task that librarians perform for the benefit of both their colleagues and their students. Eighty-four percent of our respondents reported that they help identify appropriate Web resources for their students. And approximately 60 percent post those resources on the media center's Web page.

How are busy media specialists able to manage technology resources and still administer the media center? Finding time is one of the biggest challenges. Piscitello laments the "lack of time to perform all the functions we are expected to do: teach 25 to 28 classes a week, keep up with technology, collaborate with teachers, run the library, develop reading incentive programs, select books, and keep up with journals—just to name a few."

Amy Bedenbaugh, a library media specialist at Batesburg-Leesville Primary School, in Batesburg, SC, is another educator who wears many hats. "Creating a balance between all of the different areas—reading promotion, storytime, technology integration, research skills, teaching proper library usage, locating resources for teachers and students, and maintaining a collection—is the most difficult and time consuming part of my job," she says.

But despite the added demands presented by technology, media specialists nationwide are rising to the challenge, helping students and teachers make the most of the tools available to 21st-century learners. According to our findings, most of the technology activities in which school librarians are involved directly impact student achievement: 95 percent of the library media specialists reported that they train students to use technology resources to locate information, 80 percent of the respondents provide technology training to both students and teachers, and 60 percent of those surveyed reported that they collaborate with classroom teachers to integrate information literacy and National Educational Technology Standards. In addition to providing technology-related instruction, media specialists are also involved in the planning and purchasing of these resources at both the school and district levels.

As this study proves, library media specialists are key players in creating schools befitting the 21st century. It's up to the education leadership, as well as the community at large, to recognize, support, and fund their efforts.