Part two of two:  click here for part one

 

We collaborate when we work together to achieve a common goal.  Collaboration is not simply explaining what needs to be accomplished nor is it teaching information literacy skills independently or ‘around’ the curriculum. True collaboration between the library media specialist and the school community occurs when we place information literacy lessons within the curriculum and involve others in planning, executing, and assessing outcomes.  Learning and teaching become experiences that are shared instead of being experiences that are scripted independently and without consideration for the curriculum as a whole. True collaboration from the library media staff means that information literacy skills are treated not as an appendage or after-thought of the curriculum, but rather as a vital, integral, and interconnected piece of the curriculum. 

 

We are challenged to provide our school communities with the resources and services that will enable students to become information literate, lifelong learners. Developing collaborative partnerships means that the responsibilities of creating and implementing mutually defined objectives, instruction, and assessment are shared.   Although developing these partnerships is not without its share of complications, they are necessary in order to ensure students are able to achieve, and exceed, standards and develop the skills to access, comprehend, and use information.  When true collaboration occurs students develop information literacy skills as well as higher level thinking skills.  Building a collaborative environment takes time and requires patience and tenacity, but the resulting increase in student achievement is well worth the effort.

 

Collaborative relationships are time-consuming.  The require a  long term commitment, excellent communication skills, involve detailed planning and sharing, necessitate well-defined roles and responsibilities as well as a commitment to the identified educational outcomes.  A collaborative partnership is difficult to establish as everyone involved must be a true instructional partner on a team working toward a common goal though a common framework. There are several obstacles which can work against establishing collaborative partnerships.  Educators have an established history of working in isolation and must be convinced that such a partnership will be of benefit to them and their students and, most importantly, not require a large increase of their heavy workloads.  In other words, the teacher wants to know WIIFM – translated “What’s in this for me?”  Additionally, the teacher must see the media specialist as an educational leader (Milbury 30).  Lack of preparation and collaborative planning time is one of the biggest obstacles to collaboration.  In today’s busy schools there just doesn’t seem to be enough time in the day to do it all.  Teachers are under pressure to complete the prescribed curriculum, make adequate yearly progress (AYP), and function competently in a high-stakes testing environment (Toor and Weisburg 88).  This environment greatly restricts the development of collaborative partnerships.  Other obstacles include fostering the understanding that the media specialist is an instructional partner and convincing faculty that both students and teachers can benefit from the collaborative process.  

 

To become an integral part of the instructional team the SLMS must prove their salt so to speak to students, teachers, administrators, and the community.  We must provide quality services that enhance teaching and learning.  We must seek out opportunities to model best practices, provide accurate and relevant information, and communicate effectively with others.  We can't just sit back and shout "Well, nobody ever comes to me!" Riedling notes well that promoting information literacy takes "knowledge, time, persistence, enthusiasm, and tenacity." (15)  The document by Carrie Lowe we read notes that: “The ‘library’ is not a place; rather, library is everywhere. This means that school library media specialists should not be cloistered within the walls of the library and within the constraints of scheduled library time."   This is definitely not the library that our parents visited or even that (some of us who are a bit older) visited as children. As an SLMS we need to be open to the possibilities - listening to those around us, working to understand the school's environment, students, and curriculum, and trying our best to be creative and collaborative partners within that environment.  That will make the SLMS an invaluable school and community resource. 

 

Studies by Keith Curry Lance correlate the quality of student learning to the effectiveness of the school library program.  He notes, “We must understand the fundamental contributions school libraries make to learning outcomes. First, when school librarians collaborate with classroom teachers to enrich curriculum content, they help create more authentic learning experiences”. Research by Doug Johnson summarizes things aptly:

 

“Many state tests ask students to apply skills as well as recall facts.  … by designing teaching information literacy units tied to the classroom curriculum, we help all students learn to not only memorize information, but also to use it in meaningful and memorable ways.  Which, of course, leads to higher test scores.  We want to produce critical readers, real-world math users, and passionate, effective writers.  Project-based learning that is planned, co-taught and assessed by your school’s school library media specialist will always ask children to go beyond the minimum, and in doing so, they will have no difficulty to passing tests that measure just the minimum”. (14)   

 

As educators our goal is to provide our students with the joy of becoming lifelong learners. Collaboration between the teachers and library staff can be a catalyst for our students to meet higher standards and become independent, lifelong learners. 

 

 

 

 

 

WORKS CITED:

Johnson, Doug. "Your School Library Media Program and No Child Left Behind." Learn Media, 33.2 (2005): 13-14.  H.W. Wilson. Web. 26 Sep 2008.

Lowe, Carrie A.  The Role of the School Library Media Specialist in the 21st Century. ERIC Digest.  Syracuse, NY: ERIC Clearinghouse on Information & Technology. (ED 446 769) 18 May 2008 < http://ericir.syr.edu/ithome>

Stripling, Barbara K. ed.  Learning and Libraries in an Information Age.  Englewood:Teacher Ideas Press, 1999. 18 May 2008 <http://www.netlibrary.com/Reader/>

Riedling, Ann Marlow. Information Literacy: What Does It Look Like in the School Library Media Center?  Westport: Libraries Unlimited, 2004.

Lance, Keith Curry. “The Impact of School Library Media Centers on Academic Achievement.” SLMQ Spring 1994. ALA.org. Web. 30 Sep 2008.  

Milbury, Peter. “Collaboration: Ten Important Reasons to Take It Seriously.” Knowledge Quest, May-June 2005: 30-32. EBSCO, Academic Search Complete.  Web. 24 Feb. 2009.

Riedling, Ann Marlow. Information Literacy: What Does It Look Like in the School Library Media Center?  Westport: Libraries Unlimited, 2004.  Print. 

Toor, Ruth, and Hilda K. Weisburg. New on the Job: A School Library Media Specialist’s Guide to Success. Chicago: American Library Assn., 2007. Print. 

 

 

 

Mary Ann Sheets, M.Ed., SLMS
Edison High School
2083 College Avenue
Elmira NY  14903
733-5604 (work)
738-5133 (cell)
msheets@gstboces.org (work)
masheets@npacc.net (home)
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Be sure to check out the “idea of the week” and “website of the week” at www.energizetheclassroom.com .

 

-Paul Richmond

 E.T.C.