checklist for field experience documents to be submitted at...

Name Melissa WheelerSemester Program Completed Summer 2010Total # Field Hours Completed 146

Table of Contents Field Experience Documents to be Submitted at the end of MEDT 6487 Practicum

Included Not Required # Field HoursField Experience Time LogsMEDT 6461 Admin of School Media Center yes 15MEDT 6463 Cataloging yes 15MEDT 6464 Reference Sources & Services yes 15MEDT 6465 Selection & Materials yes 15MEDT 6466 Media Programs yes 15MEDT 6467 Technology for Media Services yes 15MEDT 6468 Automating Media Centers yes 15MEDT 7461 Instructional Design yes 15

Included Not requiredField Experience ReflectionsMEDT 6461 Administration of School Media Center yesMEDT 6463 Cataloging yesMEDT 6464 Reference Sources & Services yesMEDT 6465 Selection & Materials yesMEDT 6466 Media Programs yesMEDT 6467 Technology for Media Services yesMEDT 6468 Automating Media Centers yesMEDT 7461 Instructional Design yes

Full Day Forms School Site DateDay 1 Keheley

ElementarySeptember 25, 2008

Day 2 Lassiter High School

September 17, 2009

Day 3 West Side Elementary School

February 11, 2010

Day 4 McCleskey Middle School

February 17, 2010

Activities Checklist IncludedYes or No

CompleteYes or No

Documentation of Work Teachers & Students IncludedYes or No

CompleteYes or No

Field Experience Summary Reflection IncludedYes or No

CompleteYes or No

Melissa Wheeler 1

Notes

Melissa Wheeler 2

ID # 917-32-8321 Total # of course specific hours completed 10

School Library Media Field Experience Time LogMEDT 6461 Administration of School Library Media Center

Examine specific functions and policies of the School Library Media Program (SLMP) through interviewing a School Library Media Specialist (SLMS). Discuss budget development, funding issues, collaboration techniques, facility planning, basic policies and procedures of administering the SLMP, current trends and issues including professional development and organizations, access to outside resources, cultural diversity and its impact on program development, copyright issues, and future goals. A clear understanding of these issues is essential in developing and administering a media program that will impact student achievement and lead to the development of lifelong readers.

Student Name: Melissa Wheeler Semester: Spring 2009 Instructor: Dr. Snipes

Mentor Name: Lynn Dye Mentor e-mail: [email protected]

Mentor phone: 678-494-7836

School: Keheley Elementary District: Cobb County Address: 1985 Kemp Rd, Marietta, GA 30066

If you completed any General Hours as part of this course indicate the number of hours and enter the specific information on the General Hours Log which you are maintaining throughout the program and will submit during the Practicum course.

Number of General Hours:

6.75 hoursIf you completed any Full Days as part of this course indicate the number of full days and enter the specific information on the Full Day forms which you are maintaining throughout the program and will submit during the Practicum course.

Number of Full Days:

0 (zero)

Course Specific Activity Field Experience Site Media Specialist Date Amount of TimeConsult a SLMS through interviews, surveys, or questionnaires about issues in media program administration (as stated in description of field assignment).

Keheley Elementary Lynn Dye 1/27/09 1.25 hours

Make on-site visits to examine policies and procedures in the day-to-day operation of the LMC (circulation, copyright, LMC reservation and use, etc.) for assistance in planning your media

Keheley Elementary Lynn Dye 2/11/09 1 hour

Melissa Wheeler 3

handbook sections.Discuss designing a floor plan of the existing LMC and make suggestions for improvements based on your discussion with the SLMS and readings on good LMC design.

Blackwell Elementary Jill Fowler 3/18 & 3/30/09

3.5 hours

Discuss with the SLMS budget preparation for the SLMC for the media program for the up-coming year.

Keheley Elementary Lynn Dye 3/2/09 1.5 hours

Discuss current issues and personal professional development with the SLMS as you prepare your class debate.

Keheley Elementary Lynn Dye 1/27/09 .25 hour

Use LM-NET and Georgia Media Listserv to explore these issues further and see how other SLMS administer their media programs.


Activities Checklist Items:- Initiate interlibrary loans- Reserve a collection- Prepare gift records- Attend meetings (PTO, Media Committee, Faculty, etc.)

Unable to complete

Unable to completeBlackwell ElementaryKeheley Elementary

Jill FowlerLynn Dye

3/16/093/17/09

.5 hour1 hour

Melissa Wheeler 4

Name: Melissa Wheeler Total # of course specific hours completed

10

ID # 917-32-8321 Total # of general hours completed 5

School Library Media Field Experience Time LogMEDT 6463 Cataloging

Student Name:Melissa Wheeler

Semester: Summer 2009 Instructor: Dr. Snipes



School: Keheley Elementary District: Cobb County Address: 195 Kemp RdMarietta, GA 30066

If you completed any Full Days as part of this course indicate the number of full days and enter the specific information on the Full Day forms which you are maintaining throughout the program and will submit during the Practicum course.

Number of Full Days: 0

Course Specific Activity Field Experience Site Media Specialist Date Amount of TimeLocate materials in the media center that need to be cataloged.

N/A

Catalog the items through original means or copy cataloging.

Alto Park Elementary

Marietta Center for Advanced Academics

Jodye Butler

S. Buckalew,Para-S. Foster

7/6/09

7/9/09

4 hours

2 hours

Process the items so that they are shelf-ready.


S. Buckalew,Para-S. Foster

7/9/09 1 hour

Assist students in location and access of materials, including use of social networking sites.

Blackwell Elementary Jill Fowler 2/23/09 1 hour (during spring)

Present the Dewey PowerPoint to at least one class.


Susan Foster 9/21/09&9/24/09

2 hours

Activities Checklist items:- Assist with catalog & indexes- Process new materials- Mark new materials- Apply bar codes- Affix spine labels- Assisting students with locating information through OPAC and

Keheley Elementary

Blackwell Elementary

Lynn Dye

Jill Fowler

Spring 2009

5 hours

Melissa Wheeler 5

social networking sites

Name: Melissa Wheeler Total # of course specific hours completed 10

ID # 917-32-8321 Total # of full days completed 2

Total # of general hours completed 5

School Library Media Field Experience Time LogMEDT 6464 Reference Sources & Services

Conduct an in-depth examination of reference materials, print, non-print and online. This will require visits to your school library media center, as well as public, and/or academic libraries. Reference tools must be examined thoroughly and associated with GPS/QCC standards. Instructional strategies and activities utilizing some of the tools should be developed and taught during the semester. A thorough knowledge of reference resources is essential in assisting patrons in the development of information literacy skills and problem solving strategies.

Student Name: Melissa Wheeler Semester: Spring 2010 Instructor: Dr. Cooper



School: Keheley Elementary District: Cobb County Address: 1985 Kemp Rd, Marietta GA 30066


Course Specific Activity Field Experience Site Media Specialist Date Amt of TimeVisit school (during Fall or Spring semester), public, and/or academic libraries (Summer only) to locate and examine specific types of reference tools.

Lassiter High School

Keheley Elementary

McCleskey High School

Mountain View branch of Cobb

Kathryn VinyardLynn Dye

Kathy Albritton

2/16/10

Jan., Feb. 20102/17/10

Feb., Mar.

3 hours

1 hour

1 hour

1 hour

Melissa Wheeler 6

County Public Library System

Cobb County Virtual Library

2010

Jan., Feb. 2010

1 hour

Record information on tools examined.

See above See above See above

2 hours

Develop instructional activities based on GPS/QCC standards that incorporate use of the tools.

Keheley Elementary Lynn Dye 4/12/10 30 minutes

Teach an instructional activity you have developed.


Susan Foster 1/20/10 30 minutes

Activities Checklist and General Hour Items:- Assist with research needs- Perform bibliographic searching- Handle reference questions (for teachers and students)


Susan Foster Spring 2010

5 hours

* Please note that I work part-time in a media center for the City of Marietta School System, therefore I have completed many more than 5 general hours for field experience.


School Library Media Field Experience Time LogMEDT 6465 Selection and Materials

Identify and use recognized selection aids for school library media centers. Evaluate basic collections and make recommendations for improvement. Examine censorship issues and stereotyping in literature. Focus on collection analysis and development of print and non-print materials.

Student Name: Melissa Wheeler Semester: Spring 2009 Instructor: Dr. Juanita Buddy





Number of General Hours:

7 (seven)

Melissa Wheeler 7


Number of Full Days:

0 (zero)

Course Specific Activity Field Experience Site Media Specialist Date Amt of TimeDiscuss selection issues with library personnel: selection policy, copyright policy, reconsideration policy, circulation procedures, etc.


Examine the collection thoroughly, taking note of weak or incomplete areas.

Keheley Elementary Lynn Dye 2/21/09 2 hours

Review selection policies.

Keheley Elementary Lynn Dye 2/11/09 .5 hours

Review selection tools. Keheley Elementary Lynn Dye 2/11/09 .5 hoursActivities Checklist Items:- Create newsletter / flyer- Prepare an order- Circulate non-print materials- Circulate media equip- Process and circulate serials- Receive an order- Repair books/materials

Keheley Elementary

Keheley ElementaryBlackwell Elementary

Blackwell ElementaryBlackwell Elementary

Keheley ElementaryKeheley Elementary

Lynn Dye

Lynn DyeJill Fowler

Jill FowlerJill Fowler

Lynn DyeLynn Dye

3/11/09

2/11/094/13/09

4/13/093/25/09

3/25-27/092/25/09

1 hour

1 hour.25 hours

.25 hours

.5 hours

2 hours1 hour

Melissa Wheeler 8


10

ID # 917-32-8321 Total # of full days completed 2Total # of general hours completed 5

School Library Media Field Experience Time LogMEDT 6466 The Media Program

Student Name: Melissa Wheeler Semester: Spring 2010 Instructor: Dr. Goldberg



School: Keheley Elementary District: Cobb County Address: 1985 Kemp Rd., Marietta GA 30066


Course Specific Activity Field Experience Site Media Specialist Date Amt of TimeInterview SLMS for ideas for school wide programs

Keheley Elementary Lynn Dye February 2010

1 hour

Interview SLMS for ideas for 2 year plan

Keheley Elementary Lynn Dye April 12, 2010

1 hour

Determine a theme that could lead to the involvement of various populations within the school.

Keheley Elementary Lynn Dye January 2010

1 hour

Survey a SLMP in action Marietta Center for Advanced Academics

Sprayberry High School

Susan Foster

Jo Zarzecka

Spring 2010

March 2010

5 hours

1 hour

Identify specific groups within the school that would be served well by completing activities based on the theme.

Keheley Elementary


Lynn Dye

Susan Foster

February 2010February 2010

30 minutes

30 minutes

Activity Checklist and General Hour Items:- Designing bulletin board or display- Assisting in scheduling outside speakers

Keheley Elementary Lynn Dye Fall 2009

Spring 2009

5 hours

Melissa Wheeler 9

- Assisting in organizing a book fair- Designing press release/photographing events for local or school paper- Reading promotions (booktalks, reader’s theater)

January 2010



School Library Media Field Experience Time LogMEDT 6467 Technology for Media Services (effective Fall 2008 New)

Examine technologies used in the media center to facilitate information access throughout the school through interviews with the media specialist and/or technology specialist. Discuss how the media center computer network is set up and organized, how the video distribution system works, and the basic operations of the automation system.

Student Name: Melissa Wheeler Semester: Fall 2009 Instructor: Dr. Bennett and Dr. Cooper

Mentor Name: Lynn Dye Mentor e-mail:[email protected]

Mentor phone:678-494-7836



Number of General Hours: 5



Melissa Wheeler 10

Course Specific Activity Field Experience Site Media Specialist Date Amount of Time

Consult a school media specialist and/or technology specialist and have them guide you through the layout of the media center computer network, identifying the location of servers, clients, peripherals, switches, routers, and/or other devices that are used in the network. Identify the technology support roles the media specialist is asked to provide to students, faculty, and staff.



Keheley Elementary

Susan Foster/Valerie Paul (Tech Specialist)

Kathryn Vinyard

Lynn Dye

8/24/09

8/27/09

9/3/09

3 hours

1 hour

1 hour

Consult a school media specialist and/or technology specialist and have them demonstrate the operations of the school’s video distribution system (closed circuit broadcast system), and discuss with them what the distribution system is used for, problems encountered in the operation of the distribution system and other issues related to the video distribution system.

Keheley Elementary


Lynn Dye

Susan Foster

11/18/09

11/4/09

1 hour

1 hour

Consult a school media specialist and identify how students, teachers, and staff learn to use the online computer catalog to locate media center resources, how they learn to use other technologies available through the media center, and what the biggest media-center related training needs are.


Keheley Elementary

Susan Foster

Lynn Dye

10/12-10/16/09

10/7/09

2 hours

1 hour

Activities Checklist Items:-Develop media productions


Susan Foster 10/14/09 1 hour

Melissa Wheeler 11

-Assist students with tech needs-Work with/Troubleshoot computers and other equipment (printers, scanners, projectors, etc.)-Work with/Troubleshoot network-Work with/Troubleshoot video equipment-Install software updates

* Please note that because I work as a clerk in an elementary media center, I have completed many more general hours than the required 5 for this course.


10

ID # 917-32-8321 Total # of full days completed 2Total # of general hours completed 5

School Library Media Field Experience Time LogMEDT 6468 Automating School Media Centers

Explore the basic operations of the automation system including cataloging, circulation, patron record maintenance, and report generation. Work directly with a school library automation system and input MARC records. A variety of formats should be entered into the system (book, CD, DVD, computer file, etc.). Records should be input through manual entry, download from disk/CD, and download from online source. Basic rules for development of MARC records should be used in entering original cataloging information into the OPAC.

Student Name: Melissa Wheeler Semester: Spring 2010 Instructor: Dr. Snipes and Dr. Cooper





Melissa Wheeler 12

Course Specific Activity Field Experience Site Media Specialist Date Amt of TimeDiscuss the basic operations of the media center automation system with a school library media specialist and follow up with a thorough review of the automation system manual.


Susan Foster January 5 & 7, 2010

1 hour

Develop a Qwik Start guide for using major components of the school’s automation system.


Keheley Elemantary

Susan Foster

Lynn Dye

March 22-23, 2010

March 24-25, 2010

2 hours

2 hours

Participate in an online OPAC tour to examine MARC records.

Online Mentor: Lynn Dye

March 9, 2010

1 hour

Complete a variety of CIP and MARC activities.

Marietta Center for Advanced Academics AND online

Susan Foster January, February 2010

2 hours

Import MARC records from an online source into the automation system.


Susan Foster February 2010

30 minutes

Use MARC Magician to clean up MARC records in a sample database.

Online Mentor: Lynn Dye

4/22/10 30 minutes

Research a current topic in the area of automation of school library media centers.

McCleskey Middle School

LM_NET

Kathy Albritton, interview

2/24/10 1 hour

Activities Checklist and General Hour Items:- Calculate circulation statistics- Maintain student records- Generate other reports from the automated circulation system (Specify)- Compile bibliographies- Download MARC records from Internet- Input MARC records into OPAC


Susan Foster Spring 2010

(throughout semester as this is my place of work)

5 hours


Melissa Wheeler 13

Name: Melissa Wheeler Total # of course specific hours completed 10ID # 917-32-8321 Total # of general hours completed 5

School Library Media Field Experience Time LogMEDT 7461 Instructional Design

Examine specific instructional roles of the SLMS through interviewing a SLMS. Discuss roles related to planning, implementing and evaluating student instruction; developing in-service materials; collection development related to Georgia Performance Standards, information literacy standards and technology standards.

Student Name: Melissa Wheeler Semester: Fall 2009 Instructor: Dr. Putney

Mentor Name: Lynn Dye Mentor e-mail:[email protected]

Mentor phone:678-494-7836




Course Specific Activity Field Experience Site Media Specialist Date Amt of TimeConsult a SLMS through interviews, surveys, or questionnaires about their responsibilities related to student instruction and staff development.

Keheley Elementary



Lynn Dye

Kathryn Vinyard

Kathy Albritton

10/7/09

10/8/09

10/27/09

1 hour

2 hour

.5 hoursDiscuss ways to catalog materials adding curriculum connection information to individual catalog (MARC) records.

Keheley Elementary


Lynn Dye

Kathryn Vinyard

11/11/09

11/18/09

1 hour

.5 hours

Examine a collection for materials that could support Georgia Performance Standards in one curriculum area (math, science, or social studies) for a grade level you are not familiar with. A collection must be examined in person during the fall or spring semester.

Keheley Elementary Lynn Dye 11/19/09 2 hours

Melissa Wheeler 14

During the summer through a public school on-line catalog.Use LM-NET and Georgia Media Listserv to explore these issues further and see how other SLMS collaborate with teachers, provide staff development, and build their collection to support Georgia Performance Standards through their media programs.

9/3/09

9/4/09

11/15/09

3 total hours

Activities Checklist and General Hour Items:- Develop staff development / in-service training- Examine a collection for materials that support GPS/QCC

Keheley Elementary




Lynn Dye

Kathryn VinyardKathy Albritton

Susan Foster

5 hours total


Melissa Wheeler 15

School Library Media Field Experience Reflection FormMEDT 6461 Administration of School Library Media Center

ID # 917-32-8321 Advisor: Dr. Snipes





For each of the Course Specific Field Experience Hours you need to describe each of the following activities for this course. In addition to your description you need to include your reflection on each of the activities.

Activity Description and ReflectionConsult a SLMS through interviews, surveys, or questionnaires about issues in media program administration (as stated in description of field assignment).

I sat down with my mentor to interview her about her position as an SLMS at Keheley. I actually ended up sitting down with her several times when I realized I wanted more information. I enjoyed listening to her descriptions of job activities I had never considered just being a volunteer in the media center, such as budget planning and professional development. She has invaluable information to share with me, and I feel as if I have only seen a glimmer of all she can teach me during my program.

Make on-site visits to examine policies and procedures in the day-to-day operation of the LMC (circulation, copyright, LMC reservation and use, etc.) for assistance in planning your media handbook sections.

Since I have been an active volunteer in Lynn’s media center for five years, I know the basic operations, especially circulation policies and reservations for use of the media center, very well. She does not deal much with the direct supervision of copyright use but relies on the teachers to follow the guidelines given to them at the beginning of the year. However, several teachers do break the law by making copies of workbooks, etc., so I believe she ought to more involved and have an in-service on copyright each fall.

Discuss designing a floor plan of the existing LMC and make suggestions for improvements based on your discussion with the SLMS and readings on good LMC design.

I felt as if I were too biased to complete a fair floor plan on the Keheley media center since I have essentially lived there for five years! The media specialist at a neighboring elementary school was thrilled to have me create one for her, especially since she finds her center’s current layout to be unsatisfactory.

I had fun with this project, dreaming up different ways to rearrange the media center to fit patrons’ needs better. Several ideas I shared with the SLMS, Jill Fowler, and those included as changes in the final plan, are quite impossible to do without major renovations to the building structure. However, there are some things that can be done fairly easily with patience and helping hands. Jill and I met several times on this project to discuss changes, and I incorporated all of her suggestions in

Melissa Wheeler 16

the final draft, which she appreciated. I feel as if I have a very good idea of what a typical, basic elementary center should look in order to function well. There are several creative ideas that could be incorporated as well, but I decided to stick with basic design for the most part. Lofts are for another day!

Discuss with the SLMS budget preparation for the SLMC for the media program for the up-coming year.

I discussed budget allocation and development with Lynn Dye. When we had the talk, she and I were well aware that there may not be a budget for next year due to cuts, but she conveyed to me what would normally happen if one did exist.

I learned about a couple of areas of cost I hadn’t considered, such as registration fees and expendable equipment such as jack boxes. I was very relieved to find that in Cobb County District at least, the SLMS does not need to budget for new computer equipment for the media center, and the county provides access to several databases online for student learning, so a cost I was counting on didn’t have to come from the SLMS’s budget for the media center. I feel as if I learned more than enough to create and follow a budget, and the experience I have owning my own business will help me as well.

Discuss current issues and personal professional development with the SLMS as you prepare your class debate.

The current issues and trend debate position I took was that an SLMS did not need to have prior teaching experience. I asked Lynn what she felt, and she agreed with me. Her own background knowledge in schools was from the position of a paraprofessional in the media center. She could only give me her opinion based on her own experience. She felt as if she was not hurt by the lack of experience in the classroom and didn’t find it necessary. What she did find necessary was an interest in children, what they learn, and information acquisition. She is a mother herself, and she felt that helped her with the teaching and disciplining parts – the rest, she picked up by observing teachers in the classroom, such as the different styles and approaches.

As for professional development, she enjoys the two or three local workshops she attends in the spring and summer, especially since the county’s media program has extensive and fantastic training seminars for its media specialists. I want to strive for as much professional development I can obtain, but within budgetary limits of course. I think it is important to keep up with the skills I learn in this program, ones that change constantly since many are imbedded in technology and those advances.

Use LM-NET and Georgia Media Listserv to explore these issues further and see how other SLMS administer their media programs.

LM_NET provided me with a plethora of information. From reading it when creating the budget plan and floor design plan, I learned a lot from other SLMSs taking their time to post valuable information to the listserv. Because programs are so

Melissa Wheeler 17

similar, there didn’t seem to be any big differences in basic running of programs. The differences were in the smaller areas of functions, such as what format a principal wanted budgets to be turned in, what budget items were allotted for the media center, if there was even a budget to be had, and differences in sizes and ages of media centers. On other topics, it was interesting to read other SLMSs opinions and approaches to common situations, such as angry parents. The listserv is a great place to do “real world” research on issues that matter to the SLMS and media programs, and I am very happy to have it available if I need it.

Activities Checklist Items:- Initiate interlibrary loans- Reserve a collection- Prepare gift records- Attend meetings (PTO, Media Committee, Faculty, etc.)

I was unable to initiate any interlibrary loans because Cobb County does not have such a system in place. Additionally, I was unable to reserve a collection because one SLMS with whom I worked did not allow collections to be reserved by staff, and an opportunity did not arise for me at my mentor’s school.

I was able to observe a FT parapro at Blackwell Elementary process a gift order. A parent had donated about 20 books to the media center, and the parapro was easily able to assign barcode numbers from our automation system, Destiny. I helped her affix the labels and shelve the books after watching her process the call numbers through Destiny. It is amazing how automated systems make tasks like this process easy and painless, and we are lucky to be in such an advanced technology age.

I attended a media committee meeting at Keheley Elementary, a committee I am on as a community parent representative in case of a challenge. We discussed equipment checkouts, specifically laptops, and two large book orders as gift collections for two of our teachers who died this year. In attendance were grade level representatives and other specialists on staff. It was interesting to see the interactions between the staff and to hear the different viewpoints on various topics. It made me realize how in tune the SLMS needs to be with all areas of the staff and school issues to understand all positions thoroughly and treat everyone fairly.

Reflective Critique. Based on your field experiences, reflect on each of the following 3 issues in a brief narrative.

Issue Narrative ReflectionBased on readings and surveying of listservs, how do other SLMPs differ in administration of the media program (i.e., circulation procedures, budget, issue of cultural diversity, access to information outside the LMC, etc.)?

I found that SLMSs are not all that different in the administration of their centers. Sure, there were one or two standouts in LM_NET, but generally, administrative duties were similar. It pained me to see that many SLMS had little or no budget at times, and I wondered how they coped with the job of trying to provide meaningful information and

Melissa Wheeler 18

technology services to their patrons.

Circulation procedures seemed to differ mostly for age and level of school, but I did notice some SLMSs allowed for circulation of reference books and equipment at the middle school level as opposed to the programs I encountered waiting for high school. I didn’t find much information on cultural diversity on the listserv other than lists of weeding and purchase ideas for various section of the collection from sunlink.com and areas of the collection to make purchases of non-fiction books showing diversity (biographies, fairytales, countries, etc.), for example. I am not sure how often these discussions come up in school media centers across the US. Finally, it seems, as pertaining to information outside the LMC, that many schools rely on databases for academic purposes rather than making students trudge through the mess that is the WWW. I did once look in LM_NET about interlibrary loan, and there was very little information available. Perhaps ILL isn’t very common, or issues don’t come up because of the way the relationship between school and public libraries is handled. The LM_NET was not helpful in this arena.

Evidence of application of learnings into course assignments (floor plan, current issues debate, budget preparation).

I have discussed evidence of learnings below for budget preparation and floor plan design. I will discuss current issues debate here.

My position in the debate is that an SLMS does not need to have classroom teaching experience. I myself have no experience in the classroom. I have trained people in the workplace, and I home school my children during the summer, much to their dismay! Sure, I wish I did have this experience because it can only be helpful, but I don’t find it necessary to be an SLMS. I think having the capacity and willingness to learn, a love of children and their interests, and a sound business sense are crucial. If one has classroom experience, that’s great. However, I have known teachers who have been in the classroom for years, and they are not very good teachers, unfortunately. So, having the experience doesn’t necessarily help if one isn’t very good at the job. Being an effective communicator is important, and being willing to run a small business suiting the needs of many, many patrons are necessary skills for the position of SLMS.

The importance of developing a policies and procedures handbook that clearly defines aspects of the administration of the media program.

The development of the handbook was interesting for me because it opened up the world of media centers, showing the basic structure and foundation of the media program. Without policies and procedures in place, defining the program and collection, the media program can have no meaning, no support, and no organization. The policies create a sense of

Melissa Wheeler 19

form for the program, and these rules lay the framework of what happens in the center and why the media specialist runs the program as he or she does. The rules protect not only the integrity of the program, but also the media specialist, if policies and procedures are sound and are followed.

Describe three Significant Learnings from Field Experience Activities

Describe the potential impact of these significant learnings on your future work as a media specialist.

1. Budget Development I enjoyed developing a three-year budget plan for the media center. I have developed costs analyses and budgets for my home-based business, so I knew how to approach the matter. There are, of course, different and more cost factors to consider with a media center budget. After sitting with my mentor to be tutored in what factors to consider, I felt as if I had a good handle on how to develop a budget for three years. This time frame was actually more useful to me than a one-year plan because I know there are several high-priced items that need to be replaced only every few years, such as encyclopedia sets, and this knowledge helped me organize expenses more easily.

2. Facility Floor Plan Developing a floor plan was also a fun assignment for me because I like to organize things, and I am typically not very good at redesigning furniture layouts and interior decorating. For me, this task was a challenge, so I tried to have fun with it. The guidelines for media center design provided in the readings helped me very much, and after taking note of these rules, I was able to approach this assignment with less trepidation. Additionally, the media center I chose to work on is truly a mess, so its poorly- designed plan made it easy for me to revamp.

Only a couple of weeks after I turned in this assignment, the middle school media specialist with whom I will be working in the fall redesigned her media center in early April. She and her parapro did a wonderful job – the media center looks completely different; it flows very well and the space is very open and inviting now. Both floor plans have convinced me that changing a current floor plan is not as difficult as I imagined at the beginning of the semester. With the text readings on the subject, I also feel I would be comfortable in contributing valuable information for a new plan in a new school or renovation if necessary.

3. Policies and Procedures Handbook This class was my first experience developing the P&PH for our program. I enjoy research writing, so I found it to be rewarding. The task itself also taught me things I didn’t at first ponder as part of the media specialist job. I came to realize that my district, Cobb County, has thorough and very detailed policies which to follow and from which to learn as regards the media program. At the school level, the are so many details to

Melissa Wheeler 20

consider when developing local policies and procedures that it was interesting for me to realize the media specialist has true control over this library entity and is really an administrator of a small business. This made the position even more exciting to me.

School Library Media Field Experience Reflection FormMEDT 6463 Cataloging


Student Name: Melissa Wheeler Semester: Summer 2009 Instructor: Dr. Snipes




For each of the Course Specific Field Experience Hours you need to describe each of the following activities for this course. In addition to your description you need to include your reaction/reflection on each of the activities.

Activity Description and ReflectionLocate a variety of materials in the media center that need to be cataloged.

N/A

Catalog the items through original means or copy cataloging.

At Alto Park Elementary, Jodye Butler and I worked together to enter several donated titles into the online catalog system, Surpass. Some titles were accompanied with MARC records, so they were easier to do. Some, however, had no MARC records. Her media center had no updated Sear’s Subject Headings or Dewey Decimal Classification books from which to do original cataloging, so we had to perform some copy cataloging. We used gapines.org and sunlink.ucf.edu in order to compare entries and choose proper Dewey numbers and subject headings for those titles. It was very helpful to have these websites to which we could refer, especially since we had no books to help.

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At the Marietta Center for Advanced Academics, the media parapro, Susan Foster, and I worked together to enter into the Destiny system several donated titles. The process was easy to do but lengthy. Additionally, we entered Accelerated Reader information for each title. Finally, I applied spine labels and barcodes to each book in order to get them ready for the shelves. It amazed me as to how much time the process of entering MARC records, AR information, and copy cataloging took. I have often heard that media specialists dislike cataloging because of the time it takes, and I understand why. After several hours of entering records, the stack of books looks so small! I enjoyed the process and was thankful to have resource information to which we could refer for copy cataloging. It made the task easier. I am very thankful for companies like Follett, however, that provide the service of providing MARC records: the extra cost is worth it from a time perspective.

Process the items so that they are shelf-ready. At the Marietta Center for Advanced Academics, after I had entered titles into Destiny, I was able to process books for shelf readiness. I placed spine labels and bar codes in preferred positions on the books, as told to me by the media parapro, and then placed clear protective stickers over the labels for further protection. I ran out of time to place clear protective jackets on the covers, but it would have been the final step. I enjoyed this process as well because I felt as if I was doing what I could to make it easy for students to locate these books and to extend the life of the books, had I had time to apply jacket covers. The placement of the labels is critical and so important for patrons to easily find the titles and for staff to be able to scan books easily, particularly at inventory time.

Assist students in location and access of materials, including use of social networking sites.

In the early spring, I spent some time assisting students with searches in OPAC for books on animals for reports the elementary children were doing for class. I also assisted them in locating those books on the shelves, although I encouraged them to show me where the books would be in the library. I believe it is critical that students learn how to use the OPAC and be able to locate books as elementary students because they are quite capable of doing so, and it encourages their independence. It is a transferable skill for them as well: in learning this skill at this age, they will be able to find books at any library.

Present the Dewey PPT to at least one class. While working as the media paraprofessional at Marietta Center for Advanced Academics, I taught three 3rd and 4th grade classes all about Dewey using my Dewey PPT. I was a bit nervous, but the kids seemed to respond to my presentation well. I decided after one or two classes that I

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need to tweak the presentation just a little, but I am generally satisfied with the outcome. I also attempted to make the presentation hand-on by putting the kids through a couple of exercises practicing what they learned about the ten main classes and about finding books on the shelves. The kids liked both parts, my lesson was short enough to keep their attention but almost too short for me to fit in everything I attempted, especially with the hands-on activities at the end of the lesson. When in a media center of my own, I will be able to break it up into two lesson which would be more practical: one for Dewey, and one to practice finding books on shelves by reading spine labels properly.

Activities Checklist items:- Assist with catalog & indexes- Catalog, process, and mark new materials- Assisting students with locating information through OPAC and social networking sites

I was able to complete these general hours at Keheley Elementary and Blackwell Elementary in the spring semester prior to this summer class. I participated in each of these tasks with the exception of helping students with social networking sites because Cobb blocks these sites to students and staff. Working with students was great experience and gave me opportunities to interact with children. Handling new materials was a multi-step process, but I was able to see the importance of completing each step carefully and with great attention to detail.


Issue Narrative ReflectionEvidence of cataloged materials in the OPAC database

During this summer session, I was able to enter donated materials into the automated cataloging system at two different schools. At Alto Park Elementary, all of the information was manually entered, including subject headings. I did not have to enter this information at the second school, Marietta Center for Advanced Academics. The subject headings were from Sear’s, and it was interesting to see what we learned in class put into practice. However, I was unable to witness the utilization of the OPAC at either of the schools as a patron would use it. I have had opportunities to help students locate materials through the OPAC as a volunteer at my mentor’s media center at Keheley Elementary. Almost all students searched for materials by subject, some by author if they were looking for a specific Accelerated Reader book. I never ran into an instance of incorrect subject headings entries, nor did I see any inconsistencies. Children are delighted to see a list of book options under their favorite subjects. If no titles exist, I and other staff members would help children come up with another term for the subject, or help them choose another topic if no books existed in the collection to meet their needs. The students are very good

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about looking in the OPAC first then running off to find the call number they wrote down for the desired title. It is so nice to see students excited about reading and finding their own books!

Response to presentation of the Dewey PowerPoint to students

As I stated above, I enjoyed presenting my Dewey PowerPoint to the students at my school, but I feel there were a couple of minor changes I could make to one or two slides to make the presentation flow better. During the presentations, I also included a hands-on activity using laminated “spine labels” with which the students practiced placing the labels in proper order in hopes of helping them understand how to find books on the shelf. This activity took longer than I anticipated, but I only had about 45 minutes to complete the presentation. If I had an hour, it would have been plenty of time; however, if I know I have less time, I should break that activity out and attach it to a different lesson such as orientation for older elementary students, for example.

The students themselves said they enjoyed the presentation but readily admitted they would not remember the ten main classes. I assured them it was okay, and that the point they should remember is that the Dewey call numbers represent an organization by category of all books in almost all of the world’s libraries. They were amazed by this fact!

Success of students in accessing and locating specific materials needed through the OPAC and social networking sites for assignments

I only spent a little time helping students use OPAC and assisting them to locate those materials on shelves. I was unable to assist with social networking sites. I would like to help students more in this endeavor and have more opportunities to teach them how to use OPAC and then find books. With this experience, I had great success assisting the students with OPAC, primarily because the students already knew how to use the tool. However, I discovered that the students weren’t very good at locating their books in the media center, and these children were in second and third grade. At the time, I was volunteering at an elementary school for the first time, and I was surprised at little these particular students knew about locating non-fiction books and how much they tried to rely on me to help them. I had them point me to the right case for the particular books and then encouraged them to look through the numbers to find out at which shelf they should be looking. Some I had to remind about numbers and the order in which they appear. I am not exactly sure how the staff at this particular school handled the teaching of locating books on shelves, but I feel that the students could have been better prepared to perform the search on their own. These skills are critical for independence, and I feel

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they should be “expert” at locating books on shelves before they reach middle school.

Describe three significant learnings from Field Experience Activities

Describe the potential impact of these significant learnings on your future work as a media specialist

1. Copy Cataloging I was happy to have the opportunity to do some copy cataloging for donated items to the Alto Park Elementary media center. These were titles that weren’t in the automated catalog system, and unfortunately, there were no copies of Sear’s Subject Headings or Dewey Decimal Classification books readily available. The media specialist and I worked together to find the titles on websites we were told about in class: gapines.org, sunlink.ucf.edu, and loc.gov. We were easily able to pull information from these great resources for the donated titles. I am confident that I can use these resources in the future properly and compare them to each other as well as the texts listed above to find accurate and concise subject headings and Dewey call numbers.

2. Processing of Materials As part of the technical services of the media center, processing of materials the final step in preparing books and other items for use by patrons. I was able to process materials during my time at the Marietta Center for Advanced Academics. I applied spine labels and barcode labels to books, then covered those with clear protective stickers. After clear jackets to protect the covers, the books are ready for the shelves. This step to maintaining items in a collection and making them ready for patron use is vital to not only providing materials for checkout, but also vital to preserving items for long use. I actually had fun doing it, too – it’s like giving a new car a wash for the first time: I want to do what I can to make the items useful and keep them looking shiny, new, and in perfect condition!

3. Working with Automation System I have had little opportunity in the past to work within the Destiny Automation System’s cataloging feature. I have experience with circulation, but no really few other features at this early point in my program. At the Marietta Center for Advanced Academics, I was able to work with this function of the tool. I found Destiny very easy with which to work and navigate. As a media specialist, it is critical that I know how to use the available automation system. Although Destiny may not be available at the school where I obtain my first position, I will feel less nervous with the provided system if I have experience navigating other systems.

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School Library Media Field Experience Reflection FormMEDT 6464 Reference Sources and Services


Student Name: Melissa Wheeler Semester: Spring 2010 Instructor: Dr. Cooper





Activity Description and ReflectionVisit school (during Fall or Spring semester), public, and/or academic libraries (Summer only) to locate and examine specific types of reference tools.

I was able to visit at least one school at each level (elementary, middle, high) in order to examine reference materials. I enjoyed doing this because each school has such a variety of items, but items that are obviously appropriate and necessary at the different levels. I visited the local public library to locate hard-to-find materials that were not available in school media centers.

The emphasis at the elementary level is the introduction of reference resources for children who are not only learning to read, but also are using dictionaries, encyclopedias, and other items for the first time. The items are colorful with large print and many graphics as are the online sources I found for this age group. The materials cover a broad-range of information and tend not to be too specific in any one area of study, with one or two exceptions being encyclopedias of animals and science.

At the middle school, the materials are similar in that they still cover a broad range of knowledge. However, the reading levels change, the font size of text becomes smaller, and there are fewer graphics displayed on each page. Pages have less white space. The middle school also retains some of the upper elementary reading level resources to meet the needs of those middle school students who read at a lower level than some of their same-age peers. The online sources I viewed as appropriate for this grade-level also followed the same format as the print counterparts: less childish, more grown-up, but still fun to view.

The high school resources were amazing and reminded me

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how much I loved literature and research when I was this age. The reading level for these materials is obviously adult, and the most popular reference items for high school seem to be literary criticisms. The reference skills of the users must be advanced in order for students to use them effectively for research. Online sources are available as well, of course, and additional types of resources seem necessary now, too: college prep materials and resources such as directories students can use to find information about colleges and institutions, for example.

Record information on tools examined. For the resources examined, I was required to record my findings and critiques of these materials in reference logs. I found this process extremely helpful in my learning about sources I hadn’t used n years, and some that I had never used. I feel as if the textbook and completed reference logs have prepared me better to assist students in their research needs. Not only have I discovered high-quality resources of which I knew nothing prior to the course, but I also have a enhanced understanding of how and when to use the various types of reference materials available. There are so many materials available both in print and electronically that I feel as if I have a great foundation now to help students. I hope to learn about many more sources during my time in a media center to expand my knowledge even further.

Develop instructional activities based on GPS/QCC standards that incorporate use of the tools.

As part of the class, I worked with group members to develop a pathfinder, something I had never heard of prior to the course. I love the idea of a media specialist being able to help teachers by sifting through a myriad of reference sources and pulling out quality resources that really match the needs of the teacher and students for an assignment or project. There are an overwhelming amount of online resources especially, and it is too easy for students to utilize the first source they find without realizing it may be of poor quality. The concept is so simple as well; I am surprised I have not seen one before in use in the schools at which I have been active. I am extremely excited about creating pathfinders as a media specialist because it is a fantastic, easy way to help teachers and impact student learning.

Teach an instructional activity you have developed.

My media specialist and I worked together to teach a class of 3rd graders how to take notes and perform research on various topics for science fair projects. For all of these young students, it was the first time they had researched a topic in-depth. Ms. Foster, the SLMS, taught the students note-taking skills, and she and I then worked together to teach them how to find information, both in print and through Galileo. We also introduced them to MLA citation formats. She and I had only a day to prepare for this lesson, but we knew exactly what the expectations were from the teacher. The lesson was on basic

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information literacy skills, but because Ms. Foster is a first-year media specialist, she had no repertoire from which to pull. It helped her that I was able to plan and help teach, and the experience was invaluable to me. I realize the importance of building a repertoire of lessons by grade level and project type and knowing the available resources well enough to provide valuable assistance to students and teachers.


Issue NarrativeApplicability of a good reference collection to student learning and the development of good information literacy skills in patrons.

No matter what level the media specialist is teaching (elementary, middle, or high school), it is imperative the students have a good reference section from which to work on assignments and projects, whether they be literary analyses, science fair projects, or animal reports. A good collection will not only assure students that materials they need for assignments and projects are readily available at the media center, it will also expose them to a wide variety of good quality resources from which they can learn and rely. Good quality references equal high quality work produced by students, assuming they have the skills to use the materials effectively and efficiently.

Students need to know what types of sources fulfill what research needs, and it is critical that they know how to discern good quality resources from poor quality. Media specialists are the experts in information use and are the obvious ones to teach children information literacy skills. There is an overabundance of information available to students who need an expert to teach them what is credible and what is misinformation. The SLMS can teach these skills so that students produce quality work and become lifelong learners and users of good information.

The importance of developing and maintaining a relevant, up-to-date reference collection in the school library media center.

Media specialists are not only responsible for maintaining an up-to-date, relevant reference collection in print, they are also accountable for providing patrons with credible online and electronic resources. In Georgia, we are lucky to have access to Galileo, but through our travels on the Internet highway, we media specialists often come across other great resources for patron use. Online resources are usually more recent than some of the print resources found in the media center. However, current print resources are critical as well, especially in the sciences. Students will not visit a media center with old, outdated materials that are of little use to them. Such materials should be weeded and replaced with items teachers and students can use that are relevant to the curriculum. Currency is important simply because information changes and new discoveries are made all the time. We do not want our

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students using outdated, incorrect, information. It impedes the learning process.



1. Know the curriculum Becoming familiar with the curriculum at the school level is part of the on-the-job training, but it is one of the most important tasks the media specialist should place at the top of his or her priority list. Students and teachers will want to come to the media center and utilize the resources more when the SLMS is confident in his or her knowledge of the standards. The SLMS will be able to help with research needs and assignments immediately and proficiently. I want my staff to feel comfortable that I can assist them readily and therefore come to me often for collaboration at any level. I need their confidence in my abilities to gather materials and make suggestions in order to be an effective part of the school program.

2. Know the reference collection During my References course work, I visited a few media centers. I was amazed at the lack of weeding that had occurred at some of these sites. There were several items in the reference collections that had not been used recently and some that were more than 20 years old. The collection has to be kept current in order to guarantee students and staff they have recent, credible information available. Additionally, I realized during the course that knowledge of the reference section helps tremendously for those moments when teachers and students are looking for sources in a pinch. This knowledge must include what types of resources to use when looking for information: for example, does one need a bibliography or a biography? Of course, I will learn my collection through presence and use. I intend to use the experience I gained while completing reference logs to help me build a better collection and be more aware of certain types of resources I rarely use.

3. Go the extra mile for reference questions

There is nothing worse in a librarian’s day than to watch a child’s face fall when we are unable to answer a question. I have found this year that I am compelled to try my best to find an answer or resource for a reference question. Although most young children want the answer now, those same children are satisfied if you deliver an answer to a question within a day. I have also discovered that children will continue to come to you for answers to reference questions, even if your history of providing satisfactory answers is not very positive, but not for long. It is worth the extra time and effort to find the perfect book or resource for a child’s assignment or project because they will continue to come back and will have utter confidence in you, even if one or two failures occur. I will continue to strive for answers and great resources for students just to see the smile on kids’ faces.

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School Library Media Field Experience Reflection FormMEDT 6465 Selection and Materials


Student Name: Melissa Wheeler Semester: Spring 2009 Instructor: Dr. Buddy





Activity Description and Reflection

Discuss selection issues with library personnel: selection policy, copyright policy, reconsideration policy, circulation procedures, etc.

At the beginning of the semester, I interviewed Mrs. Dye concerning these issues. I already understood the circulation procedures since I have volunteered in this media center for years. However, I was surprised to find through my interview with Lynn that many teachers don’t understand copyright law, despite the information they are given at the beginning of each school year. She does not hold an in-service specific to copyright, but perhaps she should in order to avoid problems throughout the school year.

Examine the collection thoroughly, taking note of weak or incomplete areas.

I specifically analyzed the 520s section of my mentor’s elementary media center per her request, namely because the books were somewhat outdated, and Pluto was no longer a planet. This was my first experience not only reading shelves for the purpose of analyzing a predetermined “weak” area, but also using the automated system, Destiny, to gather circulation statistics and age data. I really appreciate the ease of use and various reports one can acquire through this system that certainly makes the job of the SLMS easier.

Review selection policies. Lynn reviews elementary curriculum as well as modifications or changes to this curriculum to determine which areas of the collection to update, and her staff makes recommendations based on their specific curricular needs which she openly and willingly receives. Often times, teachers will leave her the tool(s) from which they find items of interest. She does a wonderful job of gathering input from teachers and students. I hope my staff and I have the open communication she and her staff share so that I have the confidence Lynn has in choosing materials for different areas of the collection.

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Review selection tools. Lynn has her favorite tools to which she refers when looking for new materials, both print and non-print for fiction and non-fiction items. I was unaware of all of the options available, both print tools and online tools until I took this class. Now, I have a plethora of choices from which to obtain materials for a well-supplied and varied collection that will suit the needs and interests of all patrons.


Issue Narrative ReflectionBased on readings and surveying library media specialists, how do selection / reconsideration policies safeguard the library media collection?

A professional and skilled media specialist will make informed decisions and choices regarding the selection of materials for the collection being careful to withhold any personal biases during the selection process. When materials are selected for the curriculum with the school’s goals and missions specific in mind, the collection will suit the needs of the student and staff patrons. The reconsideration policies put forth by the District safeguard the collection by ensuring students are exposed to varying viewpoints and see the importance of freedom of thought and expression while leaving the possibility for challenges to be considered in a democratic fashion.

Collection analysis and development – how is it best accomplished?

There are two approaches to collection analysis as I experienced it, both of which need to be utilized to see the whole picture. First, through the automating of catalog and circulation systems, the SLMS can run reports providing any aspect of data analysis one could need to know how the collection is being used, how often, etc. However, automated data doesn’t provide all the information an SLMS needs to perform a thorough job of analysis and development. Reading the shelves very carefully is critical – for instance, getting into the books and materials to see damages that may have been missed is important as well to keeping the collection looking healthy and appealing to patrons.

Censorship in our school library media centers

Bishop did an excellent job of differentiating between selection and censorship as pertains to materials selection by the media specialist. The media specialist must be cautious not to allow any personal biases interfere with decisions to select or not to select materials based on potential controversial content (sexual, religious, political). Choices should be carefully made while considering the grade and age levels serviced in the school’s media center – all materials should be age- and grade-appropriate. However, a good media specialist needs to provide a balanced collection while allowing for intellectual freedom for children, and cannot do so if he or she chooses to withhold suitable materials because of a personal belief or bias.

Stereotyping in our school library media center collections

It is the job of the media specialist, when selecting materials for purchase for the collection, to choose works that provide balance; that is, works of fiction that do not stereotype characters by their race, for instance. Stories should not portray black

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families living in poverty or Latino characters performing laborious jobs like landscaping. Children need to see characters of race acting and living outside any stereotypes, living “normally” to help change the perceptions of race. Diverse student populations should see diversity represented in the collections in their school libraries in a fair, balanced view, free of stereotyping, whether in race or gender.



1. Collection Analysis I learned how important it is not only to be hands-on with the collection to uncover issues such as areas of weakness and worn materials, but also to use the automation system present in the media center to perform statistical analysis in order to view records of circulation and average age of sections, for example. A complete picture of the collection, parts or whole, cannot be painted without the use of both approaches together.

2. Selection tools, criteria My mentor is very thorough in her process of selecting materials for the collection. She considers curriculum, teacher and student requests, interests and budgetary concerns. I didn’t realize how involved the selection process could be, and how many tools were available to the specialist. These tools and criteria will make this aspect of the job lengthy, but easier, and the resulting collection will be made better from it.

3. Repairing books I really enjoyed this portion of my field experience because I felt as if I could save books from certain death! It was fascinating to see how effective the simple tools were, and little tricks to help the mending stay strong.

School Library Media Field Experience Reflection FormMEDT 6466 The Media Program


Student Name: Melissa Wheeler

Semester: Spring 2010 Instructor: Dr. Goldberg





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Interview SLMS for ideas for school wide programs

I interviewed my mentor when I was considering ideas for school wide programs. She has great programs in place in her media center at Keheley Elementary now, but none so elaborate as to be involved in a yearlong, school wide program. Ms. Dye thought the theme of Georgia Children’s Book Awards was a good choice because of its adaptability to several groups in the school setting. She suggested that the competitors on the Helen Ruffin Reading Bowl team, 4th and 5th graders, could each easily choose a favorite book amongst the nominees and perform book talks for the school on the news broadcast. She and I brainstormed other ideas as well for various groups. I found it very helpful to be able to discuss these ideas with a media specialist with 12 years of experience at the elementary level. The project made me appreciate even more that I will have a network of people in the same field as I am who have many insights and viewpoints into similar situations and programs. Having this collective body of media specialists and people like my mentor will make me feel well supported.

Interview SLMS for ideas for 2 year plan I interviewed my mentor for this project of developing a 2-year plan while working with my group mates. I decided to tackle the programs requiring collaboration with teachers since I had learned so many great things from other courses in the Media program. My mentor has only been involved in a deep collaboration project in her 12 years at Keheley much to her disappointment. The majority of teachers at her school have been there a long time, and it has been difficult for Ms. Dye to sway their opinions about collaboration that they are generally against. Therefore, she had a few ideas but could not give me examples of collaboration that worked for her in the school. Fortunately, the learning experiences I have had from other classes helped me to develop two collaboration programs for the 2-year plan. The resulting plan has made me aware of the importance of planning programs in the first years of being a media specialist in order to fell confidence in the job and promote the media program.

Determine a theme that could lead to the involvement of various populations within the school.

For my group’s school wide program, we chose the theme of the Georgia Children’s book awards at the elementary level. The theme is an obvious choice simply because there are picture books as well as chapter books, making it accessible to all grades at this level, making it a great choice for a media reading program. There are so many ways to tie these books into the Georgia Performance Standards in areas of reading and writing. Our group had a fun time creating activities for various groups at the elementary level. Somewhat broad themes such as this one lead to a myriad of creative activities,

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many of them student-led. It is a theme that can easily excite students if directed in creative avenues, a notion critically important to the success of the program and buy-in of stakeholders.

Survey a SLMP in action I was able to attend the Sprayberry High School Media Center Open House for exemplary media programs this March. It was fun to see what programs the media specialists there have created that drive such a program to excellence. The media center was bustling while I was there, but I was fortunate to catch the SLMSs during a lull of visitors, so I had their undivided attention. I asked about the four programs they highlighted: Read Across America, summer book exchange, poetry slams, and Helen Ruffin Reading Bowl. The Read Across America program is amazing and has been in place for a few years now. High school students apply to become Cat in the Hat readers to several elementary-aged children in surrounding schools. Buses take these students who have chosen a Dr. Seuss book and practiced reading it for the Sprayberry media specialists, to the area school on Read Across America day in March. They dress up like the Cat in the Hat, and the spirit of reading to small children soars. This was my favorite media program the SLMSs presented, and I hope I am able to adopt a similar community project in my media center one day. This outreach program is a great example of not only encouraging reading in a fun way, but also uniting schools with reading. The community schools look forward to it every year.

Identify specific groups within the school that would be served well by completing activities based on the theme.

As a group, we chose eight groups of students who could be served well by our theme, Georgia Children’s Book Awards. We designed activities for each one depending upon the grade level and needs. We found it to be a fairly easy task, but in a real school situation with teacher and stakeholder input, it would be more interesting to plan, something I look forward to in my career one day. It is critical to have input from staff and administration at the very least to ensure success for all groups involved. Only then can such a program really qualify as school wide.


Issue Narrative ReflectionEvidence of application of learnings into course assignments (relating activities to GPS/QCC standards, identification of strong media programs, good PR strategies, etc.)

Although I consider some of the learning of how to apply media program strengths into an actual program part of on-the-job training as a media specialist, this course provided me with the foundation I need to do it successfully. To develop a strong media program that stakeholders view as an utterly necessary part of the school, one must apply state standards into activities taught through the media center. The media specialist must know the standards. SLMSs of strong media

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programs seem to do a lot of reaching out to, and involving, stakeholders and community members outside of the school building as well. In order to reach these members, as well as though at the building level, the SLMS must employ good public relation strategies and use them creatively. Such strategies will ensure exposure of the program to stakeholders and will increase interest in the media program, a must for investment and advocacy.

Awareness of the administration regarding the role of the LMS and academic implications of a strong media program

The Principal’s PowerPoint assignment made me aware of just how important it is that the administration knows the role of the media specialist and media program in the school. The number of studies showing the positive impact of strong media programs is amazing, and they all show the same results. Test scores and student learning improve with a certified, active and involved media specialist who has developed a strong program that includes collaboration with teachers and teaching information literacy skills. I hope I am lucky to have a principal who realizes the value of a strong media program, but I also am confident enough in my skills and the position to educate the principal if need be. I have been provided with a plethora of supporting documents and studies in order to help me make administration and staff aware of the importance of the media program. I plan to work closely with the administration and give frequent updates to the on-goings of the media program in order to keep the media program in view and focus in the administration’s eyes.

The importance of LMS and teacher collaboration and co-instruction in the development of student information literacy skills

Students learn new skills best when they are built from a prior knowledge base and placed in the context of real life situations and class work. In order for the SLMS to make the highest impact while teaching students information literacy skills, it is imperative that the media specialist and teachers work together. Through collaboration, the media specialist can find out exactly on which units of the curriculum students are currently working and which standards are being addressed. Then, the teachers and SLMS together can develop assignments in which the skills can be taught in the context of the classroom curriculum. Research projects on animals, for example, are just one type of assignment during which skills in research, proper and ethical use of encyclopedias and other reference resources, and application of technology can be learned in the context of class work. Teaching these skills as stand-alone entities is ineffective, and the knowledge will not “stick” or be remembered. The SLMS must team up with teachers and encourage collaboration in order to teach these skills effectively.



1. Assisting with planning of book fairs I have worked with my mentor planning our biannual

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Scholastic book fairs for the past five years as her parent representative with Scholastic. I have had a great time working with our local representatives from the company, attending workshops, scheduling volunteers, and decorating the media center. We have tried several variations and levels of decorating at Keheley Elementary, but nothing really seems to make too much of a difference to the profit margin from these efforts. What does make a difference is publicity and making sure parents are aware of the dates of the fair and times it is open during that week. We always send flyers and post advertisements in the PTA calendar and monthly newsletters. As a media specialist, Lynn Dye considers it absolutely crucial to have a chairperson helping her plan the fairs. The success of the fair hinges upon active involvement from volunteers. The book fair is a critical fundraiser for the media center, and its success will bring in much-needed funds for books and other materials whereby state funds are being cut.

2. Designing bulletin boards It seems to me that bulletin boards in media centers are most prevalent in elementary schools. What my mentor and I have discovered is that displays showing class information seem to be the most popular types of displays amongst students. For example, boards displaying top circulations by person, class, and grade are considered often by children coming into the media center. The same is true for Accelerated Reader statistics. Other displays that seem to get a lot of attention from students are new book displays, holiday boards, and any display with photographs of students and teachers. If the bulletin boards are changed often, sometimes students come in to see the new display, thereby drawing in more patrons in this manner. Fortunately, most elementary media centers I have seen have two boards. I would plan to display competitive information surrounding AR or circulation statistics on one board to appeal to those competitive spirits, and another for artistic, creative displays to appeal to the visual youths. The bulletin boards are one way of creating a fun, inviting feel to the media center that is important in making patrons feel welcome.

3. Book talks As part of the coursework for Media Programs, I had to perform a book talk that I did for 5th graders at my mentor’s school. Many of the media specialists that I have encountered do not perform book talks very often, but I think it is a fabulous idea. I had a great time doing it, and the 5th graders responded well. The media specialists I have met do not seem to have the time to do book talks. However, for those grade levels where students seem to start losing interest in recreational reading, it could be a good way to draw those students back into the media center. I feel it is also a good

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opportunity for the SLMS to make an appearance in the classroom, the place I personally would prefer to do them, and be seen out of the media center. The talks do not take long, and if scheduled regularly (e.g., monthly), they become a routine, fun visit for students. It is also a great way to introduce new books acquired in the media center as well as themed books based on curriculum work in the classroom.

School Library Media Field Experience Reflection FormMEDT 6467 Technology for Media Services (effective Fall 2008 New)


Student Name: Melissa Wheeler Semester: Fall 2009 Instructor: Dr. Bennett



School: Keheley Elementary District: Cobb County Address: 1985 Kemp Rd.Marietta, GA 30066



Consult a school media specialist and/or technology specialist and have them guide you through the layout of the media center computer network, identifying the location of servers, clients, peripherals, switches, routers, and/or other devices that are used in the network. Identify the technology support roles the media specialist is asked to provide to students, faculty, and staff.

My school where I work has a full-time technology specialist who was kind enough to spend a couple of hours with me verbally describing the type of network we have and then giving me the tour. Ms. Paul has been at our school since it opened four years ago. On our campus, we have three buildings. Every student and teacher has a laptop; therefore, there are wireless access points in every room of every building. Two of the buildings have IDFs and one building houses an MDF. The network is a bus topology running on Microsoft Server 2003, revision 2. Ms. Paul spends all of time handling network issues and laptop issues. Because of her presence at the school, our media specialist, Mrs. Foster, does not play any supporting roles for staff and students as regards the network or computer issues. However, she and I often help

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students with software on their laptops, whether the children are having problems or need help doing something in PowerPoint for instance. We also assist teachers when they run into problems. If we can’t figure out the problem, we send them to the technology specialist. Prior to this class, I knew nothing about networks and had had no experience with them. I was very intimidated by the concept of a network. However, it was quite fascinating to see all the closets and wires traveling in many directions, all allowing for access for staff and students to the virtual outside world. I’m still somewhat intimidated, but with a little direction, I believe I could be of some assistance. I learn by doing, over and over, so I would have to take a hands-on approach to troubleshooting with guidance in order to become comfortable with the network.

Consult a school media specialist and/or technology specialist and have them demonstrate the operations of the school’s video distribution system (closed circuit broadcast system), and discuss with them what the distribution system is used for, problems encountered in the operation of the distribution system and other issues related to the video distribution system.

I consulted with my mentor, Lynn Dye, about her elementary school’s video distribution system. The equipment is somewhat old, but it works just fine. She uses it for teachers who request videos be played for classroom viewing, up to two at one time on two separate channels. She also develops a PowerPoint slideshow that she updates each week and shows on another channel: this presentation broadcasts on the television in the front lobby for parents and visitors. Teachers sign up with Lynn for video viewing times, and amazingly, she very rarely runs into conflicts or too many teachers signing up at the same time slot. Lynn rarely encounters any problems with the system, most likely because she has been doing it for so long, things run smoothly for her. The most common problems she runs into is if someone unplugs the electrical cord, which tends to happen only during long school recesses. As a result, sometimes she has to place a work order for the system to be reset, almost always after summer vacation. Teachers sometimes will have their classroom televisions set to the wrong channel that is easy to correct. Those are the only issues she has. Admittedly, the equipment will have to be updated in the next few years, Lynn says. I have never operated a closed circuit broadcast system, but I understand the importance of it and hope to learn quickly once in my own media center.

Consult a school media specialist and identify how students, teachers, and staff learn to use the online computer catalog to locate media center resources, how they learn to use other technologies available through the media center, and what the biggest media-center related training needs are.

According to both media specialists I interviewed about patron use of the OPAC, some teachers and staff do not know how to use the resource and have no intention of learning. The attitude from such teachers seems to be that of, “If the SLMS can do it for me, why should I bother?” My mentor has tried for years to instruct these teachers but with no luck. For those who are anxious to learn, both media specialists will sit with them to give them a demonstration on looking up items in Destiny and locating them on the shelves. Of course, both women make themselves available for help when needed. Neither one has developed any formal training aids or in-services to teach

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Destiny to staff. As for students, both women are media specialists in elementary schools. Part of their library skills lessons includes using Destiny to look for library materials and resources. I am the media clerk for Susan Foster in our library, and I spend time each day teaching, or gently reminding, students how to find books they want in Destiny Quest: typing in search terms, scrolling through the results, and identifying where to find the call number for the item they want. I then help guide the students through the media center to find books on the shelves. In our media center, there are no other technologies for the students to learn other than using databases online such as Galileo. The teachers instruct the students on these resources as part of the classroom instruction. This is possible because each student has their own laptop, so they easily follow along with the teacher when he or she demonstrates and guides them through the use of online resources for assignments and research. As for teachers, in our school, each classroom has a SmartBoard which the district has developed training for the teachers on this technology. Our media specialist troubleshoots this technology. All other equipment available from the media center are items such as cameras which the media specialist will demonstrate if the interested teacher does not know how to operate the item in question. I have noticed through observation at my place of work that students tend to pick up on the use of computer technology much more quickly than the adult learners. Oftentimes, the children are teaching use how to perform certain functions in MS Word or PowerPoint, not the other way around. Instead, the students at our school need more help finding books on shelves, especially those with Dewey decimal call numbers. We are always available to assist them and help them become independent, empowered patrons!

Activities Checklist Items:-Develop media productions-Assist students with tech needs-Work with/Troubleshoot computers and other equipment (printers, scanners, projectors, etc.)-Work with/Troubleshoot network-Work with/Troubleshoot video equipment-Install software updates

Of these checklist items, I have only performed one as part of my job as media clerk. Because I cover the circulation desk, I am unable to help develop media productions like the daily news broadcast. Our full-time technology specialist is responsible for troubleshooting computer and related equipment and the network, so neither the media specialist nor I have opportunities to perform these tasks. Because my media specialist produces the daily news, she is the one to troubleshoot video equipment in the newsroom, which she explains to me after the fact. Any digital cameras or flip cameras that have problems, she and I both attempt to solve. I have been able to assist students with technology needs. Each of our students has a laptop for use during the school day. Several times, we have had students come in with questions about PowerPoint or concept mapping software, issues I usually handle. Once or twice, teachers will come in with a question

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about saving files or writing files to CDs. I thoroughly enjoy this part of the job simply because I love to tackle a problem, and I am fairly proficient in the software applications in Microsoft Office. It is also good for me to demonstrate lifelong learning to students, because many times I learn a new skill while trying to assist students with technology needs. Additionally, some children are more proficient than us in many computer applications, so I have learned new things from my young friends as well, always a thrill for them!


Issue Narrative Reflection1. What role does the media specialist play in terms of technology support for faculty, staff, and students?

At the school where I work, the media specialist plays a very small role in technology support in terms of computer hardware issues and network problems. Our full-time technology specialist takes care of all those needs. The SLMS assists staff and students with software questions and problems regarding projectors, cameras, etc. I feel as if when a school has limited technology resources due to shared specialists between schools, the media specialist is the natural person to be able to take over technology support. However, according to my mentor at Keheley Elementary in Cobb County, this is not the case. She is allowed to handle very small tech matters. However, she does not have rights to the network or to any issues requiring dismantling a computer or even opening it up. As much as I hate that technology specialists are stretched between schools due to budget cuts (and I feel they are very necessary positions in schools), I feel the media specialist ought to be given the opportunity to provide more technology support than is the case in Cobb County, for instance. Perhaps some media specialists would not welcome this responsibility, but it can’t hurt to have an on-site person available to help with problems, even if he or she has to place a technology order in the end.

2. What role does the automation system play in media center operations, and how do school and system media center policies impact how the automation system is configured?

The automation system plays a role in helping patrons search for materials needed for pleasure, research, or class work. Students are encouraged to use Destiny and Destiny Quest to look up books they want as well as locate the call number in Destiny, then to find the item(s) on the shelves. Of course, if students need help, media staff members are always available to assist. Students are also encouraged in my mentor’s Cobb County school to use Webpath Express as their first resource for any research. The media center policies and school policies are the foundations for the configuration of the automation system, in this case, Destiny. Local policies dictate how many books students can check and for how long, whether or not books can be placed on hold, or how many times a student can renew a title. Can students renew their own items using their own Destiny accounts, and who can have his or her own

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account? These examples and other policies are crucial for setting up parameters in the automation system that will determine patron use and circulation of the collection.

3. What role does the media specialist play in providing instruction to student, faculty and staff in the use of current and new technologies?

Our media specialist teaches classes to students on technologies such as PowerPoint. She does not teach technology classes to staff, but she is in her first year. From what I have seen, the City of Marietta school district takes on the responsibility of teaching the faculty and staff new technologies, such as SmartBoard during professional learning days. Teachers are not required to take these classes, they only sign up if they are interested. It amazes me that with the few media specialists I have spoken to, that the SLMS is not considered the responsible person on campus for teaching SmartBoard technology or student response systems, for example. Teachers have these technologies available to them but don’t use them because they don’t know how. My mentor is very frustrated because she was never put on the list of staff members to be taught how to use SmartBoard. No, she doesn’t have one in the media center, but she seems the natural person to help teach others and help troubleshoot the technology, especially since Keheley shares the technology specialist with two other schools. It seems like a perfect opportunity for the SLMS to be in a position to assist staff with a need, a technological one, and administrators at building and district levels don’t agree. It seems a waste to me.



1. Equipment Operations manual I enjoyed building an equipment operations manual with my group as part of our coursework. I haven’t worked in a school prior to this year, so I wasn’t entirely sure how any of the equipments we researched worked. My mentor was very helpful in demonstrating how to replace a bulb in an overhead projector, a simple job to be approached with caution, as with any bulb replacement. Susan Foster, the media specialist with whom I work, taught me how to replace a bulb and operate an LCD projector as well as how to use a SmartBoard. Finally, the media specialist at Blackwell Elementary taught me how to set up and use a student response system, equipment frequently used by teachers there. I will feel more comfortable with these equipments as I have more hands on experience with them. I enjoyed collaborating with my peers to develop an operations manual to which we can refer as needed on the job and pass along to teachers who use the equipment frequently. It is important not only for faculty to become empowered by learning how to operate and potentially troubleshoot their equipment, but also for the media specialists to be relieved of some responsibilities for tasks others could easily take on themselves. Of course, as a media specialist, I will always be happy to help in any way possible, but for teachers who are

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willing to learn how to operate equipment, the knowledge is useful and something they could share with others in their departments or grade-levels.

2. School newscast Several times. I have watched my mentor run her daily school newscast at Keheley Elementary. Her equipment and setup are fairly simple: one camera, a crew of 4-5 students plus a volunteer flag-holder, and a CD-player. The broadcast at Marietta Center for Advanced Academics, a grade 3-5 magnet school, is much more complex. Unfortunately, I have never had the opportunity to watch it from behind the scenes because I am covering the busy circulation desk as a media clerk. Ms. Foster, the media specialist who runs and directs the news, showed me how everything worked after the broadcast was over one morning. The equipment is impressive: two cameras, a sound board, transition board, monitors. I’m still a little overwhelmed with how it all works, but she gets her crew of eight students to perform beautifully each morning. They rotate positions each morning, so each student learns how to use each piece of equipment and how to speak clearly to inform the listeners as anchors. Ms. Foster is in her first year as the media specialist and is running a basic news show currently. She plans on adding more frills, guest speakers, and more daily trivia and other items as she becomes more comfortable with the equipment and process. The news broadcast is an essential part of the school atmosphere, and who better to run it than the media specialist? I prefer the daily broadcast to weekly ones I have heard other schools run, but different formats work for different schools. No matter which format is utilized, the news is important for students to hear what is going on around campus and to see important folks in the school talk to them about important information.

3. Media center webpages I browsed several media center websites for schools local to me before tackling this group project. I also consulted with my mentor because I know she builds her own webpage for her elementary media center. Hers is rather simplistic which I appreciate because it is very easy to read and not overwhelming. Part of the reason for the simplicity is that the school’s automation system and databases like Galileo are accessible from the school’s homepage. Therefore, Mrs. Dye has turned her media center webpage into a blog. However, she does not include some essential elements on her page, items such as media center hours and policies.Our group tried to build a media center website with essential information, but we ran into problems with trying to use the blog format, so it ended up looking a bit jumbled. I know we missed some elements we could have included but didn’t because of spacing worries. Of pages I considered when doing research on media center pages, I preferred those that had a

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homepage with little room to scroll and links to important information as opposed to those pages that seemed never-ending and too busy to take in the information presented effectively. The page should capture the visitor’s attention without overwhelming the patron whom we want to stay a while! The page is our sales pitch for the media center, an invitation to check out what the center has to offer both online and on campus. I look forward to learning how to design a thoughtful, interesting webpage for my own media center some day soon.

School Library Media Field Experience Reflection FormMEDT 6468 Automating School Media Centers


Student Name: Melissa Wheeler Semester: Spring 2010 Instructor: Dr. Snipes and Dr. Cooper



School: Keheley Elementary District: Cobb County Address: 1985 Kemp Rd.Marietta, GA 30066


Activity Description and ReflectionDiscuss the basic operations of the media center automation system with a school library media specialist and follow up with a thorough review of the automation system manual.

I discussed the basic operations of the media center with the media specialist where I am the media parapro, Susan Foster. We went through training together on Destiny 9.5 courtesy of the Marietta City School district. After the training, I looked at the training manual for other things not covered in class. We both really like the system, and it is so very user-friendly that we have troubles at all with it. We have never had to contact support or do any troubleshooting. The online help is useful, and we plan to use it during inventory, something

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that will be a first for each of us as administrators of the process (we have both scanned prior to this year). In all my years doing circulation at my kids’ school as a media volunteer, I have always used Destiny, so I am biased towards it. I cannot imagine using another automation system, but I have heard of other good ones. I am sure an adjustment period to an unfamiliar system would be minimal though due to my prior experience with automation and with a system manual.

Develop a Qwik Start guide for using major components of the school’s automation system.

My group developed a Qwik Start Guide for Destiny 9.5. We divided the 5 required sections amongst ourselves. I completed the Reports and Utilities section, some of which tasks I had completed before in everyday operations of the media center as a parapro, and some not. I learned a lot by playing around with Destiny. I also received help from my mentor and another media specialist at a local middle school. Our group produced a solid, easy to read tool for users of Destiny 9.5. The assignment helped me understand the value of a Qwik Start Guide for users of automation systems as opposed to those same users having to flip through a system manual. The guides are organized with the user in mind and organized a little more appropriately for learning a system, I believe. I also appreciate the other manuals produced by peer groups in the class. I plan to save one of each different automation system represented in case I encounter one through a media specialist job.

Participate in an online OPAC tour to examine MARC records.

As a class assignment, I completed a tour of the Mt. Erie Elementary School’s OPAC. The OPAC impressed me, and the tour was good for me having been exposed primarily to Destiny for the past few years in my media center experiences. I actually preferred the OPAC to Destiny because of the format of its search results, the easy access to various user buttons, and its overall look and feel. It seems simpler for a patron to use than Destiny because there generally are less “clicks.” The MARC records had a few discrepancies between same titles due largely to variances in spine labels and call numbers. However, the brief MARC records were easy to read and formatted nicely. The tour was important for me to experience as I stated above.

Complete a variety of CIP and MARC activities.

The CIP and MARC activities that were part of the coursework helped me understand MARC records much better, a topic I had not thought about much prior to the class. I have seen brief MARC records and CIPs in books, but I had not investigated full MARC records in any automation system. Going through the activities helped me learn what tags are most used and which ones

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are so very important to helping patrons be able to find easily the materials they are looking for in the OPAC. About one month after completing these activities, I had to perform some cataloging for new materials: I used records from the Library of Congress and felt confident about my placement of information in the MARC fields of the automation system to represent the works completely. I like to categorize things, no matter what they are, and the completion of MARC records in Destiny was a fulfilling and fun activity for me. Only a true librarian would enjoy such a task!

Import MARC records from an online source into the automation system.

During my experiences working in a media center this year as a parapro, I have had one or two opportunities to import MARC records from book purchasing companies such a Titlewave. Additionally, during a F2F meeting for this course, we performed an import of MARC records in a virtual automation system environment set up by the professors. I had previously been intimidated by the process because I assumed it was a process that could be done poorly if focused attention was not given. However, as I discovered in both cases, it is quite simple to do. Through Titlewave (Follett), the imported records are given to the media specialist as an electronic file via email or CD. The process took less than two minutes and the steps were very few. I encountered the same ease of use through the virtual environment, and again, the steps were few. We are fortunate that in this current time, we have great technology to help us with a process that used to be done by hand and was painstakingly slow. I appreciate the advances in technology and can only imagine what importation of MACR records will be like in a few years.

Use MARC Magician to clean up MARC records in a sample database.

MARC Magician is a useful tool for cleaning up multiple records in a database at one time. Oftentimes, we as SLMSs inherit an automation system with MARC records that need some care and attention. MARC records can come from multiple sources from different times. MARC Magician and tools like are extremely valuable in making MARC records uniform, correct and complete. Such records ensure patrons can easily find materials in the media center without problems.

Research a current topic in the area of automation of school library media centers.

The current issue I researched for this course concerned the cataloging and shelving of audio and video materials. I learned a lot about the subject from a local middle school media specialist, Kathy Albritton. I was unaware that the cataloging and labeling of spines on these items is a somewhat personal preference. She had asked her teachers what call numbers would help them find the

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materials on the shelf, and the majority preferred a call number using the title of the work. Because videos and audio CDs are works of multiple authorship, and the labeling of producer versus distributor is sometimes difficult to discern, many media specialists writing about the topic on LM_NET seemed to use the same method. Therefore, a movie about World War II would have the appropriate Dewey Decimal number with the first three letters of the title completing the call number. Ms. Albritton and others prefer to leave out any leading articles. Speaking with an experienced SLMS and reading what others had posted on LM_NET and Georgia Media listservs is invaluable to me as a graduate student in the field. It is a relief to me to know I have places to go and other media specialists to approach when I will need direction on issues as a new SLMS myself. The contributions of the research findings by my peers in other current topics of automation will definitely be a useful guide for me when I do obtain my own media center, and I plan to keep them for future use. The research itself is critical in making me aware of issues I may have not otherwise considered until I was thrown into a center. Very helpful assignment.

Activities checklist items:- Calculate circulation statistics- Maintain student records- Generate other reports from the automated circulation system (Specify)- Compile bibliographies- Download MARC records from Internet- Input MARC records into OPAC

Through my job as a media parapro this year in an elementary school in Marietta City Schools, I have had the opportunity to use the automation system’s functions beyond simple circulation. My media specialist taught me how to make changes and updates to patrons, issue overdue notices, generate statistical reports, and many other functions. I have not had more than one or two opportunities to compile bibliographies, but I feel comfortable enough to do it easily when a staff member may need such a list for classroom lessons and assignments. I have run a few other reports in the system other than overdue notices, primarily shelf lists and collection age reports. What amazes me is the ease of running reports to find out any information the media specialist could possibly want about patrons, circulation, or the collection. This one system makes so much possible and really in just a few clicks with little wait time. I really feel as if the class made me very aware of aspects of the automation system I will need as a media specialist, and my position in the media center has enabled me to practice these learnings in real time situations, making the teachings even more impactful for me.


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Issue Narrative Reflection1. What role does the automation system play in media center operations, and how do school and system media center policies impact how the automation system is configured?

The automation system enables the media staff to manage the collection as well as patrons. Media staff can use this single system to add and delete items and patrons, determine policies regarding circulation, for example, and collect fines for lost or late books. The system allows for many other functions, but one of its primary functions is to support the policies in place in the media center. Today’s automation systems commonly used in school libraries allow for easy use in managing multiple functions with just a few clicks. The SLMS has the authority to configure the system’s policies based on school and media center policies. The Destiny automation system has a thorough design template incorporating more aspects of library, patron, textbook, and collection policies than one could easily imagine. These templates help the SLMS cover all the aspects of policy management as well, and he or she can readily take school and library policies and reflect them in the system’s “Back Office,” as it is called in Destiny 9.5. They are fixed and “permanent” for all patrons and staff to see in daily operations of the media center, which is largely handled through the automation system.

2. Reflect on the Current Issue Discussion and its implication in the media center.

All of the topics in the current issues discussion board are relevant to the media center’s automation system. Each subject either concerns an aspect of the system into which one may not place much thought, such as hardware peripherals, or a topic which may be open for interpretation as to how it may be implemented or utilized, such as social networking in the media center. Careful consideration of these topics by the media specialist is necessary for a successful media program. What is nice about the current issues discussion is that I was made aware of matters I may not have contemplated but should have because of their importance to patrons and functions of the media center. Additionally, the research done by my peers opened my eyes to various methods of performing certain functions, such as cataloging and shelving video and audio materials. I intend to save all of the papers produced by my group mates for future reference in my own media center.

3.Success of students in accessing and locating specific materials needed for assignments

An automation system with complete MARC records is important for any student to have success using the OPAC to locate items needed for assignments, projects, and research. The records need to have thorough subject headings by topic, subject name, and geography so children will retrieve good results by search terms. If the system allows, it would be beneficial if one could find

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items supported by Georgia Performance standards, although I understand for some systems, this is an add-on feature for an additional charge. Teachers may be the only ones who use this feature for searching. The Dewey Call number tag and location tag need to be complete and accurate as well for students to be able to locate items on the shelf. If students are not satisfied with the results they find from the OPAC, then they may become frustrated and go elsewhere, perhaps the public library. Media centers cannot be successful without patron support and advocacy.

Describe three significant learnings from Field Experience Activities from this course

Describe the potential impact of these significant learnings on your future work as a media specialist

1. Complete MARC records During my work as a media parapro, this semester I noticed some of our MARC records were incomplete. In particular, we have quite a few records that have no information in the series tag, 490. For example, I had been looking up holdings for our Harry Potter books by the series search field, and to my surprise, no results appeared. I then looked at the MARC records of all our H.P. books and realized that the series field was empty. Some of our students look for books with this search button, but most do not. However, I feel that the MARC records should reflect this information to be sure that anyone can find the information no matter how the search occurs. This discovery reinforced for me the importance of complete records for patron empowerment.

2. Copy Cataloging I have had the opportunity not only to import MARC records from Follett from a purchase of materials from TitleWave, I also had the opportunity to perform copy cataloging for donated items and books purchased from Scholastic. For the Cataloging class I took last summer, I did some copy cataloging, but with my new knowledge of MARC records, tags, and fields, the process had new meaning for me. I now know to look for certain types of information such as series and review sources to provide more thorough records for patrons. The same knowledge will benefit me even more when I perform original cataloging as well.

3. Fines in automation system I learned a minor thing this year working as a parapro, but it makes me appreciate the functions of the automation system. At our elementary school, we only issue fines when a student has lost or damaged a book that we cannot repair. Destiny 9.5 makes this process of keeping track of fines and their payments very easy, but I made the mistake of not marking for which books the

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payments were on our handwritten receipts the first one or two times I had to do it. Fortunately, all I have to do in the automation system is look up a patron by name and view their history to find out which book the fine was for. It seems like such a simple thing, but the system keeps track of these types of things rather than the media specialist having to keep a paper trail of fines per patron. The system does it all for you, and it even prints receipts. I appreciate learning how to do this as well instead of using paper and carbon receipt books for fines.

School Library Media Field Experience Reflection FormMEDT 7461 Instructional Design


Student Name: Melissa Wheeler Semester: Fall 2009 Instructor: Dr. Putney





Activity Description and ReflectionConsult a SLMS through interviews, surveys, or questionnaires about their responsibilities related to student instruction and staff development.

I interviewed three media specialists, one for elementary, one for middle, and one for high school, because I wanted to see how each building level differed in terms of media specialist involvement in instruction for students and teachers. All three SLMSs have difficulty getting teachers to attend in-services. At the elementary school, teachers have no planning periods during which they could attend in-services hosted by the media specialist. Lynn told me that it is very difficult to get teachers to attend after school unless there are PLUs to be earned. Unfortunately, the county has a lot of say as to what will be occurring on professional learning days, so those aren’t an

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option either. As for student instruction, Lynn does develop her own lessons for the students as regards information skills, but rarely do teachers ask for her help with their classroom instructional needs. In her 11 years, she has only collaborated at an in-depth level on a couple of projects. However, she constantly notifies teachers when new materials arrive or when she has ideas for instruction for curriculum standards.

At the middle school level, Ms. Albritton didn’t have a lot of luck with staff development either. They do have a planning period, so there is time available for in-service instruction. Our conversation focused on her experiences with student instruction. She develops lessons on library an information skills but places a lot of emphasis on software and technology skills because many students don’t have those skills. She finds that many 6th graders entering McCleskey don’t know how to use PowerPoint, for example. Teachers ask her for help in this area of technology most frequently. Additionally, she has been at the school for three years now and is finally developing enough of a rapport with the teachers to interest some of them in allowing her to collaborate with them on any level for classroom instruction. A starting point!

Finally, I spoke with the SLMS, Kathryn Vinyard, at Lassiter High School about the subject of student and staff development. For staff development, she also has problems with attendance for in-services, even though each teacher has a planning period. Teachers just don’t have time, they say. She develops her in-services around online resources such as Galileo and Jstor, the school’s newest database acquisition. She also teaches Destiny which her teachers tend to use fairly extensively. Teachers do ask for her help with classroom instruction, particularly the English department. The literature teachers rely heavily on literary criticisms for instruction, and Ms. Vinyard is able to collaborate at a moderate level with those teachers.

Discuss ways to catalog materials adding curriculum connection information to individual catalog (MARC) records.

For this topic, I spoke with Kathryn Vinyard at Lassiter High School in Cobb County. Cobb County uses Destiny as the OPAC system for the schools in the district. In Destiny, at least in the version held by the county, there is no direct way in which a user or administrator can add information directly to the MARC record of an item. She has a couple of ways around this flaw. First, for each item, she adds a search term, almost like a Sears subject heading, for any particular item that matches a curriculum standard topic, such as “Industrialization.” Her other approach is to develop resource lists for teachers and herself. She’ll assign an appropriate title to the list, again, like “Industrialization,” and add appropriate

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titles from the library collection to match the subject. She then passes these lists on to the staff. Important to note, though, as Ms. Vinyard cautions: do not forget to update the lists as new materials come into the collection. Resource lists will be no good otherwise. Until we do have the ability to modify MARC records in OPAC, these are excellent options, especially if teachers are able to use them effectively.

Examine a collection for materials that could support Georgia Performance Standards in one curriculum area (math, science, or social studies) for a grade level you are not familiar with. A collection must be examined in person during the fall or spring semester. During the summer through a public school on-line catalog.

I work in a grades 3-5 elementary school media center as a parapro. I thought I would check the materials available in the collection of my mentor’s school for K-1 math. The collection of grade-level appropriate books in mathematics addressing the standards was fairly extensive, and included 10+ non-fiction books as well as a handful of fiction picture books. There were no videos on the subject for these grades. However, the collection at Keheley includes a room full of manipulatives for the 4 main subjects. For K-1 math standards, there were pattern pieces, clocks with movable hands, and base tens, ones, and fives cubes. These materials are popular with the teachers who are the only ones allowed to check them out. At my school, we have no manipulatives collection in our media center at all which is a shame I believe. It seems like such a necessity at Keheley, and the teachers would be quite unhappy not to have those types of realia available to them for instruction. I understand that at the middle and high school levels, these types of items are typically housed with subject-specific departments. The items, however, would be too expensive for teachers to purchase in an elementary school so having them in the media center for all staff to utilize seems the most cost-effective measure.

Use LM-NET and Georgia Media Listserv to explore these issues further and see how other SLMS collaborate with teachers, provide staff development, and build their collection to support Georgia Performance Standards through their media programs.

Generally speaking, collaboration seems to be an issue for many SLMSs contributing to these archives because of lack of time on both sides. Sometimes the problem is a fixed schedule for the media center, sometimes it is conflicts between department and grade-level meetings and the specialist’s schedule. As for promoting collaboration, the feeling seems to be that the SLMS should not push him or herself upon the staff in order to help, but rather to remind the staff members constantly of what the SLMS can do for them and then do some things without being asked, such as pulling materials for a unit. Providing staff development was rather hard to find on the listservs. Search results often brought up professional learning opportunities for the media specialist. I was able to find a few postings on technology staff development, but most of them were referring to training not developed by the media specialist but by an outside service or county facilitator. I’m not sure if this responsibility of the media specialist is one that is feasible for most people given time constraints. It may be one responsibility that becomes more prominent as technology

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specialists are reduced because of budget cuts. Finally, as for building the collection to meet GPS curricular needs, the SLMS should review the Georgia Performance Standards for appropriate grade-levels and subjects. Map the current collection to see what parts of it need updating or additional materials. Recommendations most often included asking for teacher input that could be done at faculty meetings or through surveys.

Activities Checklist Items:- Develop staff development/in-service training- Examine a collection for materials that support GPS/QCC

SEE REFLECTIONS FOR THESE SPECIFIC ITEMS LISTED THROUGHOUT THIS FORM.


Issue Narrative ReflectionBased on readings, surveying of listservs and on-line catalogs, and interacting with SLMS, how would you approach collection and material development to support student instruction?

I would first familiarize myself with the curriculum standards for the state, appropriate to my building level, if I am not already. Next, a collection analysis or mapping is critical to perform in order to determine what areas of need the collection has. After surveying or meeting with teachers to see what they feel are areas in the collection that are lacking in adequate materials for instruction, I would begin to further develop those areas by adding new materials based on teacher input and analysis results. In order to meet the needs of all learning styles, I would of course focus on purchasing print and non-print materials. As for material development, the SLMS is in a unique position to establish an area of need and build something from nothing in order to assist teachers in their instruction. For instance, the in-service modules we developed in class are a perfect example of the SLMS seeing a need and developing a training module for teachers. These needs can be in the areas of technology in which the teacher is the student learning how to use software or databases in order to serve better his or her students in the classroom. The learning can also benefit the teacher in that he or she can take that new knowledge and pass it on to the students.

Potential positive results of collaboration between teachers and SLMS.

As a result of successful collaboration at any level, the students are the key beneficiaries in that they receive enhanced instruction and improved learning. With moderate and in-depth collaboration, the students will also witness teachers and staff working together acting as role models of effective teamwork. For the teachers, collaboration with a media specialist means finding an instructional partner who is willing to help in any way possible. Professional relationships are built and grown between trusted partners. The SLMS, as a result, fulfills part of his or her role as instructional partner. The media specialist is able to build relationships with

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teachers, who in turn, spread the word about the usefulness of the librarian. The media program receives advertising and is promoted through positive feedback from staff. Finally, all parties, including students, teachers, and media specialists, become lifelong learners by showing that everyone can learn something new, especially through collaborative efforts and new relationships.

Value of well developed in-service materials

Building three in-service modules showed me the importance of developing thorough, concise information and training for teachers. I love the idea of producing an electronic module that can be made available via CD or on a network so that teachers can access it anywhere, anytime. I think this convenience will increase the odds that teachers will go through the training thereby increasing their knowledge. For the module to be of any use, it has to be concise, easy-to-follow, and appealing to the adult learner. Most importantly, it has to be useful and something they can teach others or make use of in the classroom. Poorly developed modules will be a waste of time for both the media specialist who creates it and the teacher who takes the time to view it. Finally, it is important for the developer to include some sort of feedback for teachers to have input as to the usefulness of the module. There is always room for improvement, but open communication is crucial for the SLMS to know what can be changed to serve teachers better.



1. Development of in-service modules I really enjoyed this exercise in class. As a result of my interviews of three media specialists, I learned that staff development is certainly not an easy task or service for the media specialist to provide. For the SLMS and teachers, time for teaching and acquiring new knowledge is not something easy to come by. After these three interviews, I was honestly disheartened that I would never be able to provide instructional services to my staff to help them in their jobs. When I realized at the beginning of the in-service modules project that I could still fulfill staff development needs in an electronic format, I found renewed interest in providing this service. Now that I know I can develop a useful in-service module for teachers to access at their convenience wherever they may be through the network or CD, I am excited I can help my staff acquire new skills and knowledge they can use in their classrooms. The practice I received as a result of developing three modules is invaluable to me and is something I can take with me to any new job as a media specialist.

2. Adding curriculum information to MARC records

I hold a part-time paraprofessional position for the first time this year. Therefore, I finally have the opportunity to look and play around with our OPAC system, Destiny. I have been able to do so in years past as a media center volunteer, but haven’t

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had the chance to do more then scan materials for check in and check out. I spent some time looking at individual MARC records to see how curriculum information could be added. In our version, it can’t be done, but I am unsure as to whether or not Destiny has a version that will allow for additions to individual records. After speaking with Kathryn Vinyard at Lassiter High School, she told me how she gets around this deficiency. She often creates resource lists for particular teachers or departments specific to units of study. For example, she’ll create a list in Destiny called “Industrialization” and then add titles from the collection that match that subject. When she receives new materials, she updates her lists. The teachers find the lists extremely helpful and request new subjects all of the time. Of course, the lists are only helpful for those teachers who know how to use Destiny. As a media specialist, I think the generation of such lists is a powerful way not only to assist teachers, but also give those who don’t use Destiny the encouragement they need to begin using it.

3. Collaboration Collaboration is a term I have heard a lot during my time in the media program. However, once again, I was discouraged after interviewing three different media specialists who all said that it is not much of a reality for them. It seems to be more realistic at the high school level, but not in-depth at all stages of instructional design. The high school media specialist with whom I spoke said that she had helped at most stages, but not with evaluation or assessment of students. She is an 11-year veteran at this school. At both the elementary and middle school levels, the perception of the teachers is that it is too time-consuming and that they don’t want or need help, generally speaking. What I have learned then through this course and discussion with various media specialists is that with gentle persistence, a no-fail attitude, and constant communication, media specialists can change the minds of these teachers and promote the media program at the same time.

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Full Day in the Media Center FormStudents must complete at least four full days in public school media centers. These full days must be completed during Fall and Spring semesters. One full day must be spent working with the mentor. The other three full days must be spent at other levels and schools. School library media certification is PreK-12, therefore, students must spend time at all three levels: elementary, middle, and high school. Practicing media specialists must also spend four full days in other sites – two of the four days may be spent at the same level as the worksite. The other two days must be spent at levels other than the worksite. The student’s main mentor is indicated in the General Information table and information about the media specialist at the site where the full day is completed is indicated in the Full Day Site Information table. The Full Day form should be completed for each of the four days and submitted during the Practicum course. The full day hours can be split between several courses and count toward the total 120 field experience hours required. The hours completed during a full day must also be recorded on course specific logs or the general hours log.

General Information (Main Mentor)ID # 917-32-8321 Advisor: Dr. Snipes

Student Name: Melissa Wheeler Semester: Fall 2008 Instructor: Dr. Bray



School: Keheley Elementary District: Cobb Address: 1985 Kemp Rd,Marietta, GA 30066

Full Day Site Information (Media Specialist at site where Full Day is completed)Media Specialist: Lynn Dye Media Specialist e-mail:

[email protected] Specialist phone: 678-494-7836

School:Keheley Elementary School

District: Cobb Address: 1985 Kemp Rd,Marietta, GA 30066

Date: September 25, 2008 Time of Arrival: 7:30 am Time of Departure: 2:00 pm

Activity Description and ReflectionProcessing new books Lynn received a book order from Scholastic, and I helped her

process the books. The parapro had already entered the books into Destiny but had left the books untouched for me to process. I stamped them with the Keheley stamp in specific places in the book, attached spine labels and barcodes, and placed protective book covers on the books. Ms. Dye placed all new books on a cart for the students to see first thing upon arriving at the media center. I think this display is a fabulous way to get kids excited about new arrivals, and it works well every time. The processing of the books was a good experience for me as well because I had never done it before. The steps are very important to complete, and each of the labels is critical for patron empowerment (they can find the books on the shelves) and ease of circulation for the staff using the automation system.

Weeding of old materials In preparation for the new books Lynn ordered, she pulled a

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number of fiction books from the collection, most of which were rather worn and being replaced. She set these books aside for me to weed from the automation system. She taught me the steps to follow in order to clear the books from the automation system and to remove, or black out, all marks on the books that indicate the items were part of our collection. The district is then responsible for picking up the items for proper disposal. It is important for the media specialist to follow proper procedures in order to eliminate materials from the system so patrons will not find the items through the OPAC only to discover the books are no longer available. It is also vital for the SLMS to dispose of the materials through the county because they were purchased with state funds and must not be given away, for example.

Follett Company Finally, Lynn was compiling an order for new books through Follett. She showed me how to navigate Follett’s website, walking me through the screens. The site is thorough and has several search functions. Each item has valuable information such as AR reading level, Lexile level, binding type, book reviews, and recommended age level as well as synopsis. Lynn also showed me how she can save a list and view it later. I understand why Follett is one of the most popular jobbers available to Georgia media specialists. Finally, Lynn discussed with me how she determines what materials she needs to purchase: books that need replacing because of popularity and resulting wear-and-tear, requests from teachers for books that cover curriculum standards, requests from students, and any fiction or picture books she has seen reviewed in more than one journal that appears to have potential for popularity according to Keheley’s specific community.

Describe three Significant Learnings from Full Day Field Experience


Replacing reference materials As part of her discussion with me about determining items for purchase, Lynn covered reference materials. She told me how often she updates encyclopedias (the resource used most by students at Keheley), almanacs, atlases, etc. Consideration of reference materials is very critical because some resources are quite expensive and can require a significant portion of an annual budget. Planning is crucial because some materials ought to be replaced every few years, like encyclopedias, so the cost needs to be accounted for when developing a projected budget of multiple years. Such budgets are absolutely necessary for this reason, among others.

Accelerated Reader At Keheley Elementary, the AR program is not promoted very much by the teachers, generally speaking. In fact, some of the teachers are against the use of the program. Therefore, Ms. Dye finds it easy to help the handful of teachers who do use it extensively to encourage reading. She keeps folders for

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students who participate, organized by classroom teacher. Each student has a list of books from which to choose based on his or her most recent STAR test. I helped older students perform AR searches in the OPAC that is helpful those who are familiar with their levels. I have also been in schools where AR is a huge program utilized and heavily promoted by every teacher in the building. It is an interesting program, and schools have devised their own programs to promote reading as well. However, because AR is strongly marketed to K-8 schools, it is something all media specialists will most likely encounter during their careers. Therefore, familiarity with the program is a must.

Weeding Lynn described to me the process she goes through to perform a weeding of the collection. It is a tremendous undertaking, so she typically concentrates on one section a year, chapter books for example. She runs circulation reports to determine what books have not been checked out in the past three years. She also performs weeding through reading the shelves to pull books whose pages are yellowed or moldy or whose covers are worn. She checks the automation system to see how often such books circulate which usually is rarely for those yellowed books. Weeding is important for many reasons, but Lynn really enjoys clearing the shelves for new materials acquisitions and the surprising reason some may not consider: when the shelves are no longer packed with books, and there is plenty of shelf room after weeding, the children tend to browse through the collection much more and find books they have never noticed before. This result is what really delights Lynn and makes all the dust worth it!

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Student Name: Melissa Wheeler Semester: Fall 2009 Instructor: Dr. Bennett




Full Day Site Information (Media Specialist at site where Full Day is completed)Media Specialist: Kathryn Vinyard Media Specialist e-mail:


School:Lassiter High School

District: Cobb Address: 2601 Shallowford Rd,Marietta, GA 30066

Date: September 17, 2009 Time of Arrival: 7:45 am Time of Departure: 2:30 pm

Activity Description and ReflectionProcessing new books I had processed books before today for an elementary school.

There were differences between processing for elementary versus doing so for the high school, the latter being more involved. In addition to spine labels and barcodes, the Lassiter media specialists also include additional labels on the book pockets with magnetized security inserts behind each pocket. The processing time per book was longer, especially as I had never had to insert and attach a book pocket prior to coming to Lassiter. At the high school level, because students can check out books for longer periods and can have more books out at a time, the librarians find it helpful to stamp a card to be left in the pocket. Students can keep better track of the item’s due date. Additionally, and equally important, the pocket hides the magnetized security insert, an item that alerts the media specialist as to when a student is leaving the media center with a book that has not been checked out. It is a shame that these

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security measures must be taken, but it helps keep material acquisition costs down.

Verifying Follett receipt against P.O. I checked the totals for the Follett receipt associated with the new books I was to process against the media specialist’s purchase order to be sure they matched. They did not, which was unusual, according to Ms. Vinyard. However, it afforded me the opportunity to find the discrepancy. After some time, I discovered that the item missing was most likely one book since the discrepancy was equal to less than $11.00. I ran out of time to find the particular title, but my determination made it easy for Ms. Vinyard to pick up where I left off in order to track down the title. I am happy to have bookkeeping, budgeting, and finance skills in my repertoire because I felt comfortable dealing with the purchase order and readily understood its importance.

Lunch hour in a high school media center Lunch time in a high school is considered a block of one period, and the media center seems to be a fairly popular place for students at this time of day. There were more students visiting during this time of day than almost any other time aside from teachers who brought their classes for computer use. At the very beginning of the four designated lunch periods, students had to come get a pass issued to them by the media specialists. They were then able to return after eating in order to do research or use the computers for class work. Upon returning, we collected the passes: if a student did not have a pass, they could not use the facility during this time. This method of controlling the number of students in the media center was helpful, especially in lieu of the fact that only a set number of passes were available for each period. With older children, student numbers must be kept in check to provide for a controlled, peaceful environment for student study in the media center.



1. Placement of computer stations in the media center

Several media specialists at every level have said they prefer computer monitors to be placed somewhere they can be easily seen by the media specialist. However, in a high school, it seems to be more important than in other settings because, according to Ms. Vinyard, the students are much more adept at finding their way to a banned website despite filters. Therefore, she had all 30+ monitors facing the circulation desk and media specialists’ office. Additionally, students had to use their student numbers to log into the computer each time; therefore, monitoring of web usage was easily tracked in case “illegal” sites were visited. She did say they had little occurrences of such banned use during her many years there. I have only visited one other high school media center, and those stations were also placed in an area where monitoring

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could be done effortlessly. I hope, if placed in an elementary or middle school, I can teach students proper and ethical use of the Internet so as to minimize breaches of filters.

2. Fiction circulation at the high school level

I have spent almost all of my time in elementary media centers, so I was astonished to see how small the fiction section was in the Lassiter media center. From what I understood from the media specialist, generally, most of what high schoolers read is assigned to them from literature or history classes. The media center does not contain enough holdings of such titles, so students typically either buy the tiles or obtain them through the public library system. It seems, also generally speaking, that high schoolers do not read for recreation very often, perhaps because of their age or lack of time due to coursework, activities, and the busy life of a teenager. Most of the holdings in the media center were non-fiction works and reference materials.Ms. Vinyard did not speak of any media programs aimed at increasing recreational reading; however, she did have a couple of programs aimed at encouraging student presence in the center.

3. Book orders and material selection Most of what drives material selection at the high school level is curriculum, and reading for leisure only determines a small percentage of what is purchased for the collection. When funds allow, money is put towards reference materials, especially those having to do with literary criticismTeachers at Lassiter were much more involved at requesting material choices than at the elementary school I have volunteered in for years.

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School: Keheley Elementary District: Cobb Address: 1985 Kemp Rd, Marietta GA 30066

Full Day Site Information (Media Specialist at site where Full Day is completed)Media Specialist: Laura Lewis Media Specialist e-mail:


School: West Side Elementary District: Marietta City Schools Address: 344 Polk Street, Marietta, GA 30064

Date: February 11, 2010 Time of Arrival: 8 am Time of Departure: 2:30 pm

Activity Description and ReflectionNews Broadcast Ms. Lewis showed me the news broadcast for West Side

Elementary. Unlike some elementary schools where the broadcast is live every morning, Ms. Lewis tapes the news every other day and broadcasts it on the next day. She prefers this method because it allows she and the kids to plan and practice a little more, and even go out in the “field” to interview special guests and tape events. The equipment is very simple, only a few pieces. I know that elementary school staff and administrators like having a news broad cast, and I preferred Ms. Lewis’ method to live feeds every day. I think the extras that come along with taping and planning with practice make for more interesting news for the student body.

Purchase Order system Ms. Lewis walked through the Marietta City purchase order system with me. Because the media specialist is responsible for purchasing equipment, supplies, and materials for the collection, he or she must be familiar with the PO system at

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the school, that which the bookkeeper can help. She also has a system of keeping track of her purchases in an Excel spreadsheet as a backup. I am familiar with spreadsheets and thought this duplication on her part was a great idea. Purchase orders are necessary for the district to keep track of what monies are being spent at site locations, and accuracy is of the utmost importance. My background in finance and bookkeeping reminds me of this fact and will help me with this portion of the administration of the program.

Strategic Planning Ms. Lewis went over her strategic plan for the media program. She has presented it to the principal as a three-year plan. She first considers the school’s mission and goals when writing it, and develops her plan in alignment with the school’s overall strategic plan as well. She meets with the principal to discuss priorities and then develops media programs to meet goals. Although it is a three-year plan, Ms. Lewis updates it when changes occur in school goals, if applicable. This portion o of the media program administration seems somewhat abstract to me, but with help from the administration, it will become clear to me how to plan best for media programs to help achieve school missions and goals.



1. News Crew I learned from Ms. Lewis how she chooses and manages her news crew. She keeps it small and allows fifth grade students only. She has interested students audition and chooses those who are energetic and speak clearly with good inflections. Ms. Lewis recommends having the students sign behavior contracts so they understand how important their job is in representing the school in the news crew. Her strategies are wonderful, and if I am placed in an elementary school setting with a news broadcast run by the media specialist, I hope to have fun with the students in a controlled environment that we can all enjoy.

2. Placement of materials The West Side Elementary media center is small for a school with more than 500 students. There is not a lot of room for instruction, so Ms. Lewis can only have one class in at a time. When she became the media specialist, she had to move books around to provide better access to patrons. Unfortunately, lack of shelving space forced her to separate reference materials from the tables where she teaches students about research and information literacy: they are on opposite sides of the room. Even small obstacles such as these are surmountable, and she has devised ways of dealing with the problem. I learned that not all media centers can be arranged for optimum usage, but persistence and a positive can-do attitude can help tremendously.

3. Teaching kindergarteners proper behavior

Kindergarteners are learning how to “go to school” and what the expectations for behavior are. In the media center, Ms.

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Lewis uses a doll that she moves to a new location in the media center each day, such as a shelf, bin, or table. She does this for the young students; she convinces them they are being watched by the doll for good behavior (expectations and rules which she tells them from the first of the school year). She uses it much like some parents use a shelf elf at Christmas time. It is a simple concept, but it works for Ms. Lewis, and the children love looking for the doll each time they visit the media center. Setting expectations for behavior is important, and this method of ensuring good behavior from kindergarteners is effective.

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Student Name: Melissa Wheeler Semester: Fall 2009 Instructor: Dr. Snipes




Full Day Site Information (Media Specialist at site where Full Day is completed)Media Specialist: Kathy Albritton Media Specialist e-mail:


School:McCleskey Middle School

District: Cobb Address: 4080 Maybreeze Rd,Marietta, GA 30066

Date: February 17, 2009 Time of Arrival: 8:00 am Time of Departure: 2:30 pm

Activity Description and ReflectionSetup Destiny 9.5 for student login Ms. Albritton administered a lesson to the 6th graders on

logging in and using Destiny Quest. My responsibility was to edit patron information in Destiny to allow for individual account sign-in by entering the students’ usernames and desired passwords. The sixth graders were excited that they could post reviews of books and renew books without even entering the media center. I was able to learn a new skill in my setup of user accounts by editing patron information, thus expanding my knowledge of the administration of the automation system.

Checked laptop carts Laptop carts are something I have no experience with in my years of volunteering at Keheley. While spending a full day at McCleskey Middle School, I had the opportunity to go through a cart to verify computers were in the right place and were paired up with matching battery chargers. Some of the labels were coming off, so Ms. Albritton and I replaced these and

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darkened existing numbers that had been written on the computers with permanent markers. We did discover battery chargers were missing for two of the laptops. With the carts being passed around from classroom to classroom, it is imperative to check them for missing pieces and for neatness (no tangled cords, etc) in order to maintain the integrity of the cart. The carts are useless to our staff patrons if they are unmanageable.

Assisted special education students with finding books

At Keheley Elementary where my mentor and I have worked together for years, the special education teachers always bring the students to the media center and guide them through finding materials. During my full day at McCleskey, the special education students come to the media center on their own and rely on the media specialist to help them find appropriate books to check out. I helped a number of students find books, two or three of whom could barely read. Ms. Albritton suggested I show them books with large graphics and photographs. The other student was able to select from some graphic novels at the elementary reading level. She also knows these students very well by name since they could not be expected to remember their student numbers in order to check out books. The media specialist must know the collection well in order to know what types of books will appeal to this special group of students.



Student account setup for Destiny Quest By enabling students to log in to their own Destiny accounts, we are increasing their independence and responsibilities, and empowering the patron. The students can now renew their own books, check for due dates, create personal lists, and recommend books for friends. Allowing older students to manage their library accounts lets them know they are trusted individuals to whom we can give more responsibility.

Books for all reading levels It is not only critical to know the collection extremely well in order to assist all patrons find materials of interest at appropriate reading levels, but it is also imperative that the SLMS builds a collection that has materials that would appeal to all patrons. When assisting the handful of special education students (many of them mildly retarded), I realized that I can best serve those students by knowing what works appeal to them and are “just right” for them. Books with few words and many colorful graphics are what attract the students who can barely read; graphic novels that are high interest, low reading level are very attractive to those students who can read at an elementary reading level but are beyond picture books. I am very accustomed to elementary collections, full of picture books and chapter books, all appropriate for K-5; in the middle school, it amazed me how broad and varied the collection has

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to be to serve best the diverse population encompassing more than just a 6-8 grades reading spectrum.

Getting students into the media center In elementary school, the students will come to the media center no matter what, for the most part. This is not true in middle school, it seems. Ms. Albritton is good about making the atmosphere in her middle school media center welcoming. She has a warm, inviting personality and attitude herself, and that is what brings students back. She also sets up chess boards for the kids at tables every morning. Granted, the same half-dozen kids come each morning, but those students know they are welcome and always have a place to go before school. Those students also are aware that Ms. Albritton is a trusted individual in the school to whom they can come for advice and any other help, just because she makes them feel so welcome in the mornings. She is building a rapport with the children, and they seem to respect her for it. Her circulation numbers are respectable for the middle school level, but those statistics do not show the full picture. Students feel comfortable in her media center and will come to her for things other than books, and that is what being a media specialist is all about: reaching students, even the ones who do not necessarily check out your books, especially at this age level.

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Impact of Work with Teachers and StudentsMelissa Wheeler

Practicum Summer 2010One of the many roles of the media specialist is that of instructional partner. In collaboration with teachers, the media specialist is responsible for the selection of appropriate materials and the planning and implementation of instructional activities that lead to information literacy development of students. Throughout this program you will have many opportunities to converse with teachers and your mentor media specialists about collaborative efforts to impact student learning and to even plan and implement activities that lead to information literacy development of students. As you participate in those activities use the form below to enter a brief description of the activity and describe how you know the activity impacted student learning. Continue to add to the form throughout your program. You will submit the form during the MEDT 6487 Practicum course. Background information about the Standards for the 21st Century Learner is provided and then the actual standards for K-12 students are presented in the form.

Standards for the 21st Century Learner – American Association of School LibrariansThe definition of information literacy has become more complex as resources and technologies have changed. Information literacy has progressed from the simple definition of using reference resources to find information. Multiple literacies, including digital, visual, textual, and technological, have now joined information literacy as crucial skills for this century.

The continuing expansion of information demands that all individuals acquire the thinking skills that will enable them to learn on their own. The amount of information available to our learners necessitates that each individual acquire the skills to select, evaluate, and use information appropriately and effectively.

Learning has a social context. Learning is enhanced by opportunities to share and learn with others. Students need to develop skills in sharing knowledge and learning with others, both in face-to-face situations and through technology.

School libraries are essential to the development of learning skills. School libraries provide equitable physical and intellectual access to the resources and tools required for learning in a warm, stimulating, and safe environment. School librarians collaborate with others to provide instruction, learning strategies, and practice in using the essential learning skills needed in the 21st century

Reading is a window to the world.Reading is a foundational skill for learning, personal growth, and enjoyment. The degree to which students can read and understand text in all formats (e.g., picture, video, print) and all contexts is a key indicator of success in school and in life. As a lifelong learning skill, reading goes beyond decoding and comprehension to interpretation and development of new understandings.

Inquiry provides a framework for learning.To become independent learners, students must gain not only the skills but also the disposition to use those skills, along with an understanding of their own responsibilities and self-assessment strategies. Combined, these four elements build a learner who can thrive in a complex information environment.

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Ethical behavior in the use of information must be taught.In this increasingly global world of information, students must be taught to seek diverse perspectives, gather and use information ethically, and use social tools responsibly and safely.

Technology skills are crucial for future employment needs. Today’s students need to develop information skills that will enable them to use technology as an important tool for learning, both now and in the future.

Equitable access is a key component for education.All children deserve equitable access to books and reading, to information, and to information technology in an environment that is safe and conducive to learning.LEARNERS (K-12 Students) USE SKILLS, RESOURCES, & TOOLS TO: 1. Inquire, think critically, and gain knowledge.1.1 Skills Description of Activity and Impact Location / Date1.1.1 Follow an inquiry-based process in seeking knowledge in curricular subjects, and make the real- world connection for using this process in own life.1.1.2 Use prior and background knowledge as context for new learning. 1.1.3 Develop and refine a range of questions to frame the search for new understanding. 1.1.4 Find, evaluate, and select appropriate sources to answer questions. 1.1.5 Evaluate information found in selected sources on the basis of accuracy, validity, appropriateness for needs, importance, and social and cultural context. 1.1.6 Read, view, and listen for information presented in any format (e.g., textual, visual, media, digital) in order to make inferences and gather meaning. 1.1.7 Make sense of information gathered from diverse sources by identifying misconceptions, main and supporting ideas, conflicting information, and point of view or bias. 1.1.8 Demonstrate mastery of technology tools for accessing information and pursuing inquiry.1.1.9 Collaborate with others to broaden and deepen understanding.

Our 3rd grade students had to work in groups on their first science fair project. I worked with students who used media center materials and online resources for research on the given topic. The resulting work then had to be placed in an electronic triboard within PowerPoint. This was their first experience with the triboard and intense research, so I was able to provide guidance when needed. The students handled the task very well and picked up PowerPoint quickly.

Marietta Center for Advanced AcademicsNovember 2009 – January 2010

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1.2.1 Display initiative and engagement by posing questions and investigating the answers beyond the collection of superficial facts. 1.2.2 Demonstrate confidence and self- direction by making independent choices in the selection of resources and information. 1.2.3 Demonstrate creativity by using multiple resources and formats. 1.2.4 Maintain a critical stance by questioning the validity and accuracy of all information. 1.2.5 Demonstrate adaptability by changing the inquiry focus, questions, resources, or strategies when necessary to achieve success. 1.2.6 Display emotional resilience by persisting in information searching despite challenges. 1.2.7 Display persistence by continuing to pursue information to gain a broad perspective.

While I was working with the media specialist at Blackwell Elementary, Jill Fowler, the second graders were starting their research on animals. There were not enough books on popular animals in the media center for everyone, and students were often disappointed to learn all the books were checked out on sharks, for example. I helped a couple of students decide whether or not to choose a different animal, which I often encouraged. I would first start by asking the student to list favorite animals, and then we would look for books. Sometimes we would scan the shelves for non-fiction books to see if an animal struck their fancy. Students learned to be flexible and be willing to change their topic when books were not available. Some students who were insistent on keeping their animal asked parents to go to the public library for materials as well.

Blackwell Elementary

February, 2009

1.3 Responsibilities Description of Activity and Impact Location / Date1.3.1 Respect copyright/ intellectual property rights of creators and producers. 1.3.2 Seek divergent perspectives during information gathering and assessment. 1.3.3 Follow ethical and legal guidelines in gathering and using information. 1.3.4 Contribute to the exchange of ideas within the learning community. 1.3.5 Use information technology responsibly.

The media specialist at Blackwell Elementary, Jill Fowler, and I worked with students on biographical research papers. She created a template to help students learn how to cite a work properly in order to avoid plagiarism. The paper had lines for the work’s author, the publisher and date if book or encyclopedia, and name of encyclopedia, etc. The students kept the forms for their bibliography. This was the first time many of these students had been asked to include a bibliography of some kind, and their awareness of giving credit to an author for works and ideas was awakened.

Blackwell ElementaryFebruary 2008

1.4 Self-Assessment Strategies Description of Activity and Impact Location / Date1.4.1 Monitor own information-seeking processes for effectiveness and progress, and adapt as necessary. 1.4.2 Use interaction with and feedback from teachers and peers to guide own inquiry process. 1.4.3 Monitor gathered information, and

A fourth grade science teacher, Mrs. Throop, and I discovered the perfect teachable moment. I found a big spider in the media center and captured it in a clear container. She hooked up a document camera to her SmartBoard and placed the container underneath.


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assess for gaps or weaknesses. 1.4.4 Seek appropriate help when it is needed.

The students, who each have a laptop, worked together in groups to study the spider and attempt to identify it using the Internet. It took about an hour, but the kids had fun and finally decided, after much consultation, that it was a Black Spider. It was unplanned, but the teacher and students were excited to use their knowledge of physical characteristics to identify an arachnid.

2. Draw conclusions, make informed decisions, apply knowledge to new situations, and create new knowledge.2.1 Skills Description of Activity and Impact Location / Date2.1.1 Continue an inquiry- based research process by applying critical- thinking skills (analysis, synthesis, evaluation, organization) to information and knowledge in order to construct new understandings, draw conclusions, and create new knowledge.2.1.2 Organize knowledge so that it is useful. 2.1.3 Use strategies to draw conclusions from information and apply knowledge to curricular areas, real- world situations, and further investigations. 2.1.4 Use technology and other information tools to analyze and organize information.2.1.5 Collaborate with others to exchange ideas, develop new understandings, make decisions, and solve problems. 2.1.6 Use the writing process, media and visual literacy, and technology skills to create products that express new understandings.

The third grade students working on their first science fair projects had to organize their information when beginning their initial research. Each child had a science fair journal. On each page, after practicing note taking in the media center, students wrote down three sentences about their topic that they discovered from one source (online, encyclopedia, print, etc.). At the bottom of the page, they pasted an 8x5” paper that contained a completed template for citation information. Organizing their information in this way helped the kids remember from which source they retrieved their information.


November 2009

2.2 Dispositions in Action Description of Activity and Impact Location / Date2.2.1 Demonstrate flexibility in the use of resources by adapting information strategies to each specific resource and by seeking additional resources when clear conclusions cannot be drawn. 2.2.2 Use both divergent and convergent thinking to formulate alternative conclusions and test them against the evidence. 2.2.3 Employ a critical stance in drawing

At our school, in the media center we teach students to use multiple sources in their research. Our third grade students did research on Americans who had an impact on citizenship, like Caesar Chavez. I encourage them first to look at print resources in biography and encyclopedias before Internet information. One student found information that was unclear on his

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conclusions by demonstrating that the pattern of evidence leads to a decision or conclusion.2.2.4 Demonstrate personal productivity by completing products to express learning.

individual’s early life from a biographical source but was able to find more detailed information from two other sources. The students in that class learned from this experience that one should always verify the facts they find in one source with others to be sure what they are reading represents sound evidence.

2.3 Responsibilities Description of Activity and Impact Location / Date2.3.1 Connect understanding to the real world.2.3.2 Consider diverse and global perspectives in drawing conclusions. 2.3.3 Use valid information and reasoned conclusions to make ethical decisions.

Third grade students in our media center were working on their first science fair projects, something they had never done before. They had some exposure to research, but at this grade level, the teachers increased the children’s responsibility a little more by explaining plagiarism carefully and introducing bibliographies to the students. Each group worked together to find information for their projects that were all to be in the form of a PowerPoint presentation. The groups were expected to include a bibliography slide at the end of their presentations. The students were encouraged to make sure they gave credit to all sources used in their research of their topics. They learned to highlight those ideas in their research that were not theirs by mentioning the original creator. Those ideas that the students developed on their own were highlighted as such as well. Students quickly grasped the notion of not stealing another’s ideas and giving credit to the proper source.

Marietta Center for Advanced AcademicsNovember 2009-January 2010

2.4 Self-Assessment Strategies Description of Activity and Impact Location / Date2.4.1 Determine how to act on information (accept, reject, modify). 2.4.2 Reflect on systematic process, and assess for completeness of investigation. 2.4.3 Recognize new knowledge and understanding. 2.4.4 Develop directions for future investigations.

During a visit to the media center, our third graders learned note-taking skills. The media specialist presented them with Post-It notes of varying sizes and a long passage about Amelia Earhart. The students had to practice writing down what information in the passage they thought was important as if they were presenting a summary of her accomplishments to a class. For the first step, students wrote 5-10 details (in

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their own words) on the biggest sticky note. The second step required the middle –sized note and fewer details. The final step required the smallest note with 1-2 details the students felt were representative of her life. During this exercise, the students learned what information to ignore because it did not have much to do with the goal of presenting her accomplishments. The media specialist and I checked on the student notes and provided guidance between each step. This process was the start of the students’ research for the science fair.

3. Share knowledge and participate ethically and productively as members of our democratic society.3.1 Skills Description of Activity and Impact Location / Date3.1.1 Conclude an inquiry- based research process by sharing new understandings and reflecting on the learning. 3.1.2 Participate and collaborate as members of a social and intellectual network of learners. 3.1.3 Use writing and speaking skills to communicate new understandings effectively. 3.1.4 Use technology and other information tools to organize and display knowledge and understanding in ways that others can view, use, and assess. 3.1.5 Connect learning to community issues. 3.1.6 Use information and technology ethically and responsibly.

Each of our students participates in the Young Authors Fair at our school. The children write original works (poetry, stories, etc.) utilizing skills they have learned in word choice, grammar, and forming solid beginnings, middles, and ends of stories, for example. There are winners for each class as judged by the teacher. Those winners face off to determine grade winners who then go to county competition, district, then state. The children are judged on creativity, grammar, cohesiveness, and clarity from a rubric.

March 2010

3.2 Dispositions in Action Description of Activity and Impact Location / Date3.2.1 Demonstrate leadership and confidence by presenting ideas to others in both formal and informal situations. 3.2.2 Show social responsibility by participating actively with others in learning situations and by contributing questions and ideas during group discussions. 3.2.3 Demonstrate teamwork by working productively with others.

In our media center, I taught third graders about the Dewey Decimal System and how to find non-fiction books on the shelf according to the Dewey numbers. After my presentation, I hand out book “spines,” strips of laminated paper with call numbers on them just as children see on books on the shelf in the library. Working in groups, the children had to place the spines in order by call number

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as they would be on the shelf. Some students were more adept with decimal numbers and could help others with number order, whereas others were able to contribute using alphabetizing skills. Each group was able to accomplish this task by working together.

3.3 Responsibilities Description of Activity and Impact Location / Date3.3.1 Solicit and respect diverse perspectives while searching for information, collaborating with others, and participating as a member of the community.3.3.2 Respect the differing interests and experiences of others, and seek a variety of viewpoints. 3.3.3 Use knowledge and information skills and dispositions to engage in public conversation and debate around issues of common concern. 3.3.4 Create products that apply to authentic, real-world contexts.3.3.5 Contribute to the exchange of ideas within and beyond the learning community. 3.3.6 Use information and knowledge in the service of democratic values. 3.3.7 Respect the principles of intellectual freedom.3.4 Self-Assessment Strategies Description of Activity and Impact Location / Date3.4.1 Assess the processes by which learning was achieved in order to revise strategies and learn more effectively in the future.3.4.2 Assess the quality and effectiveness of the learning product.3.4.3 Assess own ability to work with others in a group setting by evaluating varied roles, leadership, and demonstrations of respect for other viewpoints.4. Pursue personal and aesthetic growth.4.1 Skills Description of Activity and Impact Location / Date4.1.1 Read, view, and listen for pleasure and personal growth. 4.1.2 Read widely and fluently to make connections with self, the world, and previous reading.

I am the parent coach for Keheley Elementary’s Helen Ruffin Reading Bowl team. The students created posters of the books they had read for competition, the Georgia Children’s

Keheley ElementaryMarch 2009

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4.1.3 Respond to literature and creative expressions of ideas in various formats and genres. 4.1.4 Seek information for personal learning in a variety of formats and genres. 4.1.5 Connect ideas to own interests and previous knowledge and experience. 4.1.6 Organize personal knowledge in a way that can be called upon easily. 4.1.7 Use social networks and information tools to gather and share information. 4.1.8 Use creative and artistic formats to express personal learning.

Book Award nominees. After reading several of the selections, the students chose their favorite one from which to create a poster advertising the book to the rest of the student body. This project took place after the HRRB competiton was over for the year. The students had fun decorating and writing brief synopses of the book in order to catch the attention of the reader without giving away the ending. We placed the posters all over the school in the hallways.

4.2 Dispositions in Action Description of Activity and Impact Location / Date4.2.1 Display curiosity by pursuing interests through multiple resources. 4.2.2 Demonstrate motivation by seeking information to answer personal questions and interests, trying a variety of formats and genres, and displaying a willingness to go beyond academic requirements. 4.2.3 Maintain openness to new ideas by considering divergent opinions, changing opinions or conclusions when evidence supports the change, and seeking information about new ideas encountered through academic or personal experiences. 4.2.4 Show an appreciation for literature by electing to read for pleasure and expressing an interest in various literary genres.

At MCAA, each student has to complete a project for MCAA READS, a literature project that occurs in the fall. Each student has the freedom to pick his or her own topic and is encouraged to select one that is of genuine interest. Depending on the grade level, the student is required to read 5-7 books of various genres (fiction, non-fiction, biography) at the reader’s AR level. I helped students find books on their topics and sometimes helped them decide on a topic. After the books have been read and AR tests passed (80% or better), the student then creates a product to convey the chosen theme, and anything goes. It could be an essay, a presentation, a collage, or a model, for example. It is a fantastic school wide project that is very much student-driven, and as a result, the products are amazing.

Marietta Center for Advanced AcademicsFall 2009

4.3 Responsibilities Description of Activity and Impact Location / Date4.3.1 Participate in the social exchange of ideas, both electronically and in person. 4.3.2 Recognize that resources are created for a variety of purposes. 4.3.3 Seek opportunities for pursuing personal and aesthetic growth.4.3.4 Practice safe and ethical behaviors in personal electronic communication

Our fourth science grade teacher, Mrs. Throop, allowed me to help moderate her classroom wiki. The students chose a bird native to Georgia and displayed a picture of it on the wiki with a narrated introduction. They also wrote facts about their bird. Finally, the students were encouraged to post comments and questions to one another about his or her

Marietta Center for Advanced AcademicsMarch-May 2010

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and interaction. bird. The project was ongoing for two months, and the children were able to practice electronic written communication skills in a respectful manner while learning how to use a Web 2.0 technology. They picked up the skills quickly and learned etiquette in writing at the same time.

4.4 Self-Assessment Strategies Description of Activity and Impact Location / Date4.4.1 Identify own areas of interest. 4.4.2 Recognize the limits of own personal knowledge. 4.4.3 Recognize how to focus efforts in personal learning. 4.4.4 Interpret new information based on cultural and social context. 4.4.5 Develop personal criteria for gauging how effectively own ideas are expressed. 4.4.6 Evaluate own ability to select resources that are engaging and appropriate for personal interests and needs.

As I said above, students in our school create projects based on their interests in our MCAA READS project. The purpose of the project is for the student to create a product based on what interests them: magic, mystery, tennis, cooking, etc. The choices are completely student driven, and there are no lists to choose from. The purpose is for children to identify an interest, read in order to learn more about it, and then present this new knowledge to others in a creative form. MCAA READS is a favorite project of all students because it is up to the student what topic he or she chooses and how to present his or her learnings and knowledge after research.

Marietta Center for Advanced AcademicsSeptember-October 2009

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Field Experience Reflections

Before I began the Master’s in Media program, I had been volunteering extensively in my children’s

elementary school media center for a few years. Shelving and circulation were among my responsibilities,

and I also recruited and scheduled all the media center volunteers as well as Scholastic book fair volunteers.

Finally, I acted as the media specialist’s parent liaison with Scholastic. The SLMS, Lynn Dye, was the

person who suggested to me that I become a media specialist because she saw how much I enjoyed my time

in the center and how successful I was at performing my duties. She also volunteered to be my mentor, so I

applied for the University of West Georgia program (upon Lynn’s recommendation).

In the beginning, I had no idea how many different roles the media specialist played and exactly how

many duties were expected of the SLMS. Throughout the course of the program, I found it extremely

helpful that specific field experience activities were given for me to fulfill, activities that were customized to

the coursework and learning in which I was engaged. Each course and the related activities opened my eyes

to the enormous responsibility the SLMS held in the school. The Activities Checklist provides a great

example of the number and variety of tasks and roles the media specialist performs. I developed a new level

of respect for the individuals that fill these roles as well as the flexibility the position allows for creativity

and different methods for completing these duties. The challenges of the roles are exciting and appeal to my

desires to help patrons, be involved with teaching students technology and information literacy skills, and

run a small business, all within the school setting.

The skills and knowledge I possessed prior to this program were from a volunteer perspective. The

course related activities I completed through my field experience helped me broaden my knowledge and tie it

directly to what I was learning at the time. The knowledge and skills I have now are from the media

specialist perspective, and the mentors with whom I worked were instrumental in my growth. Besides my

mentor, Lynn Dye, two other media specialists adopted me as well: Kathy Albritton at McCleskey Middle

School and Kathryn Vinyard at Lassiter High School. All three women have more than 30 years of

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combined experience and passed on more knowledge than I could have expected. I also worked as a media

parapro with a fellow classmate, Susan Foster, during the 2009-2010 school year. She is working as a media

specialist in the City of Marietta. The experience I gained while working in this position helped me not only

fulfill field experience hours easily, but also helped me gain invaluable onsite training.

I am very much aware that this position, like many others, requires that one bring knowledge and

skill in order to be successful. However, also like many other jobs, much of one’s knowledge and skill will

be built while working in the capacity of the media specialist in a media center. Of all the things my

participation in the field experience activities has brought me, the most important thing I have gained toward

the end of the program is the overwhelming excitement and anticipation I feel when considering my own

career as a media specialist. I absolutely cannot wait to have a media center of my own to grow

professionally and personally in the journeys I have to come.

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