Mary D'Eliso works with students at the University Elementary library in Bloomington. Staff photo by David Snodgress
Media specialists do much more than recommend books and shush you in the library, according to local experts and former librarians. Librarians forge a link between literature and technology, teach classes and collaborate on curriculum with educators, improve student achievement and prepare students for the rigors of college research.
Daniel Callison, professor emeritus of library and information science at Indiana University, stresses the importance of having a full-time media specialist at schools, starting at the elementary level.
“A half-time position is extremely limiting,” Callison said. While a part-time librarian may be able to take on the responsibility of managing the library, the instructional role of the media specialist will suffer, he said.
With the recently adopted K-12 Education Standards to replace the Common Core State Standards in Indiana, the role of the librarian has become even more significant in schools, he said.
“The expectation of working much more with nonfiction materials that need to be updated and given in-depth analysis takes a full-time school media specialist who is a part of the teaching team,” Callison said.
The standards emphasize research, analysis and examination of online resources, areas in which librarians have expertise.
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