Group 1: Elma Daniel, Kelsey Kicklighter, Kristan Price, Jimi Waters

FRIT 7331 Key Assessment: Strategic Management Plan

Section II: School Library Media Center Philosophy/ Mission Statement
After evaluating the mission statement of the Americus Sumter High media
center, it is clear that there are some areas that need to be addressed.
The purpose is easy to identify, but it is vague. It just says the library should
enrich the educational program of the school and help achieve goals and objectives
of instructional programs. The purpose should be directed toward the teachers and
students they are serving. The mission statement barely addresses the need to
provide access to information, but it does state that it is the responsibility of each
media center to provide a wide range of materials, and then acknowledges the
need for diversity in those materials.
The learning community is indirectly referenced because the library is supposed
to serve educational objectives. The primary responsibility of each schools media
center is to implement, support, and enrich the educational program of the school.
It is the responsibility of each media center to provide a wide range of materials on
all levels of difficulty, with diversity of appeal and the presentation of different
points of view.
The mission statement does not address the climate of the media center, only
the materials and programs in it. There is no mention of learning environment,
teacher collaboration or the like. As we have seen with other mission statements,
specifics provide for a more effective and useful mission statement.
In order to support the idea of a 21st century media center in regards to the
access of information, the mission statement should account for the acquiring and
use of digital resources as well as print. All-in-all, the mission is poorly
communicated. In light of the 21st Century Skills and the information we have been

Group 1: Elma Daniel, Kelsey Kicklighter, Kristan Price, Jimi Waters

provided about mission statements from the course texts, it is clear that certain
elements need to be added. A detailed mission should include a general statement
and some specific objectives related to 21st Century Skills. Those skills have to be
condensed down to elements which fit the high school level specifically.
Revised Mission Statement
Our library mission is to create a collaborative culture of learning between the
librarian, staff members, students, and the community which will support the
learning goals of the school and to facilitate the information literacy of all staff
members and students. It is our desire for all staff members and students to
become: 1) intrinsically motivated to pursue knowledge through reading, 2) adept
at critically evaluating the usefulness, accuracy, and perspective of resources in all
formats, 3) aware and freely able to use all hardcopy and digital resources available,
and 4) responsible consumers and creators of information and resources.