Information Literacy 1

Kimberly King
Information Literacy Paper
FRIT 7136 – Fall 2008
October 5, 2008

Information Literacy and the Role of School Media Specialist in 21st Century Education

Information literacy has become one of many catch phrases in 21st century education. As

technology is becoming more prevalent in all aspects of society, the educational needs of today’s

students are evolving. Students need to know how to integrate technology into their daily lives.

With this evolution, there is an increasing need for educators, media specialist and teachers, to

integrate information literacy skills along with state curriculum and standards. The result of this

instruction will guide students to become information literate. Are educators meeting these

needs? Peer interviews and research will give a brief look at the role of educators in teaching

information literacy and where improvements can be made.

Media specialists play a variety of roles as they manage a school’s media center. Often

times, teachers are not fully aware of all the hats that a school media specialist wears. In fact, one

media specialist commented, “A teacher came in to make copies and said to me, ‘I wish I could

sit down and do nothing all day’” (P. McMahon, personal communication, October 3,

2008).Comments similar to this acknowledge the fact that media specialist are sometimes taken

for granted. These types of comments, also, make one wonder what perspective do teachers have

in our school. One teacher’s response is they are in place to “be knowledgeable about books,

references, and media that are available to students and teachers” (L. Owens, personal

communication, October 1, 2008). Another teacher mentions, “[Media specialist] give

orientations to students so that they can better use the library and technology available to them

through…sources such as Galileo” (J. Cade, personal communication, October 3, 2008).

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When the same question is presented to media specialist, a slightly different response is

solicited. In fact, one media specialist could not provide a simple answer to the question. Rather,

she supplied several detailed explanations of the role and job descriptions of the media specialist.

These descriptions are far more extensive than having a keen knowledge of books and media and

providing orientations for students. The teachers’ descriptions of media specialist are just the tip

of the iceberg. Their depictions are based upon what they typically call upon the media specialist

to do for them in relations to their classes. The simple way to condense the explanation of a

media specialist role provided by the specialist can be capped into three descriptors: Information

Specialists, Instructional Consultant, and teacher. All of these roles play an integral part in

helping students obtain information literacy skills.

However, what is information literacy, and do educators fully understand the concept?

When interviewing three teachers and two media specialist, it becomes clear that some educators

are not on the same page with the concept and its connection to students. One veteran teacher of

twenty plus years defines information literacy as the “compilation of information provided by

professionals to help other professionals to gather and understand information on various

subjects” (L. Owens). Another teacher has this to say, “Information literacy is knowing how to

read information from a wide variety of sources” (C. Hayes, personal communication, October 3,

2008). Now, contrast the two views. Both media specialist interviewed provided similar views

that can be summed up by saying that information literacy is the ability to know when

information is needed, how to retrieve needed information, and effectively using this information

to solve a presented task (P. McMahon and J. Thompson, personal communication, October 3,

2008). This definition correlates nicely with several of the ones mentioned in chapter 1 of

Information Literacy and the School Library Media Center.

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With there being discrepancies in defining information literacy, are the needs of students

being met? Well the answer to this question is a resounding yes. Ms. Owens is a senior English

teacher and she notes, “Teachers must require students to do various types of research by not

only using the internet.” Other teachers interviewed note that students are learning how to do

research and use information (J. Cade and C. Hayes). It is just that more can be done if teachers

relied more on the school media specialists. Specialists work as consultants. One of their primary

roles is to coordinate student learning experiences. They have the responsibility to participate in

grade level project planning, and, most importantly, they serve as cooperative planners with

teachers to develop information skills activities (P. McMahon). Yes, school librarians can teach

too! This last role is one that is often over looked by many during the planning stage of lessons.

To get the most out of having a school librarian, there has to be better teacher/media

specialist collaborations. For this to be done, it seems that media specialists will have to reach

out to teachers more. This is especially being done in school environments where many of the

media center’s resources are available online. Karen B. Oberstein commented in Knowledge

Quest on some of the techniques she uses at her technology savvy school. She says, “I designed

several units for teachers who may not have a strong background in the technology approach to

teaching” (Oberstein, 2006). The idea of taking the initiative is very beneficial. Some teachers

fear integrating technology into their classes. How much easier would it be if a media specialist

can simply help teachers with already made lessons for specific disciplines? Oberstein offered

another idea. She mentions that she has even designed online lessons and tutorials for students to

learn how to use search engines and online databases (Oberstein, 2006). When teachers see these

types of innovative ideas, they will feel at ease to seek out the media specialist for help in

developing lessons that integrate information literacy skills.

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Another notable example of collaborations is mentioned in an article written by Debbie

Abilock in Knowledge Quest. Abilock recounts the experience of Sarah, a school librarian. Sarah

worked closely with her school’s English and social studies teachers. Together, they were able to

successfully develop a program to promote a climate of academic integrity within their school.

As a direct result to these collaborations, students writing skills improved (Abilock, 2006). This

is a prime example to demonstrate that information literacy is not a task that is left solely up to

the classroom teacher, or the English teacher for this matter. With the extra guidance from the

media center, students become familiar with librarians. This will enable them to recognize media

specialist as more than someone who checks out their books and print out their word processed

reports.

Teacher and school librarian collaborations are an absolute must as students are

becoming more of a digital generation. Teachers working with media specialists can find a

treasure trove of digital resources to incorporate into their curriculum. Such engagement is

necessary to hold the attention of this generation’s learners. In an article entitled “Digital

Frontier Schools, Libraries, and Adventure,” there is a subheading entitled New Resources

Demand New Literacies and Policies (Stephens, 2007). When it comes to these new literacies,

who should take the lead in helping others become literate? One sentence from Wendy’s

Stephens article stands out: “As school librarians begin conversations about these technologies in

their buildings, the digital applications are moving from being novel to becoming indispensable”

(Stephens, 2007). It is the media specialist who takes the lead in helping the teachers adapt to

this changing tech savvy world. Then, together they can help students learn to use these tools in a

way that is appropriate and ethical. Thus, students will be prepared to effectively use these new

technologies with skill in post secondary institutions and in the work force.
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Information literacy is a skill that must be addressed in today’s schools. A part of a

receiving a rigorous education is learning how to use information received through non-print

resources. This mission is effectively achieved only when teachers and media specialist

collaborate with a common goal in view. Collaborations may need to be school librarian initiated

seeing that teachers are not always completely aware of the many roles played by the media

specialist. When this is done, teachers can learn new literacy, such as information literacy, and

have a clear perspective as to how they can use technology to hook students and, at the same

time, prepare them to use technology as tool for seeking and using information. In these

collaborative roles, all educators will be working to produce a well rounded 21st century

education.
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References

Abilock, D. (2006). Is your ethics policy a quick fix or a civic outcome? Knowledge Quest,

34(4), 7-9.

Oberstein, K. B. (2006). Invisible access innovative school library programs in a wireless world.

Knowledge Quest, 34(3), 12-13.

Stephens, W. (2007).Digital Frontier schools, libraries, and adventure. Knowledge Quest, 35(4),

70-72.

Taylor, J. (2006). Information Literacy and the School Library Media Center. Westport,

Connecticut: Libraries Unlimited.