Professional Philosophy

A library media specialist serves as one of the most influential members of a

school community. This role entails the responsibilities of running and maintaining a

library, as well as being a teacher leader and advocate for students. The librarian

should develop and maintain a space that aligns with the school’s curriculum and is

reflective of the school’s mission statement.

A media specialist should develop a library climate that serves as a safe space

for learners. Within this space, students should experience a warm, caring, and inviting

environment that encourages both reading and learning. A librarian strives to motivate

young readers, and offer guidance and advice to help students find their niche in

reading. The goal is to help students become lifelong readers and learners. Within the

library, the media specialist should develop a learning environment that invites curiosity,

collaboration, creativity, and critical thinking. The media specialist should implement

learning experiences that give students the opportunity to engage, collaborate, and

learn from one another, which in turn allows for students to become exposed to multiple

viewpoints and multiple perspectives aside from their own.

The library collection is a direct responsibility of the media specialist. Therefore,

the librarian should insist that the collection is reflective of the culture, diversity, and

interests of the students while still aligning with the school’s curriculum. In addition, the

collection should include a variety of resources in several different formats including

print, periodicals, reference, and digital items in order to best meet the needs of

students and ensure that students have equitable access to these items. The collection
should promote intellectual freedom, and the librarian should teach the principles of

intellectual freedom as well as a student’s right to read, while modeling for students how

to exercise these freedoms within the library environment and giving students the right

to express themselves.

The teacher librarian serves as an influential resource of technology tools. The

role of teacher librarian includes serving as a technology expert, and a collaborative

partner to teachers. When partnering with teachers, the media specialist should work to

assist teachers with the development of learning experiences that are directly aligned

with the curriculum, and include technology integration that will help in the learning

process and meet the diverse needs of all students. The media specialist should remain

relevant and current in technology trends as well as Web 2.0 tools, and offer

professional development sessions to staff members to diffuse the knowledge and use

of how these applications can be beneficial into the academic curriculum.

The media specialist and the library can be viewed as a powerhouse of a school

community. I believe the media specialist should be a constant role model for a love of

both reading and learning, and serve as an advocate for young learners to help develop

them into aware, involved, and productive members of society.