Dear Principal:

I have completed the Georgia DOE 2010 Library Media Program Self-Evaluation Rubric. While the
results show that our media program is largely where it should be, we do have shortcomings in a few
important areas. I believe if we take steps to address these weaknesses, the performance of the media
staff, teachers, and students will improve and our school's reputation as a well integrated and
cooperative learning community will be enhanced.

Under the first category, “Student Achievement and Instruction,” we are falling short in the first three
areas. We are at the basic level for integrating information literacy standards into content instruction,
collaborative planning with teachers, and for library staff engaging in active teaching roles. These
connected areas are, I believe, the result of the same problem—lack of time for the media specialists.
The full time and part time media specialists and the media clerk are all engaged in so many other
tasks, that the information literacy needs of the students are being neglected. There media staff must
issue student identification badges, tend the school store, create the school newsletter, make
certificates, and many more clerical duties. I believe that to solve this problem, we need to make an
aggressive effort to recruit volunteers. Whether they are graduate students, parents, or interested
members of the community, volunteers would free up the media staff to focus on teaching and
collaborating with teachers to make information literacy standards more a part of the curriculum.
Students and teachers would also feel more inclined to come to the media center if they knew that the
staff would be available to work with them. We are at the exemplary level in the other three areas of
this category.

We also did well in the other five categories, receiving exemplary marks for most areas. One area of
concern, however, is our media center schedule. Scheduling is addressed in Category Three of the
rubric and we are at the proficient level. While there is always media staff in the media center during
school hours, the media center's only additional hours are before school. The media center is not open
after school or for evening hours. While the bus schedule causes some students to arrive at school
early, others do not and do not have this extra time to visit the media center. I believe we need to
have the media center open after school. While the time after school is usually a time for media staff to
catch up on work, if we have volunteers in the media center, the media specialists would be available to
help students and teachers after school. As for evening hours, these could be arranged at the request of
students and their families during times when students have important tests or projects coming up in
which they need more access to the media center.

I believe that by recruiting volunteers and extending the media center hours, the media center will
become the integral part of the school that it should be. It will also be a more welcoming place with a
staff and resources that extend beyond the walls of the media center and into all the classrooms of the
school. If media specialists are allowed to teach, students will become confident users of library
resources. If media specialists are allowed to collaborate, information literacy standards can be
integrated into content instruction through authentic learning tasks. If media specialists are actively
engaged with students and faculty, the media center will truly be a valuable resource, not just the room
that houses the books and computers. I hope you will consider taking these measures, which I do not
believe will take a large effort, but will make a large difference.

Sincerely,
Rebecca Russell