What are the responsibilities and job description for the Elementary Itinerant Library Media Specialist position at Olathe Public Schools?
Position: Library Media Specialist
Status: Certified - Contract
FTE: 1.0
T he miss i on o f the sch o o l l i brary pr o g r a m is to empower all members of the learning community to become critical thinkers, enthusiastic readers, skillful researchers, curators, and ethical users of information . T he library media specialist suppo r ts the e d uc a tio n al ph il os o p h y a n d ob j ecti v es o f t he sch o ol d i s t r i c t by p a r tic i p a ting in five k ey roles: leader, teacher, instructional partner, information specialist, and program administrator.
Ed u c a tional R e q u i rem e nts: M i n im u m Qua l i f ica t io n s
Bach e lor's d e gree and v a li d S t ate of Ka n sas t each i ng c erti f icate.
Sta t e certi f ica t ion as a s c h o ol l i b r a r y m edia s p eci a l i st.
Preferred Qua l ifica t io n s
Ma s ter of L ibra r y S c i enc e degree , Maste r of Edu ca tio n al T echn o l o g y degree or c o m p arable d egree from a program recognized by appropriate bodies such as the American Library Association, American Association of School Librarians, or state education agencies .
R eports to
T he library media specialist r e por t s to t h e b u ildi n g p r inc i p al f o r a l l b u ildi n g concerns and t o the d i st r ict l i bra r y c oord i n ator f or dist r ict concern s .
D ut i es and R esp o nsi b i l ities
Leader
- Actively serves on teams and committees to further the mission of the school, including serving in leadership roles.
- Supports the school improvement plan .
- Helps plan whole-school professional development efforts, especially those focused on improving reading, writing, research, and the integration of technology.
- Pro v i d es pro f e ss io n a l de v e l op m ent f or the f acul t y i n suc h areas as ne w i n f or m at i on t e ch n olog i es a n d in f o r m at i on l i t era c y .
- Offers expertise on committees for policy development for academic integrity, documentation, and information and technology use policies.
- Serves on curriculum revision committees for content areas, including providing input for adoption of curricular resources.
- Provides instruction, models behaviors for and provides in depth information for copyright guidelines and ethical use of information .
- Nurtures and grows professional relationships through committee work with local, state, and national organizations.
Teacher
- Promotes reading as a foundational skill for learning, personal growth, and enjoyment.
- Supports educational and program curriculum and standards as defined by local, state, and national associations.
- Provides instruction that addresses multiple literacies, including information literacy, media literacy, visual literacy and technology literacy.
- Implements quality instruction and collaboratively creates authentic learning experiences.
- Uses differentiated strategies with respect to reading ability, personal interests, and prior knowledge to engage learners in reading and inquiry.
- Supports learners’ success by guiding them to read for understanding, breadth, and pleasure.
- Fosters exploration, discovery, creation, and innovation in a growth mindset within a global society.
- M odels inquiry-based approaches to learning and the information search process.
- Consistently assesses student learning to ensure program is meeting its goals.
- A ss u m es a l e a ders h ip r o le in p ro m ot i n g t h e pr i nci p les of intel l ec t ual f reedom and e x pos e s s tud e nts to a br o a d range of ideas and re s our c es .
- Empowers learners to work with each other in successful collaborations and to constructively assess their own work and the work of their peers.
- Helps s t u de n ts d e v e lop at ti tudes, ha b its, a nd s k i ll s t h a t pro m ote l i f e l ong l e arn i ng and libra r y use.
Instru c t i on a l Partner
Collaborates with classroom teachers to develop assignments that are matched to academic standards and
include key critical thinking skills, technology and information literacy skills, and core social skills and cultural competencies.
include key critical thinking skills, technology and information literacy skills, and core social skills and cultural competencies.
- Guides instructional design by working with classroom teachers to establish learning objectives and goals, and by implementing assessment strategies before, during, and after assigned units of study.
- A ss ists teachers i n ide n ti f y ing and ac c es s i n g m ateria l s to su p port con t en t - a r ea in s tru c tion .
- Con s u l ts wi t h t e achers a b o ut stu d ents’ unique instru c t ional and learning n e eds .
Pro v i d es l e aders h ip in the integrat i on of techn o lo g y i n t o all ar e as of the curric u l u m and i nstru c ti o nal pra c tic e s .
Su p por t s t h e con t in u i n g e d ucation a l research of f a c u l ty a nd a d m in i st r ators .
Info r ma t ion Specialist
Champions equity, access, and intellectual freedom for users within the physical space and beyond, including providing 24/7 access to the online library catalog, digital and audio books, and various information resources.
Under s t a nds t h e ro l e of te c hn o lo g y i n instruct i on, st u d ent le a r n ing, a nd p r o f e ss io n al d e v e lo p m ent.
O rganizes, ret r ieves, a nd d iss e m in a tes or c ircu l at e s r e s our c es to sup p ort l ear n ing c o m m un i t y ne e ds .
O rganizes, ret r ieves, a nd d iss e m in a tes or c ircu l at e s r e s our c es to sup p ort l ear n ing c o m m un i t y ne e ds .
Pro m otes ef f e c ti v e use of i n f o r m ation resources a nd s erv i ces .
Ensur e s i nt e l l ectu a l a nd ph y s ical ac c e s s to m ateria l s i n a var i e t y of f o r m ats f or all learners .
Pro m otes use of sc hool infor m at i on services and pro g ra m s f or in d e p e n de n t re a ding, l i st e n i n g a nd vi e w ing .
Pro m otes awareness of in f or m at i on resour c es b e y o nd the s c h o ol fa c ili t y .
Prepares l i sts of t o p i c a l and n e w m ateria l s to s u p p ort c lass as s ig n m ents and t o pr o m ote i nterest i n re a d i ng .
Pro v i d es ori e nta t ion f or n e w s t ud e nts a n d f acul t y .
Program A dministra t i o n
Develops and maintains a teaching and learning environment that is engaging , inviting, safe, flexible, collaborative, inclusive, and conducive to learning.
Develops and maintains a teaching and learning environment that is engaging , inviting, safe, flexible, collaborative, inclusive, and conducive to learning.
E s ta b l i s h es and e v alua t es annual and l o n g - r a n ge pl a n s f or the l ibra r y i n f or m at i on prog r a m , see k ing i n p ut f rom the le a r n i n g co m m un i t y .
P lans, operates , administers, supervises, and evaluates the library media program, developing policies and guidelines to ensure efficient operation and optimal services.
Manages the staff, budget, and the physical and virtual spaces of the school library.
Ma i nt a ins a n e f f icient s y s te m o f c las s i f y i n g, cat a l o g i ng , and c i r c u la t ing l i b r a r y m ateri a ls.
Di ss e m in a tes pol i c i es rel a t i ng to a p prop ri ate u s e of the LMC res o ur c es .
Ma i nt a ins a n e nv iron m ent t hat en c our a ges l ear n ing a n d f o s ters u s e of all LMC r esour c es .
Builds and m a i nt a ins c o o pera t ive re l at i onsh i ps wi t h l ocal pu b l i c a n d aca d e m ic l i braries and o t her c o m m uni t y org a niz a ti o ns .
P r ovi d es r eg u lar re p orts on the libra r y as required b y t he a d m in i st r at i o n a nd as n eeded f or p l an n ing pur p o s e s .
T r ains a n d su p er v i s es l i br a r y m ed i a clerks (when staffed) and a d ult and s t ud e nt volun t eers .
S u p er v ises the i n vento r y of libra r y m ateri a ls, e valua t es the c o lle c ti o n, w eeds o b s olete a nd worn m ateria l s , and updates i n v ento r y records .
Pro m o tes use of l i bra r y m ed i a c e nter m aterials and p r ogra m s through e f f ecti v e , ongoing p ublic r elat i ons .
W or ks c o ll abor a t i v el y w i t h m a n y gr o ups wit h in the s c h ool c u ltu r e; p arents, t each ers , students, a d m in i st r ator s , and c o m m un i t y m e m bers .
Adheres and contributes to p o l i c ies, p ro ce d u re s , and cri t eria f or s e l ecti n g a ba l anced c o lle c t i on to s upp o rt the cur r icu l u m and represent d i ver s e p oints of v i e w .
Parti c ipa t es in a wide v arie t y of pro f es s io n a l d eve l op m ent a c t ivi t ies .
Encourages faculty and staff input concerning suggestions for materials purchase.
Encour a ges a nd f acilit a tes s tudent d e velop m ent o f in d epe n de n t in f o r m ation and litera c y s k i ll s .
Pro m otes l i tera c y , r e ad i ng, and libra r y use t hr o ugh a c t i v i t ies such as s to r y te l l i n g, b ook tal k s , d i spl a y s, p u b l ica t ions and s p eci a l e v e n ts .
Pro v i d es r e f eren c e a n d re a d i n g a dv iso r y se r v i ces t o t h e sc hool c o m m un i t y .
Clearance: Background Check/TB Test