Now director of the library at Cornell College, Mount Vernon, Iowa, Donham formerly taught library and information science at the U. of Iowa. She presents a text to help K-12 school library media professionals effect change in their program by integrating it into the school's overall instructional plan. Reflecting professional, theoretical, legal, and political changes over the last six years, the second edition includes new coverage on the new role of standards; the impact of No Child Left Behind legislation; the growing influence of the media, including the Web; the new educational needs of millennials; changing reading habits; the new model of shared school-public libraries; the unique leadership opportunities of the school library media specialist; and updated statistics and data throughout the text. Annotation 2004 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR
I was reading an older edition of this, so that may have influenced my view. Also, I taught college writing and rhetoric for 30 years, so, again, my view might not be representative, but this felt a little simple and repetitive. It covers the major concerns of a school media information specialist (because you can’t say librarian), including working with teachers, building principals and school districts. It also covers some issues in teaching information literacy but I thought that material was basic and rather weak. I found the information on collaborating with teachers and scheduling media center use to be the most useful.
This updated version deals with the many changes in education and the library media field and urges library media specialists to take a proactive role in information literacy instruction in the school library and the students’ needs. The librarian is a collaborator and “strategic” leader with the teachers and the students’ curriculum. This book shows how to develop a great library media program in any school and deals with all aspects of the school environment in each section. For Further Reading, Author Index and Subject Index are provided.