Program Planning and Development
A Construction Guide
Introduction
Students today live in a challenging
but exciting world of exploding information explosion. Both within
our particular societies, and in our increasingly interdependent global
society, knowledge has rapidly become the key resource from which
all other assets are constructed. It is imperative that students become
information literate, and effective media programs are the key to
information literacy. Dynamic, student-centered library media
programs foster information literacy and lifelong learning. In this
context, school library media specialists' opportunities to construct
authentic, information-based learning experiences have never been
greater. Along with these opportunities come significantly increased
responsibilities.
If these exciting learning opportunities
are to be realized, and if the growing responsibilities of library
media specialists are to be met, then effective and efficient planning
of library media programs is a key requirement. Three basic ideas
-- collaboration, leadership, and technology – support the vision
of library media programs described in Information Power: Building
Partnerships for Learning (2001, p.47). These broad concepts offer
unifying themes for planning and administration of effective, student-centered
library media programs. In this spirit, a clear and creative vision
is essential for planning and guiding strong and vibrant programs,
which ultimately serve the learning community of students and others
in our rapidly changing world. Moreover, by embracing such a vision,
library media specialists may ultimately share the rich rewards that
come from serving and living in learning communities of active, creative,
lifelong learners.
Program planning has several components,
and we have provided these as sequential steps below. We do
not wish to give the impression that program planning is a simple
matter. Before beginning it is imperative that a media specialist
be thoroughly familiar with Information Power. We also recommend
A Planning Guide for Information Power (AASL, 1999) as an essential
tool in the program planning process.
In order to meet the challenges set forth
in media centers today, program plans should address the following
elements:
1. Philosophy: describe the
media center’s educational philosophy, the role of the media
specialist, and the purpose of the media center. This portion
should reflect your own philosophy of media service and mission.
2. Mission statement: Summarize
and condense the media center’s philosophy into a single action
statement.
3. Evaluation: Evaluate your
program against past goals and standards.
4. Long range goals: at least
4 goals, written to be accomplished over a 5-year span. These
goals should be grounded in Information Power. At least some
of your goals should be directly focused on moving your program
from one level of achievement to a higher level. It is acceptable
to focus on a few targets at a time. The key is to make progress
every year.
5. Objectives (or short range goals):
in order to accomplish the long range goals, list component goals
that can be worked on over the next year. Some long-range
goals may not be addressed by these short-range goals. Short
range goals must relate logically to the long range goals.
Goals (short and long range) should align with your philosophy and
mission statement. It may help to think of short range goals
as activities. Given your long range goals, what activities
can you conduct in one year to help you make
progress on this goal?
6. Facilities: What changes need
to be made to improve facilities in order for your program to align
more closely with the ideas of Information Power? Include
technology and equipment in this needs assessment, if improvement
is needed.
7. Budgeting Plan: What moneys
does your media program have access to? How will you divide this
money to accomplish your goals? Break the overall amount down
into percentages to spend in categories. A prominent consideration
should always be collection development. Categories may include
books, periodicals, hardware, software, equipment, personnel, special
projects, etc.
8. Media Committee: Describe the role
of the Media Committee in relation to program planning. Including
this explanation in this document will distribute ownership of the
Media Program throughout the learning community, and help ensure
that it has an advisory role in important media decisions.
Describe how is it chosen, how often it meets, and the specific
actions it performs.
9. A plan for planning: describe
your annual review process, to include program evaluation and strategic
planning. How will you know when your goals are met? What
data will be collected? Who decides what needs to be done,
and when?
Steps in Program Planning
Step 1. Define the philosophy
and mission statement for your media center.
The Philosophy portion of a planning
document justifies the existence of the media center as a central
element of a school. It should support goals for the media program,
and integrate them within the overall school plan. Once written,
the philosophy statement can be used in many documents pertaining
to media planning, and may change little from year to year.
Most important, the Philosophy statement should harmonize with principles
set forth in Information Power. It should also reflect
established vision and goals fo the local school system and the school
itself.
Two examples of a philosophy statement
follow:
“The Library Media
Center provides all members of the school community with access to
information, reading and research assistance, and instruction that
supports the curricula and educational goals of our school.
Integration of the Library Media Center Program with the curricula
fosters a partnership with teachers and ensures that information skills
are an integral part of learning so that students will be able to
function successfully in the information society. The Library
Media Program extends and enhances classroom experiences and stimulates
the development of a lifelong love and appreciation of reading and
learning.”
“Our philosophy for the Media
Center will focus on the integration of library media instruction
with classroom learning. Instruction will be designed to teach
literacy and information skills that meet all instructional areas.
Our collection will be chosen with care to reflect the needs of
all students and staff. Our collection will provide an abundance
of quality resources in all formats to meet a wide range of learner
abilities, developmental levels, and modalities.”
The Philosophy portion of the plan can be as long as necessary.
The next step is to condense this philosophy down into a much shorter
mission statement. The mission statement should be no longer
than a couple of sentences reflecting a broad but concise overview
of the school media center’s educational goals. Mission
statements are sometimes called “vision statements.”
Two examples follow:
“The Library Media Center
will develop lifelong readers and effective users of information.”
“The mission of our Media Center
is to guide, motivate, and inspire our students toward becoming
productive and educated citizens who are effective users of technology
and lifelong readers.”
Step 2. Evaluate media program services to determine areas for improvement,
expansion, addition, or deletion.
Once the philosophy and mission are in
place, the next step is to examine the current media program and determine
how well it reflects this philosophy. The Media Committee should
perform and coordinate an annual evaluation of the media program.
Aspects of the media program to evaluate include:
- Specific concepts expressed in the
Philosophy
- Performance on media center goals
and objectives, as laid out in previous Media Plans
- External criteria from national,
regional, state, and local standards offer guidance in improving
media programs (such as Information Power and SACS).
Evaluation is a difficult undertaking, but many resources are available
to guide you through the process. The Media Committee should
develop or modify appropriate appraisal instruments. Input should
be sought from teachers, students, administrators, parents, media
staff, and the local community. Results should be compiled and
used to revise and develop media center goals and objectives.
Data from evaluations should be preserved from year to year as a record
of progress.
Step 3. Identify needs.
Performing an evaluation process as described
in Step 2 will highlight areas where the Media Program is not meeting
the needs of the school, areas where the Media Program could contribute
to the mission of the school, and resources that are currently not
available. At this stage of the planning process, needs are
not so much missing “things” (like computers, books, etc.),
but shortcomings in important areas of the media program. For
example, if standardized tests indicate that reading scores are falling,
and part of the media center mission is to support reading achievement,
then one need would be to improve support for reading instruction.
Again, standards set forth by the local
board, the state, and SACS will offer guidance in identifying media
program needs and deficiencies. Once these service needs are
identified, move on to naming resources which would help rectify them.
Make sure to consider facilities, funding, staffing, and technology,
instructional materials, and print resources.
Step 4: Establish goals and objectives.
Information collected from media services
evaluation and needs assessment will assist the Media Committee in
determining strengths and weaknesses in the media program. This outline
may help:
1. Identify problems
2. Brainstorm possible solutions
3. Evaluate possible consequences of each solution
4. Choose the best course of action.
On the basis of this information, formulate five to ten realistic
goals. Goals, also known as “long-term goals,” should
be broad. Objectives should be specific and measurable. Goals may
take three to five years to attain, while objectives can be attained
within one year. Two or more objectives should be written to meet
each goal. After establishing five to ten realistic goals, give the
administration and faculty a rough draft for their review and comments.
Make revisions as needed and disseminate again with a summary of previous
comments.
Examples:
Goal 1:
Implement an information literacy program for students and teachers
through the use of technology
Objectives:
A. Plan an information literacy program for students and teachers,
including staff development
B. Educate and assist students in acquiring information through
the use of the Internet and available software/hardware
C. Purchase software that supports school curriculum while simultaneously
encouraging information literacy
Goal 2:
Improve the media center learning environment so that it is more
conducive to constructive student activity by providing more adult
supervision and assistance
Objectives:
A. Develop a plan for recruiting volunteers, including incentives
and guidelines
B. Develop a training program for media center volunteers
C. Implement plan and assess after one year
Step 5. Place goals and objectives within a five-year rolling Media
Plan.
In generating the media plan, the media
committee should focus on the goals and objectives established in
Step 4. Also, identify an evaluation for each goal. This
evaluation should answer the question, “How will we know that
this goal has been met?”
Once the courses of action have been
decided upon, they should be organized into a five year rolling plan.
Evaluate and modify the plan yearly. At the beginning of a new
year, the previous year is dropped, and the plan is revised and edited
to include the new fifth year.
This process must be continuous to be
effective.
MEDIA PROGRAM PLANNING WORKSHEET
(Click here
for Microsoft Word version)
STEP ONE (Philosophy)
Philosophy:
Mission Statement:
STEP TWO (Evaluation)
| Questions to consider |
Supporting evidence: How do you
know that this is so? |
What program services need improvement
or expansion?
|
|
What program services need to
be added?
|
|
What program services should
be deleted?
|
|
STEP THREE (Needs)
1. In what ways does the existing library media program not support
the media center philosophy?
2. In what areas are additional instructional
resources needed?
3. What instructional resources are needed
to meet these weaknesses/deficiencies?
STEP FOUR (Goals):
| Goal/Objective |
Goal 1 |
Goal 2 |
Goal 3 |
| What is your long term goal? |
. |
. |
. |
| How does this goal relate to the
media center mission? |
. |
. |
. |
| According to your service evaluation
and needs assessment, where are you in relation to the goal? |
. |
. |
. |
| What objectives will support your
goal?(Think of these as short-term goals.) |
a.
b.
c. |
a.
b.
c. |
a.
b.
c. |
| What resources/personnel will
be needed to implement your objectives? |
. |
. |
. |
| What specific problems do you
anticipate? |
. |
. |
. |
| What are possible solutions to
these problems?Which is the best alternative (given personnel,
time, resources, money, space)? |
. |
. |
. |
| How will you measure progress
toward your objectives? How will you know when your objective
is reached? |
. |
. |
. |
STEP FIVE (Rolling Media Plan)
MEDIA PLAN
________ School Year
Shade the years to which each goal/objective
applies.
| Goals/Objectives |
Year 1
______ |
Year 2
______ |
Year 3
______ |
Year 4
______ |
Year 5
______ |
| 1a. |
. |
. |
. |
. |
. |
| 1b. |
. |
. |
. |
. |
. |
| 1c. |
. |
. |
. |
. |
. |
| 2a. |
. |
. |
. |
. |
. |
| 2b. |
. |
. |
. |
. |
. |
| 2c. |
. |
. |
. |
. |
. |
| 3a. |
. |
. |
. |
. |
. |
| 3b. |
. |
. |
. |
. |
. |
| 3c. |
. |
. |
. |
. |
. |
Step 6. Establish a budget.
Each year, the state provides a sum of
money for each media center based on Full Time Equivalency (FTE) counts.
Your local school system distributes this money, which is then divided
into funding categories (or “lines”). In some systems,
media committees may decide how to divide money between categories,
while in others the percentage per category is established in advance.
In some systems, “moving” money between categories is
allowed. Learn as much as you can about your local budgeting situation.
Together with your media committee, do your best to match your funding
allocation to your goals.
When establishing a budget for a media
program, it is important to focus on your previously established goals
and objectives. Allocation of funds should continue to support
the improvement of the media program including advances in technology
and changes in curriculum.
Examples of dividing budgeted funds according
to the media center’s needs may include:
| Goal |
Planning Objective (Short-term
goal) |
|
Budget Categories |
| To enhance information literacy
achievement among students |
Purchase productivity software
for each media center computer so that students may create
resource and inquiry-based projects |
|
Software |
| To support the curriculum |
Purchase titles to support newly
adopted reading series |
|
Books |
| To improve the media center learning
environment |
Replace old, heavy, squeaky chairs
with new, mobile, stackable, and quiet chairs |
|
Furniture |
These decisions must be discussed
and approved by the members of the media committee at your local school.
The Duties of the School Media Committee
The school media committee addresses media
concerns at the school level and provides input to the system media
committee. Members of this committee should include an administrator,
the media specialist, a teacher representative from each grade or
department, a student representative, and a community or parent representative.
Since the role and structure of each committee is defined by learner
needs and the school’s instructional program, committee composition
may differ from school to school even within the same system.
The school media committee:
- Develops procedures for implementing
the system’s instructional media and equipment policy.
- Establishes media program objectives
and priorities based on instructional goals in order to develop
immediate and long range plans for the media program.
- Assesses available media resources
as related to instructional needs and recommends priorities for
media budget proposal.
- Participates in evaluating and modifying
media services.
- Recommends media policy revisions.
- Establishes procedures for the participation
of the total school community in media selection.
- Recommends procedures that insure
accessibility to media services for all.
- Informs the community of the procedures
for formally challenging materials used in the school and responds
to those challenges.
- Creates and promotes procedures for
copyright awareness.
- Assists in identifying and planning
media or technology –related staff development activities.
- Recommends applications of technology
for inclusion in the media and instructional programs.
References
American Association of School Librarians,
& Association for Educational Communications and Technology. (1998).
Information power: Building partnerships for learning. Chicago:
American Library Association.
American Association of School Librarians.
(1999). A planning guide for Information Power: Building partnerships
for learning with School Library Media Program Assessment Rubric for
the 21st Century. Chicago: ALA.
Authors
| Kristi Bearden |
Cathy Garmon |
Greg Odell |
| Anna Burdett |
Shann Griffith |
Julie Richardson |
| Paula Bond |
Kelly Gruhn |
Laura Ryan |
| Lisa Campbell |
Amy Hamilton |
Suzy Searcy |
| Eden Clark |
Buffy Hamilton |
Bonnie Smith |
| Julie Criser-Pate |
Candice Hamilton |
Laura Smith |
| Katie Dirr |
Heather Johnson |
Stephen Smith |
| Vicki Dobbs |
Ann LoCicero |
Jason Thomas |
| Mary Ann Fitzgerald |
Michelle Mercer |
Cathy Wojcik |
| Paula Flageolle |
Karen Mobley |
|
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