I feel strongly that the media center should be the hub of the school: the center of information and an integral component of learning in each content area, producing information-literate lifelong learners prepared for the future. In order to be an effective manager of a hub of a school, it is imperative that the media specialist take an active leadership role in many of the school’s professional committees. I have embraced this philosophy whole-heartedly at Urbana Middle School. I currently serve on several committees. I am a member of the Leadership Team--comprised of mostly team leaders and department chairs, co-chair of the Staff Development Committee, a member of the Technology Committee, and a member of the School Improvement Team (SIT). I consider being a member of SIT an honor because fellow faculty members elect its members to the position. Being chosen for the SIT validates that my colleagues see me as a leader in our building. The artifact above is a letter my administrator sent out after the elections announcing the members elected to be on SIT.
In addition to school committees, I also serve on a district-level committee of media specialists. I have been a member of the New Automation Software Review committee for the past two years. Our district is planning to upgrade the library automation software for schools county-wide, and I was asked to be one of the first-generation members of this committee. We have been evaluating different software packages and vendor presentations, visiting schools that use the software packages we are considering, and will eventually decide upon which platform we recommend that the county purchase.
A media specialists job encompasses several different roles—that of a teacher, instructional partner, information specialist and program administrator–and I feel it is important to take an active leadership role in each of them.
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