Surveys have concluded that librarians know their roles as a library media specialist, but that school administration is unclear of the roles and responsibilities of the library media specialist.  Before a librarian is a library media specialist they are a teacher.  Because of the nature of the library media specialist they are instructional partner with teachers in the classroom.  The library media specialist is a specialist of information used to support classroom teachers.  All while carrying the responsibility of being the administrator of the library media program.  For a library media specialist to guide student to be lifelong learners they must be able to carry out many responsibilities.

            First and foremost, the library media specialist is a teacher.  He or she collaborates with students and other members of the learning community to identify learning and informational needs.  He or she must be able to locate those needs in a timely fashion.  After locating the information the library media specialist has to be able to understand and convey the information to the student.  According to AASL (1998) the library media specialist must be educated in the most effective and current way to teach so that students can benefit from the information provided.

            In the same way, the library media specialist is an instructional partner within the school.  He or she works together with classroom teachers to support the teaching of different subject areas.  AASL (1998) informs that as an instructional partner, the library media specialist “develops policies, practices, and curricula” to guide students in developing a variety of information and communication skills (p. 4).  The library media specialist collaborates with teachers to put information and communication skills in practice by designing genuine learning task and a way to assess those tasks.  The library media specialist works with the entire school as a team to meet subject area standards.

            Another role of a library media specialist is to be an information specialist.  He or she has to be able to acquire information from different resources, whether it is electronically or from more traditional resources such as an encyclopedia.  After acquiring the information there is the process of evaluating the information to determine its value and quality.  AASL (1998) states that the library media specialist must maintain a constant focus on the nature, quality, and ethical use of electronic resources and more traditional resources (p. 5).  As a library media specialist, they must set an example in showing how to locate, evaluate, and use the information from many different resources. 

            At the same time, the library media specialist is the administrator of the library media program at his or her school.  Policies for the program must be made and carried out to make the program run smoothly.  He or she must also guide and direct activities within the media center or programs that are designed for classroom use.  He or she is also the manger of staff, budgets, equipment, and the facilities of the media center.  Along with all of these duties, he or she has to be an advocate for the library media program by showing its importance and gaining support from the administration, the community, and government.  The library media specialist has to have the skills to plan, execute, and evaluate the effectiveness of the library media program (AASL, 1998).

            Students of the twenty-first century can become lifelong learners as long as the library media specialist is given the support to fulfill their responsibilities.  He or she must know and use best teaching practices, because they are first a teacher.  The library media specialist must work with the whole school by being an instructional partner to collaborate with fellow teachers to support student learning of core subjects.  They need to know to use information and communication skills to provide students with the knowledge of how to use information by being an information specialist.  While wearing many different hats the library media specialist has to be the administrator of the library media program.  How will you support the responsibilities of your library media specialist?

American Association for School Librarians. (1998). Information power: Building partnerships for learning.  Chicago: ALA.