History of School Libraries

By 1988 the ALA had written Information Power: Guidelines for School Library Media Programs, which became the ultimate guide to the modern library. It outlines the goals, philosophy and vision for the optimal school library. The goals included:

• to provide intellectual and physical access to materials in all formats
• to provide instruction to foster competence and stimulate interest in reading, viewing, and using information and ideas
• to work with other educators to design learning strategies to meet the needs of individual students

The Philosophy included:

• students must become skill at consuming and producing information in a range of sources and formats
• students must become active, creative, skillful, and engaged information users
• students, teachers, administrators, and parents are interconnected in learning communities (Information Power, 1988)

Thus, this new program drove the changes that took place in the services that were available in the school library. These services included; reference and information, reading guidance and promotion, and information skills instruction. First, reference and information services means the LMS became the keeper of the reference collection, encyclopedia, and the like, as well as subscribing to the best databases the district can afford. The LMS is also the finder of this information, both for students and teachers. Second, reading guidance and support, which has always been a standard for the librarian of the past, was now a service that the LMS’s were to provide. This now included many more activities to promote a life long love of reading, outlined in Library Power, such as, author talks, books clubs, and book talks. And third, the instruction in information skills, enabling students to locate, evaluates, and use the information students need. (Wiegand)

Nineteen Ninety-Eight saw the updated version of, Information Power, Building Partnerships for Learning which is still used quite extensively in schools and taught at colleges that train school librarians. These comprehensive guidelines focus more on student learning and teacher/SLM collaboration. The 1988 guidelines saw the LMS as instructional consultant, but ten years later the LMS’s role had expanded to be an instructional partner. Today the greatest challenge is the vast array of access to all the information that is available to our students.

“The World Wide Web has changed two fundamental things about the way the library works. First of all, while print materials are still the core of most reading collections, print resources are quickly becoming completely marginalized for ready-reference work or scientific research.” (Anderson) This attitude has become very pervasive, information seekers have the world at their finger tips and the LMS must adapt to this. Yet, the LMS must still be the guardian of knowledge. With the passage of the Patriot Act it is even more essential to ensure the right to accurate accessible information then ever before.

School Libraries have come a long way, from the single bible in the corner of the teacher’s desk to the seemingly endless array of knowledge at the computer screen. Today’s students have the opportunity to explore the world and today’s school libraries should be able to guide them. If we look back at how far the average school library has come it is no doubt that the future holds unlimited possibilities. With the proper support from the federal government, the local school districts, and the community and a little imagination the future of the school library looks boundless.