What Are Principals' Perceptions of the School Library Media Specialist?

Abstract

A survey of Missouri principals reveals a separation between their perceptions of the role and expectations of the school librarian and what is advocated by the American Association of School Librarians' Guidelines.

Library media program implementation and student achievement

“…Nor is there a significant correlation between degree or agreement and degree of program implementation. These findings were unexpected because prior studies (Edwards, 1989;Dorrell and Lawson, 1995;Lau, 2002) indicated that administrators did not share the LMS's perspectives. These studies further recommended effective communication between LMSs and administrators.…”

Principals’ Perceptions of the Impact of School Library on Student Academic Achievement in Rural Thailand and Factors Driving Their Perceptions

“…Internationally, extensive studies found that school principals had limited awareness and understanding of the roles and values of school libraries and librarians (Dorrell & Lawson, 1995;Hartzell, 2002c;Van Hamersveld, 2007). Most principals considered the role of school libraries as book warehouses, and perceived the role of librarians as book keepers and circulators (Dorrell & Lawson, 1995;Kolencik, 2001). Consequently, such school libraries were abandoned.…”

Professional self-efficacy and role perception of school librarians and their impact on the development of students' information literacy

“…This may result from the poor perception of teachers, headteachers and even of the librarians themselves, of the role of the school librarian as a central figure within the school community. In fact, rather than being perceived as professional colleagues and co-teachers, school librarians are often considered to be merely storytellers and providers of information, and their role is often perceived as supportive and bureaucratic, which renders the school librarians invisible in the school environment (Dorwell and Lawson 1995;Hartzell 1997). In addition, school librarians reported that time and energy constrains hindered collaboration with teachers, and that lack of feedback from the teachers and lack of awareness of the teachers' requirements and goals hindered such collaboration (Williams and Wavell 2001).…”

“…The school librarian is often perceived as a storyteller and a supplier of information resources, rather than as a peer and a co-teacher. Both headteachers and teachers tend to perceive the role of the librarian as purely clerical, resulting in an attitude of indifference towards librarians and making them invisible in the school environment (Dorwell and Lawson 1995;Hartzell 1997). Nevertheless, in a study by Williams and Wavell (2001), all 10 librarians who were interviewed considered collaboration with teachers to be part of their role in the school, although such collaboration was reported to be less than optimal.…”

“…However, the degree to which librarians are actively involved in developing the IL of library users has been studied mostly in academic libraries (e.g., Fritch and Mandernack 2001;Cook 2006) and to a significantly lesser extent in school libraries (Streatfield et al 2011). Moreover, previous studies indicated that, despite their potential role as lead educators of IL skills in the school community, school librarians tend to be invisible to students, teachers and headteachers (also known as principals); this, in turn, reduces their effectiveness as educators and hinders collaborations with teachers (Dorwell and Lawson 1995;Hartzell 1997;Hartzell 2002;Oberg 2006). The current study examined the degree to which school librarians in Israel provide different levels of reference work services (RWS) and the degree to which they are involved in different stages of research processes (RPs) of the students at school, as indicators to their involvement in effectively imparting IL skills.…”