A Discussion Guide For Information Power Guidelines For School Library Media Programs

The most recent set of national guidelines for the development of school library media programs, which was published in 1988, identifies underlying changes in the roles of the school library media specialist as well as in the program itself. Viewing the library media specialist as an initiator of curricular activities rather than a purveyor of support services, these guidelines emphasize leadership, partnership, planning, curricular needs, collection development, and equity of access to information. This discussion guide has been developed to help educators at all levels to plan meetings and conduct effective discussion sessions with persons who have become familiar with "Information Power" in its entirety, in order to evaluate local school library media programs in light of the recent revisions. The first of three sections identifies the principal concepts presented in "Information Power" and provides an overview of each of its eight chapters. Procedures by which discussion sections may be effectively organized to promote the successful exchange of knowledge and views are recommended in the second section. The final section identifies specific constituencies for discussion groups and suggests discussion questions for each of the groups--i.e., library media specialists, administrators and boards of education, classroom teachers, college and university faculty, state department of education personnel, and members of the community at large--as well as questions for mixed constituency groups and questions basic to all discussion sessions. (GL)