Handbook of Educational Technology and Communications
“The Library Media Center: Touchstone for Instructional Design and Technology In the Schools”
Delia Neuman

I am about to become the husband of a Library and Media Specialist (LMS). Due to that fact alone, I chose to read the article on the Library Media center so I could carry on an intelligent discussion with my wife. It has proven to be a wise decision. The focus of my reading was on section 18.6, The Current National Standards and the Library Media Specialist’s Role Today, 18.7, Research Issues for the Future, and 18.8, Summary and Conclusion.

As one reads about the role of a LMS, personal beliefs as well as historical stereotyping of the specialist role come into question. The librarian position has traditionally been the typical librarian, someone sitting behind a desk and ordering books or teaching a nebulous class called “Library Skills” to elementary students. To younger students one would read a book out loud during a specific time period. Teachers traditionally would look at this as a planning period – I should know, I have been teaching for 24 years.

Changing the name to LMS and a new job description has caught on in some work environments, but not in others. Neuman suggests the new role for the LMS has four descriptors. First on the list is “teacher,” second; “instructional partner,” third; “information specialist,” and fourth the “program administrator.” The role of the Library Media Specialist is to be part of the instructional team of the school and to use assist with instructional design and instructional technology to to enhance student learning.

The bottom line for the school LMS is to be an active part of the students education assisting the teachers whenever possible. More studies are needed to be undertaken as to whether the consulting/instructional partnering role of the LMS holds the key to the student learning and achievement, as Neuman suggests.

In order for change to be accepted, the role of the LMS needs to be enhanced. It is the LMS who must take the bull by the horns and educate the educators as to the evolution of the LMS position. Neuman concluded her position by declaring that the “library media programs could actually become the touchstone for instructional design and technology in the school.” True, however, one must conclude that there must be a paradigm shift in the thinking of educational administration and staff in the schools of the future in order for the position of the LMS to bloom in educational circles.