I’ve gotten a lot of questions about what my schedule as an elementary library media specialist is like and what advice I have for people beginning in this position, so here’s a little bit of background about my library media program. Of course, please keep in mind that this is just my own school and what has been developed in my building, and that one of the best things about school libraries is that they are all unique and should be programmed to best meet the needs of their students and faculty.
My state requires a master's degree in library science from an accredited program and successful completion of certification exams in order to obtain a teaching position as a library media specialist (LMS). At the secondary level, there is a state mandate for a full-time LMS for every 1,000 students. There is not yet a state mandate for an LMS at the elementary level—BUT that doesn’t mean the content we teach isn’t mandated! Most ELA standards have a research component, which I’d say is still a major role of the LMS in addition to all of the other roles we take on these days. So classroom teachers, we are here for you and with you through that research process!
I teach in a rural school district with one elementary school and one middle/high school. My library media center (LMC) was once the cafeteria, so it’s a considerably large space. We have room for a full computer lab down there as well, which is the teaching space for our district’s technology coach, and there is also a small room with a green wall for green screen projects. The LMC also has an aide for the majority of the day.
When I was hired, my principal and I decided that kindergarten classes would operate on a fixed weekly schedule and grades 1-5 would be on a collaborative flexible schedule, which aligns with AASL’s position statement on LMC scheduling. I see my kindergarten sections for 30 minutes a week, and we do a lesson and book exchange during that time. During kindergarten blocks, we don’t have any additional classes come down for exchange, but during grades 1-5, there are times when we have both a book exchange and a class doing research or a lesson. When teachers in grades 1-5 collaborate on a lesson, project, or research with me, they can sign up for as much time as they need—30-45 minute blocks for two or three times a week are the most common, but sometimes we’ll meet more frequently or longer depending on the project or time frame we’re trying to finish by. I set up a calendar on Google Sheets where teachers can see my schedule for upcoming weeks, and they can add themselves in as needed.
As I mentioned before, I am also fortunate to have an amazing aide in the library with me. We have a really great partnership, and this allows me to fulfill my LMS roles and responsibilities from instruction to program management and all those other hats we all wear as teachers, while she is able to do checkout with classes, shelve books, complete clerical work, and help with research and other classes as needed. I would not have been able to establish a successful library media program over the years without her and everything she does on a daily basis for our students and the LMC.
Another unique aspect of our library media program is that in addition to myself and our LMS at the middle/high school, we have a technology coach who works in both buildings. She has built a great digital citizenship program K-12, and she also works with teachers to help them effectively implement new technologies, programs, and/or tools in their classrooms.
Our tech coach has a majority flex schedule as well, so between her program, book exchanges, and my classes, we often have three classes in the library at once. This is our 5th year running our space all together this way, so it’s become part of our students’ routine to work and learn respectfully while other classes are doing the same.
Since this is essentially just an outline of my program, let me know what you want to know more about! I’m happy to talk more about what an average week looks like, how checkout runs, what our makerspace is like—anything at all, just leave a comment below!
