Stresses the importance of management skills and budgeting expertise for school library media specialists, and discusses the budgeting process as it relates to identifying needs, sharing responsibility in securing funds, and justifying budget requests. A list of references is included. (FM)

To carry out their roles as information providers, instructional consultants, and teachers, school library media professionals must demonstrate competence in at least five specific functions, including communication, collection management, organization, administration, and instructional leadership. Principals need to understand school libraries'…

This article looks at the general roles of six national professional associations which might interest school media specialists, examines overlapping responsibilities, and reviews the relationship the media specialist is likely to have with these organizations. The establishment of a new organization that is directly relevant to the media…

Examines the underlying reasons for and the possible impact of the decision by the American Library Association (ALA) to become a member of the National Council for the Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE). The ways in which media specialists prepared in NCATE programs will differ from those prepared in ALA programs are discussed. (four…

Describes the newly formed partnership of the American Library Association, the American Association of School Librarians, and the National Council on the Accreditation of Teacher Education. The discussion covers the benefits to be gained by the school media specialist profession in terms of defining professional competencies, curriculum…

Discusses the role of the school library media specialist in student assessment. Topics include guidelines in "Information Power" (1998, American Library Association); formative and summative assessment; the role of classroom teachers and students; collaboration between teachers and media specialists; and the evaluation of…

A survey of high-tech (n=289) and non-high-tech (n=219) school library media centers revealed that most high-tech schools (38%) are in the South and that most (35%) are high schools. Analyzes patterns in funding, types of technology, automated management, expenditures and collections, staffing and salaries, participation in staff development…

Summarizes expenditures for public and private school libraries throughout the United States during 1985-86, looking at such factors as funding sources; collection size and materials; expenditures per student; school level and region; media center staff and salaries; electronic technology; and level of media coordination (individual schools versus…

Reports the results of a survey that examined school library media center expenditures during the 1987-88 school year and compared these figures with previous survey results. Factors reported include funding, library collections, staffing patterns, technology and library automation, network participation, instructional involvement, school district…

Presents a regional comparison of school library programs, collections, and services. Highlights include education and training of media specialists; planning; funding sources and priorities; collection size; local expenditures; resources, including access to the Internet, videos, and CD-ROMs; computers and technology; and responsibility for Web…

The sixth in a series of "School Library Journal" reports on trends in school library expenditures for program development shows that commitment to the teaching and motivating of reading is in conflict with fascination with technology and that access to books is being seriously curtailed by the deteriorating state of school library collections.…