Monday, January 14, 2008

Library Collaboration in Delaware

As the State of Delaware unveils its new Delaware Literacy Plan (DLP) now in draft, the role of the school LMS as a teacher-librarian becomes vital.  New literacy requirements will involve a new approach to instruction. Literacy across the curriculum can only occur through collaboration. The school LMS is the school-wide resource for collaborative planning.  They are also vitally important to the instructional staff as a resource for information literacy, reading advocacy and literacy instruction, and are skilled professionals in visual and other literacies that will be required of the 21st-century learner.  As formative and summative assessments will be required for the DPL, well-thought-out research projects, in collaboration with the school LMS can provide the rigor and relevance that will increase student achievement. The School Library Collaboration Program can serve as a model for school-wide improvement in student success.

1 comment:

Lilydog said...

I agree that the LMS is a good focal point for literacy and collaboration at all levels, however, we need to be standardized, accessible, and funded in order to be of some use. Even among elementary people, we are functioning in different capacitites...some are power libraries, some are teaching math, some are on rigid schedules that do not allow time for collaboration, not to mention library collection development and management. Until someone takes a look at the potential that the school library has and mandates a sensible and realistic approach to the management of time and resources, we're going nowhere fast. Then we have the question of funding. With the loss of state funding this year, I have no budget at all. I have not had a school library budget for three years. If nothing else, I am missing the Caldecotts and Newberys. That doesn't begin to consider replacement of lost books or upgrading technical books in the science area. Oh, yes, I could have the kids access current information on science online, IF I had working computers. We're wasting an important resource in our schools by not keeping libraries current, both in their resources and in their management.