Albert 1

Kristen Albert
Professor Shteirman
ILS 562
1 October, 2014
Library Media Specialist Interview
I met with Barbara Hoffman for the interview on Monday, September 22, 2014. Barbara
Hoffman is the library media specialist at W.F. Kaynor Technical High School in Waterbury CT.
Through our conversation, I was able to understand how the library media center at Kaynor
Technical High School operates.
Mrs. Hoffman believes that the library media center at Kaynor Tech is as good as the
other library media centers within the district. The main difference, she believes, is the space
itself. Many of the Connecticut technical schools have been renovated recently, so some of the
media centers are bigger or have more modern floor plans.
I was surprised that there are only 10 books per student in the media center, and that the
only database they use is ICONN. I thought that they would have had some sort of database
memberships or subscriptions.
I was also surprised that, given the large amount of technology available at the media
center ( computer lab, laptops and netbooks, Chromebooks, iPads, and iPod touches), the media
specialist only made suggestions for the new technology plan instead of being directly involved
in its creation. From the interview, it was very apparent that technology is a big component of
the library media center.

Albert 2
During the interview, we had a hard time arriving at an answer for the question about
what the library media center at Kaynor is used for. This shows on the questionnaire because
two options are circled for this question. Teachers use library resources as a supplement to their
classroom lessons. Furthermore, the library is where most of the students get books for the
Accelerated Reader program, a computerized reading management program that is used heavily
at the school. However, Mrs. Hoffman also oversees a study hall that takes place in the library
media center as well.
It is very clear that the library media center at Kaynor Technical High School has a strong
effect on the school. As previously stated, the library media center is where majority of the
students get books for the Accelerated Reader program. Without the library media center, the
students at Kaynor Technical High School may not have the great access they have to AR
materials. Furthermore, the library media center houses much of the technology that is used
throughout the school. If any classes need to gain access to the computer lab, tablets, laptops, or
iPod touches, they visit the media center.
Another part of the interview that surprised me was that, while there is an end of year
report made to the principal, much of the planning for the media center is done on an as needed
basis. Because of the large amount of resources in the library media center, I would have
thought that there was extensive planning.
Overall, my interview with Mrs. Hoffman gave me insight into how library media centers
can run. It was very apparent from the interview that the library media center at Kaynor
Technical High School has a lot of resources for students and staff to utilize, as well as the
administrative support needed for the media center to run effectively.