Strategic Management

Plan
FRIT 7331

by Carmen McQueen, Emma Stephens, & Nicole Whitney

Section I: Description and Analysis of the School Library Media Program

Section II: School Library Media Center Philosophy/ Mission Statement

Our Mission:
Positively impact student achievement by establishing instructional partnerships, implementing
evidence-based practice, and providing reliable resources in an environment welcoming to all
stakeholders.
Our school is located in a school system with a county-wide media center mission statement (see
above). Therefore, no statement specific to our school exists. The county-wide statement is a
great foundation and provides a thorough description of the purpose of the media center.
Although this statement does mention resources and the learning environment, more specific
wording could make this a stronger statement. This mission statement is vague in noting the
connection between the media program and the local learning community and beyond. It notes
all stakeholders, which may include the community and larger learning environment.
However, more specific wording would make the statement stronger. Another area that would be
important to add is the idea of fostering a love of reading in children.
Overall, the countys mission statement is a good, general statement but can be improved with
more specific ideas and wording. In researching various mission statements from other media
centers, additions were identified to strengthen the mission statement. Therefore, a more school
specific mission statement for our school might be:
The purpose of the Floyd Middle School media center is to positively impact student
achievement by establishing instructional partnerships, implementing evidence-based practice,
and providing reliable resources in an environment welcoming to all by:

developing real and virtual access to appropriate, high-quality resources and services
during and outside the school day

creating facilities that are conducive to learning

partnering with parents and the community to teach students to skills needed to live in
and contribute to a global community

fostering a love of reading by helping students make social connections through reading,
broadening their knowledge base and interests, and expanding reading for informational
and recreational opportunities
teaching students with the most up-to-date instructional technology opportunities
fostering an appreciation and respect for the use of technology in school
teaching students the skills related to instructional technology that will prepare them as
they progress through school and into their careers
building an encouraging and enriching environment where the students feel comfortable
and challenged

This new statement represents a media center program that addresses the needs of the 21st
century learner.

Section III: School Library Media Center Services Overview

Floyd Middle School

Library Media Center
Policies and Procedures
2014 ~ 2015
The Floyd Middle School Library Media center is an integral part of the instructional program
of this school. Our MISSION is to support the curriculum and to ensure that students and
faculty are effective 21st Century users of ideas and information. The primary role of the
Teacher~Librarian is to teach information seeking strategies and research skills within subject
areas that support the curriculum, while collaborating with classroom teachers.
1. Our Media Center utilizes a flexible schedule based on the needs of the curriculum and
classroom teachers. In order to reserve the Media Center for collaborative classes, special
events, and classroom checkouts, please sign up at the circulation desk. If you would like for
Mrs. Bobbitt to be involved in your class or activity, please schedule time for collaboration with
her in advance. She welcomes collaboration and co-teaching!
2. Checkouts / Checkins: Students may exchange books by visiting the Media Center during
homeroom, after school, and throughout the day during the week with a signed pass.
3. Teachers may send small groups of students during the day to the Media Center for Open
Check-Out, reading, and research. Students must sign in at the circulation desk and have signed
hall passes that state their expected return time.
4. Please see Mrs. Bobbitt in advance if you need to make special arrangements for a small
group of students to work in the Media Center or if you need to send a student to the Media
Center to make-up a test or an assignment; the Media Center may not be available at the last
minute.
5. Because we all want our students to be able to access reliable information on the Internet
safely, please do not send students to the Media Center unsupervised to use computers in the
Media Center unless you have made arrangements with Mrs. Bobbitt; otherwise, students will be
sent back to class. Teachers are welcome to see Mrs. Bobbitt in advance to schedule time in the
Media Center so she can work with small groups of students who need to use computers.
6. Teachers who need several resources pulled for a particular project may request a reserve

cart. Please allow at least one school day for us to accommodate these requests. When we
have advance notice of a project or unit of study, we are able to locate the best resources.
7.Please refer to the Copyright Policy for W-S/FCS for Fair Use Guidelines. You must have
written approval from school administration before showing students Videos/DVDs. All
Videos/DVDs must have instructional value and be integrated into specific lesson plans.
8. Teachers will submit DVD/Video reservation requests at least one day in advance. Last
minute requests will be handled only if time allows.
9. Please let Mrs. Bobbitt or Mrs. Stewart know if you have signed up for time in the Media
Center but will not be coming.
10. Check-out: Students may check out up to two books at one time for personal use for a threeweek period. Additional books may be checked out for research. Students may renew items for
three more weeks. It is recommended that teachers not check out books and then loan them to
students.
11. Lost or Damaged Materials: Students are responsible for the materials they check out.
If these materials are lost or damaged, students will be charged a damage fee or a replacement
fee. If a lost book is returned within three months, the money will be refunded to the student;
after three months, the money will have already been spent to replace the lost book and a refund
will not be issued.
12. Overdues and Lost Materials: Students with overdue materials and/or fines will not be
allowed to check out resources or attend dances, field day, etc. until the overdue materials have
been returned to the Media Center or until fines have been paid.
13. Behavior: In the Media Center, students are expected to practice the Three R's: Respect
Yourself, Respect Others, and Be Responsible.
Circulation PolicyThere is no distinction between grade levels in the circulation policies. Since this is a middle school, only
students in grades 6th-8th are included.
In regards to the checking out of books, policies have been set that the students must adhere to. Students
can check out up to two books at a time for personal use. However, if additional books are needed for
research, students are allowed to check out more books. The check-out period is 3 weeks and students
can renew items for three more weeks whenever they wish. Students are completely responsible for the
items they check out. If any media center materials are lost or damaged the student will be charge a
replacement fee. However, if a lost book is returned within 3 months students will receive a refund. If a
student has overdue materials and/or a fine, they will not be allowed to check out resources OR attend
dances, field days, etc. until those materials are returned and fines paid.

The media center highly values internet safety and because of this students are not allowed to use the
computers in the media center unsupervised unless they have made arrangements with the Media
Specialist. The staff wants the students to be technologically proficient, so groups of students are
encouraged to come to use the computers under the supervision of the Media Specialist; it just needs to be
a scheduled time.
There is no policy concerning BYOT and this is something that should be addressed. A suggestion would
be to have a policy that personal devices are not allowed unless there is a permission slip from the
students teacher and parent. At this time the media center does not offer E-books and this is an area that
should be added.
SchedulingThe media center offers flexible scheduling based on the needs of the students and teachers. It allows
teachers to reserve the media center for special events, classroom wide checkouts, collaborative classes,
etc. Students can come to the media center during homeroom or after school for reading, research,
approved computer use, etc. However, if it is during school hours, students must have a signed hall pass
that clearly states their allowed time in the center.
ServicesThe media center encourages the teachers to utilize the media center and the media specialist as resources.
The media center staff are always available and willing to lead classes on research, instructional
technology, etc. There is a large amount of resources that can be used in the classroom. With advanced
notice, the media center staff will reserve a cart and have the teachers resources prepared.
There is no mention of services offered to parents of diverse patrons (students with disabilities) in the
media center policies. This is something that needs to be considered and added to the services. An
addition to the policies for consideration would be to encourage parents to come to the media center with
their child or children after school. It could be called Parents Hour and the parents and students could
check out books, work on research project, etc. or just relax and read a book together. As far as students
with disabilities, the media center staff could receive specialized training in how to best meet the needs in
the media center for disabled students. Project Enable is a wonderful resource that provides free training
for librarians worldwide on how to create inclusive and accessible libraries that meet the needs of all
students.
Ethics and Legal PrinciplesThe media center has a strict policy regarding the viewing of videos and DVDs. All teachers must have
written approval from the school administration prior showing videos to students. All videos must also
have instructional value and be relevant to specific lesson plans. The policies do not currently go deeper
than that as far as ethics and legal principles. A needed addition to the policy should include clear-cut
expectations such as, All students will be given the opportunity to check out and read any book that is
included in the Media Center and The media center usage history of each student is to remain private
knowledge, made only available to the parent or guardian of the student.
The media center policies are a good starting point but there is vast room for improvement. The policies

of media centers must reflect the 21st century learner and there needs to be significantly more focus on
technology standards and usage. The policies also need to encompass a greater focus on the rights that
students have, the ethical principles the center needs to reflect, and more detail overall.

Section IV: School Library Media Center Facilities

As of right now, there are many wonderful aspects of the media center at our school as well as
several areas that need updating. This is the media specialists second full year, and with many budgetary
concerns, she is doing what she can with the resources that are provided.
Overall, the media center has a positive learning environment. The decorations are simplistic. While
there are posters and dcor pieces on the walls, they are minimal and most of the dcor and displays do
come from student work displays. The media center could afford to add more dcor to the room and on
top of bookshelves. The media specialist and para-pro work diligently to provide the school with a
student centered Media Center for students by being open to questions, concerns, and suggestions. This
contributes to the overall positive climate.
The media center is laid out and organized to have the feel of a classroom. The main aspect that
contributes to this atmosphere is a central learning station that includes a projector and table area for the
students with a teacher station (a podium). Students also have working areas located in back of the media
center with paper, pencils, scissors, and different color media (markers, crayons etc.) There are two
computer banks with soft, rolling ergonomic chairs. Each computer bank has 20 computers (at Floyd this
is considered a class set) with a chair for each computer station. In the middle of the computer banks is
an area for students to sit and work at tables. This is also the area that is used for lessons and instruction.
Generally this organization works well; however, the amount of tables limits the amount of movement
and collaboration that can be done within this area. This area can hold up to 36 students and because of
the table organization leads to overcrowding during collaboration opportunities. There are 9 rectangle
tables with 4 chairs at each table located in this area. With the exception of the chairs at the tables and
the computer chairs there are no couches or comfortable areas for students to utilize as reading or working
space. The books are organized on shelves on the back half of the media center with perimeter shelving as
well. Because of the organization of the shelves there is a large, empty area of the Media Center that is
not being taken advantage of.
The county in which Floyd Middle School is located has a large technology initiative, so access to
technology is not a weak point within the media center. There are two banks of computers each with a
class set of 20. This allows two classes of students (around 45 students) in the media center at one time.
This is utilized frequently by multiple disciplines. The two content areas that tend to collaborate the most
are Social Studies and Language Arts across all grade levels. Most days there are multiple classes in the
media center working on interdisciplinary activities. Students can also check out ipads from the media
center for use during one class period (the must to stay within the media center.) In the table area, there is

a large screen and projector for instruction. Wireless technology is integrated throughout the school so
students can connect to the Internet using their phones or ipads at any location within the building.
An additional positive aspect regarding the media center is the natural lighting. The Media Center has
a large glass panel window located on the outside wall of our media center that lets in a large amount of
light. The circulation desk is set up against the middle wall of the media center. Students with wheel
chairs or walkers have adequate space to move both through the library and between shelving. The only
issue with room in the media center for students in wheel chairs or walkers is the table area, where the
tables are close to one another and the shelves surround them. Also, because of the large windows, it
tends to stay either cooler in the winter or warmer in the summer.
Virtually, our media center does an adequate job at providing students with resources and tools online.
The media center website has a great explanation of destiny, and how to find books using student Lexile
Levels. There is also a large section for free research and practice tools; such as IXL, BrainPop, and Skills
Tutor that students can access via the media center website. However, filtering is still a large issue at
Floyd. Popular and useful sites, such as Youtube, are blocked to both students and staff. Students have
passwords to all of the programs accessible at school so they can access resources at home as well. In
addition, teachers are required to maintain a blog that is updated weekly with content updates as well.
Overall, the elements that work well within the media center are the access to technology (especially
the double banks of computers) and the amount of space available to students and teachers. This Media
Center was an addition to the school during a campus wide expansion a few years ago. It was built with
size in mind, making it larger than most current media centers. The biggest change that could be made
would be use of space and decorations. There is a considerable amount of space that is not used to its full
advantage and sits empty a majority of the time. This area could be used for additional seating using
comfortable chairs and couches. While the media center provides an environment that is conducive to
learning, it is not attractive. Aside from the natural appeal from the large windows, there are minimal
dcor pieces and the library has a plain feel too it.

Section V: Budget
Using both the school media specialist and the Cobb County School District budget website
all sources of income that contribute to the media center have been included. The most current
budget available to the public is Fiscal Year 2013 media allotments. The FTE (Full Time
Equivalent) for Fiscal Year 2012 Materials allotment is as follows:

$12.40 x (FTE-269) + $5000= School Allotment

Along with the school allotment, the media center has income from school book fairs. This is
the first year the school is having a book fair twice a year. Normally a fair is done one time a
year, in the fall. Depending on how much is sold through the fair, the school gets to keep a
certain amount as profit. The school does not have any other forms of income other than grants
completed by the media specialist. She recently received a grant for headphones with
microphones. Also, sporadic donations from stakeholders are common but not completely
reliable. Grants and donations are potential sources of income for the Media Center.
With the rise of technology, media center use and reliance, and reading needs from students, it
is believed this is a sizeable budget because of the population of our school. However, there is
definitely a need for more reliable income. Most of the computers and technologies that are in
the Media Center are left over from other parts of the school and are received from grants in
different departments that are housed in the media center due to space. The library is also in need
of newer books and a larger Spanish section as well as more furniture.

Section VI: Stakeholder Survey

Survey
Survey Monkey was used to develop a teacher survey for stakeholders at the school. The
purpose of the survey was to gather teacher opinions about the media center and provide
direction for the future of the media center. The survey was anonymous. The link to the survey
was emailed to twenty teachers via school email. No incentive was offered for completion of the
survey. Eight teachers responded. The link to the survey is below:
https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/RDW5SYN

Results
The results of the individual questions of the survey are included below:

Questions 9 and 10 were open-ended questions. Question 9 was as follows: What obstacles
have you encountered/do you envision when collaborating with the media specialists. Four out
of the eight participants responded to this question. Results found the following
obstacles/potential obstacles: too many distractions, lack of time, and lack of knowledge of
subject matter. Question 10 was as follows: How can the media specialist or the media center
better serve you as a teacher? Three of the eight participants responded to this question. Results
include the following: more technology resources/web 2.0 tools, more training on technology in
the classroom, and more and better communication.
Interpretation
Question 1 found that the majority (75%) of teachers schedule time in the library on a weekly
basis. However, it seems collaboration between classroom teachers and the media specialist is
rare with the majority of respondents indicating they never collaborate with the schools media
specialist (62.5%) or never invite the school media specialist to co-teach in their classroom
(75%). The media specialist is recognized as being useful by helping teachers learn new
information seeking skills (37.5% indicated the media specialist teaches new information seeking
skills monthly). The majority of teachers (62.5%) prefer the media centers budget should be
allocated on hardware including computers, printers, tablets, etc. The majority of respondents
indicated they very strongly agree (37.5%) or strongly agree (37.5%) that they usually find what
they need when visiting the media center. The most used resources in the media center,
according to our respondents, are fiction books (37.5%) and computers/printers (37.5%). The

large majority of respondents find the media center staff helpful and approachable (62.5%
strongly agree and 25% agree). Based on results of this survey, the media specialist has
obstacles to address in order to increase collaboration with teachers. This includes the perception
of a lack of time, a lack of specific subject material knowledge, and too many distractions. In the
future, teachers would like an increased level of communication with the media specialist, more
technology training in the classroom, and more technology.

Section VII: Planning for the future

Floyd Middle School- Media Center Goals
Long Range Goal
1. Create an environment within the
media center that encourages the
responsible use of technology as well
as a deep appreciation for literature.

Short Term Objectives

Rationale & Evaluation

1a. Rearrange the library to provide

space to create a reading area.
Purchase comfy furniture and
accessories for the reading area.

Provides space and seating that enhan

and encourages technology use, leisure
reading and browsing, and us of materia
in all formats

1c. Hold a contest for the students to

submit artwork depicting, in the
medium of their choice, their
favorite novel. The top 5 works will
be framed and displayed in the
reading area.

Creates a friendly, comfortable, well-li

aesthetically pleasing, and ergonomic s
that is centrally located and well integra
with the rest of the school.
--Empowering Learners pg. 33

1d. Create and display

advertisements to be placed around
the school to remind students of the
Media Center and all it has to offer.

With this addition of a reading area as a

short-term goal, we are filling a void in
media center. Our computer and technol
areas are sufficient and used daily by ou
students, however we completely lack a
area that is comfortable and designated
leisure reading. Additionally, we will be
partnering with the art department to ho
and judge the novel art contest.

Evaluation- We will evaluate the status

these goals at the end of the 2015- 2016
school year. We will include the furnitur
updates in our budget request for that sc
year.

2a. Work with the Teachers and

Administration to encourage overall
collaboration in the classroom and the
media center with the Media Specialist
to meet curriculum goals.
2b. Create a grade-specific library and
technology curriculum that will be
drafted and implemented in
collaboration with teachers.

2a. The Media Specialist will begin

to hold How to Utilize our Media
Center seminars once a month for
teacher and administration.

The school librarian works with memb

of the school community to develop the
policies, practices and curricular to gui
student learning.

2b. The Media Specialist will attend

all grade level teacher meetings
where she will have an opportunity
to present collaborative ideas.

The School Librarian guides instructio

design by working with the classroom
teacher to establish learning objectives
goals

2c. Form a Media Center Committee

with the Media Specialist, teachers
from each grade level,
administration, parents from each
grade level and students
representatives from each grade level
to keep abreast of the most up to date
resources. This committee will make
decisions on what programs or tools
would best serve our students.

-Empowering Learners, pg. 17

2d. The Media Specialist will strive

to collaborate with a different
teacher every week.

These short terms goals are in place to m

the overall goal of increased collaborati
There is a lack of communication in our
school between what is available to teac
and what is actually utilized. Our media
center is relatively up to date on
instructional technology resources that a
readily used by our students but not our
teachers. We desire to see communicatio
and collaboration increase so that our
students can reap the benefits that come
with a cohesive school. We also desire i
from students and members of the
community.

2e. The curriculum will be drafted to

ensure that every student is reaping
the full benefits the media center can
offer.

Works with administration to actively

promote, support, and implement
collaboration.

Seeks input from students on the learni

process.
-Empowering Learners, pg. 20

Evaluation- We will evaluate the status

these goals at the end of the 2015- 2016
school year. The once a week collaborat
will be implemented as a requirement
during the pre-planning period of the 20
2016 school year.

3a. Purchase and grow our collection

of quality resources and books to
support our curriculum and encourage
a love of reading in our students.
3b. Strive to grow a love of reading in
every student that will prepare him or
her to be successful students and
people in the future. Readers are
leaders.

3a. We will survey the student body

as a whole to find out what they
want to see on our shelves.
3b. Present a budget plan to the
administration to revamp our
selection of books.
3c. Peruse and research the
possibility of using an e-books
program for our supply of I-pads.
3d. Host a volunteer Saturday where
students, teachers and members of
the community can attend. We will
sort through our existing literature
collection to find books that are in
need of repair or replacement. We
will donate books that need to be
replaced. This event can count to our
students community service hours.
3e. Develop an incentive program
within our school that encourages
reading.

The library will contribute to student

reading by providing access to current
quality materials on a wide range of
reading interests and abilities. The prog
will use incentives to make reading a
lifelong, intrinsically motivating activity
all students.
-The Indispensible Librarian pg. 38

Acquires and promotes current, highquality, high-interest collections of book

and other reading resources in multiple
formats.
-Empowering Learners pg. 21

Our media center is a relatively new bui

and is quite large. We have room to exp
our collection and provide our students
more options to help foster in them a lov
for reading.

Evaluation- We will evaluate the status

these goals at the end of the 2015- 2016
school year. We will include the furnitur
our budget request for the 2015-2016 sc
year.

References
Alabama Department of Education. (2008). Alabamas School Library Media Handbook for the
21 Century Learner. Retrieved from
http://alex.state.al.us/librarymedia/Library%20Media%20Handbook.pdf
st

Arlington Heights School District. (n.d.). Library media centers. Retrieved from
http://www.sd25.org/pages/sd25/Departments/Menu/Student_Learning/Library_Me dia_Centers

Cobb County School District. (n.d.). Retrieved April 24, 2015, from
http://www.cobbk12.org/centraloffice/librarymedia/

GeorgiaDepartmentofEducation.(n.d.).RetrievedApril24,2015,fromhttp://www.gadoe.org/Pages/Home.aspx
Empowering Learners- Guidelines for School Library Programs. (2009). Chicago, Ill.: American
Association of School Librarians.

Johnson, D. (1997). The Indispensable Librarian: Surviving and Thriving in School Media
Centers. Worthington, Ohio: Linworth Pub.

National Center for Education Statistics (n.d.).RetrievedApril24,2015,from

http://nces.ed.gov/surveys/sdds/index.aspx

New Canaan High School. (n.d.). New Canaan High School Library Mission Statement.
Retrieved from
http://www.newcanaan.k12.ct.us/education/components/scrapbook/default.php?sectiondetailid=32925&

Program Administration. (n.d.). Retrieved April 24, 2015, from

http://www.cobbk12.org/librarymedia/budget/index.htm