Georgia Southern University

Media Specialist Interview Questions

FRIT 7734

1.Name of media specialist being interviewed. Leigh-Ann Hunt

2.Name of School where the media specialist is employed. Ashworth Middle School
3.How long have you been a media specialist? 11 years
4.How long were you a classroom teacher before becoming a media specialist? Not a
classroom teacher. This is a second career for me.
5.How have your past job experiences prepared you, directly or indirectly, for this
position? My past job experiences include: event planner, executive assistant, HR staffing
manager. These jobs gave me a great deal of experience in managing and planning
events, personnel, purchasing, and public relations.
6.Why did you choose to pursue a degree to become a school library media specialist? I
love reading and serving people. I also wanted to have a similar schedule to my young
children at the time. This was a perfect fit for me.
7.What educational preparation have you had for being a school librarian? My undergrad
degree in in Public Relations. I also have a Masters in Education with Media Specialist
certification. What was your experience with that? I received my education/media degree
from the University of West Georgia. I had a great experience and felt very prepared for
the field. What didn’t you learn in school that you wish you had? I actually felt very
prepared. One of the most challenging aspects is finding opportunities to collaborate with
teachers.
8.What experience have you had with cooperative program planning? with cooperative
teaching? I regularly reach out to teachers and provide resources to support their
instruction. I pull print materials to support units of study. I curate a monthly digital
resources collection for teachers. I solicit teacher input as I consider materials to be
purchased. I co-teach research lessons.
9.How would you go about developing a strong team approach with other teachers? It is
so important to constantly build relationships and find creative ways of offering your
services. It takes commitment over a period of time. It is important to join in grade-
level/content area team meetings to stay informed about upcoming standards, instruction
and resource needs. How would you get reluctant teachers to utilize the library?
Partnering with ELA teachers to schedule regular checkout time in the library. Meet
students “where they are” in their reading personality. Be approachable and help them
feel special, not a cookie cutter approach. Pre-COVID, I also allowed students to use the
library for some free-time during lunches and before/after school where they could
choose to play board games, use STEM building materials, read quietly, etc. This is an
awesome way to promote the library space, and sometimes the desire to read comes along
later. Also, having special events and displays pulls them in.
10. How do you see the role of the library in the overall reading program of the school?
The library is a treasure chest of resources and services to support students and teachers.
Maintaining a great collection shows the students and teachers that we value
books/reading.
11. How would you go about: (a) promoting appreciation and interest in the use of
resource center materials? (b) promoting storytelling, story reading, book talks, and other
resource center programs? I create monthly book displays and post promotional videos on
the daily announcements, website/social media. I lead a media committee, with
representatives from all stakeholders. I send out emails to teachers about new resources
of interest.
12. What is your experience in leading professional development? Especially in leading
technology-related professional development? It can be both formal and informal. I
communicate regularly with our admins about PL sessions that I can offer. I ask for a
time slot on PL days to contribute. I create tutorials as needed to support teachers and
students. I serve on our districts Apple Vanguard program, attending Apple-led PL events
and redelivering to our faculty.
13. How do you ensure your own continued professional growth? In what areas do you
feel you would like to develop your professional skills and knowledge further? I actively
attend virtual webinars with NWGA RESA, GaDOE Media group, GLMA and various
other independent agencies (Wakelet, Canva, Galileo, etc.) to continually increase my
knowledge and skills. I regularly follow Twitter/FB feeds to glean helpful information
and insight from other media and tech professionals. I lead our district media PLC group
and curate artifacts/documentation of services based on the SLEI standards. I regularly
self-evaluate based on the SLEI.
14.Describe how you will create an inclusive space where diversity and equity are valued
by all learners in the school community. I have a huge rug in front of the circulation desk
that has a statement printed on it welcoming all students no matter who they are or where
they come from. I get lots of positive comments on this. I regularly consult suggested
reading lists from ALA and other outlets to build our collection. I arrange our media
center space to promote flexibility and easy access to meet the needs of all students.
15.How do you ensure that you have appropriate resources for all learners in your
school? I depend on recommend reading lists, award winners, popular series and student
requests. How do you include reading and instructional materials in both print and digital
formats that represent multiple perspectives and varying points of view? We have both
print and digital collections. They circulate equally. I create tutorial videos and share with
teachers early in the school year to help students/teachers access our Sora e-Book
platform and our Surpass Cloud print book collection.