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Strategic Management Plan: Key Assessment

Amy Chastain

Department of Education, Georgia Southern University

FRIT 7331: Leadership of the School Library Media Program

Dr. Robin Wofford

April 17, 2022

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

District Information:

Cartersville Middle School is a Title I school located in Bartow County, Georgia, and

serves grades 6-8. The school is a part of the Cartersville City Schools district. Other schools in

the district include Cartersville Primary School (PK-2), Cartersville Elementary School (3-5),

and Cartersville High School (9-12). The district was ranked 17 out of 179 districts in the United

States by Niche, a school search company.

School Data:

Cartersville Middle School has a student population of 1,096 sixth, seventh and eighth

graders. The demographics for the school is 2.2% Asian, 19.7% Black, 21.7% Hispanic, 49.3%

White, and 7.2% Multiracial. 44% of students are considered economically disadvantaged; 13%

are Limited English Proficient; and 13% of students have a disability.

Academic Performance - School:

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Due to COVID-19, the State of Georgia was approved by the U.S. Department of

Education to waive statewide assessment and reporting requirements. The most recent CCRPI

data is from 2019. The CCRPI score for Cartersville Middle School was 77.2. 71.3% of eighth

grade students are reading at or above the target grade level.

Academic Performance - District:

The overall performance of the Cartersville City Schools district is higher than 74% of

districts in the state of Georgia. The four-year graduation rate is 90.3%. This is higher than 65%

of all districts. The average SAT score for 2020-21 academic year was 1084. The average SAT

score for the state was 1094.

Faculty & Staff Data:

There are 83 faculty and staff members, including a media clerk and an instructional

technology specialist. There is an Instructional Technology & Media Services Coordinator for

the whole of the district; a media clerk is present at each of the four individual schools. Of the

Cartersville Middle faculty and staff, 15% are support personnel, 5% are administrators, and

79% are PK-12 teachers.

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Community Demographics:

Cartersville is considered a suburb of Atlanta, GA, and is located in Bartow County. The

population is 23,187 as of the 2020 census. The median household income for the city is $51,

351, and the poverty rate is 19.6% Some of the major employers (employing 500+) in Bartow

County include: Shaw Industries, Toyo Tire North America Manufacturing, Cartersville Medical

Center, voestalpine Automotive Components, Anheuser Busch Company, and the Bartow

County School System.

Section II: School Library Media Center Philosophy/Mission Statement

Mission Statement:

“The mission of the [Cartersville Middle School] Media Center is to provide students

with the opportunity to become not only lifelong users of information, but also creators of

information. The Media Specialist will support the curriculum by collaborating with teachers,

developing a collection that is representative of the community, and implementing literacy

instruction for students.

Goals:

● To provide a superior media program where every student and staff member has a voice.

● To provide a place where students and staff can come to read and access books and

materials freely, safely, and in a comfortable setting.

● To provide an excellent media program that motivates and creates a love of reading.

● To provide quality and a variety of books and other materials for students and staff.

● To provide a setting where active learning takes place.”

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Analysis:

This mission statement was adapted from the Dawnville Elementary Media Center. The

school is located in Dalton, Georgia in the Whitfield County School District. Additionally,

Dawnville Elementary provided their Vision Statement and a list of five goals. The selected

mission statement aligns well with the AASL mission statement in various ways. One of those

ways is an emphasis on teaching students to be creators of information. I read many Media

Center mission statements from surrounding districts that did not make a statement regarding

creating information. In the AASL publication Empowering Learners, one of the ways a librarian

empowers students is by “instructing students and assisting educators in using, evaluating and

producing information and ideas” (AASL, 2009). Dawnville Elementary’s mission statement

does an excellent job of addressing their position on collaboration, intellectual freedom, and

literacy promotion.

Critique:

The only way I would add to this mission statement would be to address digital literacy

and digital citizenship. According to the AASL’s Standards for the 21st-Century Learner,

“students must be taught to seek diverse perspectives, gather and use information ethically, and

use social tools responsibly and safely” (AASL, 2009). It is important for students, teachers, and

parents/guardians to know that the school library/media center is a resource for print as well as

digital information and materials.

Amended Mission Statement:

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“The mission of the [Cartersville Middle School] Media Center is to provide students

with the opportunity to become lifelong, ethical users and creators of information. The Media

Specialist will support the curriculum by collaborating with teachers, developing a collection that

is representative of the community, and implementing literacy instruction for students.

Goals:

● To provide a superior media program where every student and staff member has a voice.

● To provide a place where students and staff can come to read and access books and

materials freely, safely, and in a comfortable setting.

● To provide an excellent media program that motivates and creates a love of reading.

● To provide quality and a variety of print and digital materials for students and staff.

● To provide a setting where active learning takes place.”

Section III: School Library Media Center Services Overview

Services:

The Cartersville Middle School Media Center provides several services to the entire

school population, including faculty/staff, students, and parents. Students have access to desktop

computers, laptops, and tablets; these are available in the media center as well as classrooms,

labs, and mobile carts. There is a computer to student ratio of 1-to-1. Cartersville City Schools

has a Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) policy, although there are restrictions. If a student has

teacher permission, they may use their own device and connect it to the school’s network.

Otherwise, the device must be turned off and stored in the student’s locker. In addition to

physical technology and devices, the district provides access to technology-related services such

as: device repair through IncidentIQ; insurance for electronic devices through Worth Ave.

Group; and access to the Microsoft 365 suite. There are a few additional services provided to
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students in the media center itself. Students may purchase basic school supplies (pens, pencils,

colored pencils, crayons, notebooks, lined paper, index cards, highlighters) from the media

center store. Printing services are also available for a fee: ten cents for black-and-white and

twenty-five cents for color. Cartersville Middle School employed a Teacher of Visual

Impairments (TVI) for the 2021-2022 academic year. The media specialist collaborates with the

TVI to provide necessary instructional materials and technology to help students with visual

impairments.

Circulation:

Students may check out two non-reference books at a time, and they may request a

renewal if the book is not on hold or immediately needed by a faculty member. There are no

overdue book fines in the middle school. However, if a student has an overdue item, they may

not check out additional books until overdue items are returned. Should any print material

become lost or damaged, the student (or presumably, the parent/guardian) is responsible for

replacement costs.

Faculty and staff members may check out books for periods of three weeks; materials

may be renewed if the item is not needed by another teacher or by a student requiring the item

for a class assignment. Teachers may check out reference materials for one week at a time; the

materials may be renewed if not needed by another teacher. Only faculty and staff can check out

audiovisual materials. Audiovisual equipment such as TV/VCRs, CD players, camcorders,

digital cameras, and multimedia projectors are available for check-out by faculty only. The

equipment must be returned the same day of circulation by 3:00pm.

Scheduling:
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The media center is open from 7:45am to 3:45am during all days of the week. Students

may come to the media center as part of a class; they may come individually with a pass signed

by their teacher. The media center operates on a flexible schedule, contributing to the

collaborative environment of the school and the district as a whole.

Teachers are encouraged to collaborate on lesson plans with the media specialist and are

encouraged to utilize media center resources. They will determine materials to be placed on

reserve. Once materials are placed on reserve, they are marked as such in the online catalog and

placed on a cart for the faculty member. To help accommodate the needs of teachers and their

classes, teachers are asked to sign up for class visits at least three days in advance.

Ethics and Legal Principles:

Although students and faculty are taught once each semester about copyright law and

Fair Use, the media center website does not provide any web resources. After doing some

research, I found some excellent resources for copyright law, Creative Commons, and Fair Use

from Miller Fine Arts Middle School (Macon, GA). The media specialist at Miller provided links

to YouTube videos from Common Sense Media as well as a quiz on copyright. There are also

quick reference guides for faculty and staff members that are handy if you need a quick reminder

about what is ethical and legal. I have provided the link at the end of this section.

Copyright Law Guides - Miller Middle School

Assessment:

Overall, I believe the media program at Cartersville Middle School aligns with the needs

of twenty-first century students. One major issue I have is with the media center website. There

is very little information given except for a brief statement about opening hours and circulation,

and a link to the Destiny catalog. This is true of all schools in the district. I decided to look at
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school media center websites from about 10 districts for a comparison, and I found that almost

all the websites provided far more information and resources than that of Cartersville City

Schools. By doing this, students and faculty both would be encouraged to view the website, and

not just the physical space, as a valuable resource.

One policy that aligned with my general philosophy for a school library media program is

that of having no overdue fees. I would consider implementing overdue fees for high school, but

not for middle or elementary school. The School Library Monthly article by Judi Moreillon

brought up the excellent idea of “rewarding positive behaviors rather than focusing on

undesirable ones” (Moreillon, 2013). Instead of highlighting students who have overdue

students, it could be more effective to reward students who return materials on time. I would

consider changing the policy on replacement costs for lost or damaged books. Depending on the

item, this can be quite expensive; this could be a hardship for a low-income family. I discovered

a potentially better policy from the Gwinnett County School District. Instead of charging the

market cost of the item, they charge a flat rate of $10.00 for a paperback book and $20.00 for a

hardback book. This policy would instead show the student and their family a predictable fee that

they may have to pay.

Section IV: School Library Media Center Facilities

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The media center at Cartersville Middle School offers a welcoming, attractive

environment that is conducive to learning. The space is well lit; lighting sources include large,

recessed lights, a large skylight in the center, and small ceiling-height windows in the back of the

room. The temperature is comfortable - neither excessively hot nor cold. There are additional

rooms within the media center. There is a large classroom that can seat 25 students. However,

the average class size is around 32 students, so this classroom is used mainly for faculty

meetings. There are two small rooms used for testing or student-teacher conferences. The media

clerk’s office is behind the spacious circulation desk and is a comfortably sized space with good

lighting. There is only one media specialist for all four schools in the district, so her office is at

the Board of Education near the high school. The final room is the school social worker’s office.

At the beginning of the 2021-2022 academic year, the media specialist purchased brand

new furniture for the media center. The furniture includes: four armchairs; thirteen moveable

tables with seating for 52 students; a large triangular couch; and a set of four curved, modular

bookcases. The only pieces of furniture that were not replaced are the dark brown bookshelves,

which are original to the school. The new furniture is a vast improvement over the previous

furniture. Before, the tables and chairs were of the typical heavy wooden style prevalent in older

school libraries; the media specialist told me that chairs would even break when students were

sitting in them. The new tables and chairs are lightweight and can be easily moved and arranged

depending on their use. These tables are excellent for collaborative work since they can be

grouped together depending on the number of students working together. The white bookcases

provide some visual interest as well as practicality. It is an excellent location for library displays,

and currently contains the biography section. The shelf unit consists of four smaller units that can
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be moved and rearranged. In the current configuration, the curved shelves help to divide the two

halves of the media center.

All nonfiction books are on the far side of the room from the entrance and are arranged

using the Dewey Decimal System. The fiction books take up the rest of the shelves. All schools

in the Cartersville City Schools district genrefied the fiction books three years ago. The genres

are color-coded using the same colors in each school for consistency. Due to the pandemic

shutdown in 2020, students have not had long to get to know the genre system. The 2021-2022

school year is the first full year students have been able to use the new system. There is also a

small collection of reference books located in a large classroom within the media center. While

these reference materials are in a separate room, students are allowed access but may not check

them out.

The media center is equipped with the necessary technology elements such as desktop

computers, laptops, printer, and a few Nook eBook readers. Currently, there are two large high-

top tables with eight desktop computers and one printer for student use. The media specialist

plans to make a printing station elsewhere in the media center; this will allow space for an

additional desktop computer. The media center owns ten Nooks for e-reading. The library used

to have many more e-readers, but students weren’t using them, even in the high school. The

media specialist told me that most of the students prefer a print book over an eBook. As an

example, students would rather wait three weeks (the checkout period) for the print copy of a

popular book than read the digital version. Because of this, the media specialist did not see the

need to continue purchasing e-readers. The Nooks are typically used as an emergency backup,

such as if a student needs a book for a class.

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Cartersville Middle School has many useful digital resources available to students on the

media center website. Students can access these databases at home via computer, phone, or

tablet. Some of these databases include GIL, Galileo, BrainPop, TumbleBooks, TeenBookCloud,

and the Destiny catalog. In the next academic year, TeenBookCloud will be replaced with Sora.

The major disadvantage of TeenBookCloud is that there is only a school account, and no

individual student account. If a student has been reading an eBook on a laptop and then tries to

read the same book on their home device, they must sign into the school account, look up the

book, and manually find the page where they left off. Sora will fix this issue by providing

student accounts, which will allow for syncing between devices.

The media center is accessible to a diverse student population. The space is fully ADA-

compliant, and there is ample space for anyone requiring a wheelchair or any other type of

mobility aid. Since the desktop computers are on high-top tables and do not have seating, laptops

are available for anyone that is of limited mobility. For the school’s ELL students, there are four

shelves of Spanish language books. Additionally, all eBooks and digital resources are

translatable and have an audio option. The audio option in eBooks is also a great resource for

students with learning disabilities (i.e., dyslexia) or physical disabilities (i.e., visual impairment).

Overall, Cartersville Middle School has an excellent example of a 21st-century school

media center. Compared to many other school districts in Georgia, the Cartersville City Schools

district is quite fortunate. The media specialist told me that she wouldn’t consider it a rich

district, but they are never in need. There are, of course, improvements that can be made. While

the physical space is inviting, the virtual space is lacking. Currently, the media center website

has a brief description of policies and links to the various databases available to students. Dian

Schaffhauser wrote in THE Journal about the idea of a “virtual learning commons,” or VLC, a
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concept promoted by educators David Loertscher and Carol Koechlin. Employing the ideas of

the VLC would transform the current media center website “from a one-way stream of stale

information into a lively and participatory digital space for students and teachers” (Schaffhauer,

2013). This could easily be done by creating a website using Google Pages or Weebly. Since

there is only one media specialist for four schools, this website could be set up and managed by

the media clerk or even by students in the CTAE (Career Technical & Aviation Academy)

program at Cartersville High School. By using this VLC model, this school and all schools in the

district can have “access to the resources they need for their work whether the librarian is

physically present or not” (Schaffhauser, 2013).

Section V: Budget Sources

Budget Sources

Cartersville Middle School (CMS) receives funding based on an FTE calculation.

Currently, the media center receives $17,600 from the State of Georgia. Since there are 984 full-

time students at the middle school, this comes to around $17.89 per student. While many school

media centers draw funds from Book Fair sales, all earnings go to the Parent Teacher

Cooperative (PTC). The PTC acts as the host and sponsor of the Scholastic Book Fair.

According to district policy, the media center at Cartersville Middle School is not permitted to

receive funds directly from this source. Another common source of income for a school media

center is fines from overdue, lost, and damaged books. While the CMS media center does not

charge overdue fines, there is a fine for damaged or lost books. This fine equals the market cost

of the item. All fines go directly to the media center. Other sources of income for the CMS media

center include grants and donations.

Budget Adequacy
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After reading the articles “Big Fish Small Budget” by Linda Jacobsen and “On the

Rebound” by Lauren Barack, I was able to determine that the media center budget at Cartersville

Middle School is above average. According to Jacobsen’s article, the average cost per student

was $11.57 in 2017-18 (Jacobsen, 2018, Table 2). The figure from Barack’s article was $10.05

(Barack, 2016, p. 45). I interviewed the media specialist at CMS and asked if she shared any of

the concerns addressed in either of these articles. She stated that while Cartersville City Schools

is not an excessively wealthy district, there are enough funds to keep the district, and therefore

the media center program, out of want. This is demonstrated by the fact that the media specialist

has never felt the need to have large fundraisers; the funding is generally readily available.

Budget Plan

When developing a media center budget, it is essential to remember that “the mission of

the school library media program [...] and the mission and goals of your school and district drive

budget development (Dickinson, 2004). It is also important to realize that the media specialist

acts as an advocate for the school and determines what is truly needed by the students and

teachers. As stated in “Advocating for the School Library Budget, “it is a budget requesting

student and staff learning resources managed through the school library program” (Kachel,

2017).

Many items I propose for the budget would help to bring the Cartersville Middle School

media center farther into the twenty-first century. Currently, the desktop computers cannot be

rearranged due to the placement of the wired internet connection. Relocating the computers

would free up space for additional furniture and improve flow in the media center. To achieve

this, I propose installing wireless connections using Wireless Access Points (WAPs). The second

twenty-first century update would be to purchase one smart board to be used by both teachers
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and students for class presentations and teaching. The media center does not currently have

interactive technology to give presentations or teach classes. Students and teachers would both

benefit from being able to more integrate technology in lessons. The third update would be to

purchase three mobile AC/USB charging towers. The school has a 1:1 Chromebook per student

system, and the media center does not have adequate power outlets for charging. Each device has

eight USB ports and eight AC outlets and can be easily moved.

The CMS media center has databases with access to a vast library of eBooks. However,

students in the Cartersville City Schools district greatly prefer print books when reading for

pleasure. The media specialist stated that students will wait three weeks for the print version of a

popular book (i.e., The Hunger Games) rather than check out the digital version. For this reason,

I propose purchasing second or third copies of the most checked out books. I expect most of the

materials will be from the fiction section, but nonfiction materials may be considered.

The final items I would propose for the media center is additional furniture. The media

center currently has one triangular shaped couch and four armchairs. The triangular couch is

somewhat awkward for a group of students to sit at due to its configuration. I would like to

purchase one three-person couch and two additional armchairs, and two ottoman stools. This will

provide ample space for group discussion, a book club meeting, or just relaxed reading.
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The budget will be divided based on the chart below:

Section VI: Planning for the Future: Goals, Objectives, Evaluation

Goal I: Develop and maintain the media center’s online presence

Rationale: “By creating pathfinders for specific units of study and posting them on the

library website, the school librarian can reach the entire school population” (American

Association of School Libraries, 2009).

“Virtual access allows students and teachers to take advantage of the school library’s resources

after hours and provides continual support for teaching and learning” (AASL, 2013).

In order for a media center program to remain relevant and essential, it needs to be seen actively

participating in the culture of the school. Students, teachers, and parents alike will view the

media center as an integral resource to the school as a whole.

Objective 1: Create a media center website that is accessible by students, teachers, and

parents.
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Evaluate: The media specialist will use Google Analytics (or similar, district-approved software)

to determine frequency of use at the end of every month. 

Objective 2: Create a repository for classroom teachers and their curricular resources.

Evaluate: Consult with each department during pre-planning or within the first two weeks of

school to determine what resources would be the most useful.

Objective 3: Set up a social media account for the media center using Instagram.

Evaluate: The media specialist will set up and oversee the account. The media clerk will help to

maintain the account and post updates at least once a week. The media specialist will use “likes,”

“follows,” and “views” to determine visibility of the account.

Goal II: Encourage students to use the media center creatively and collaboratively.

Rationale: “Allowing gaming, research on topics of personal interest, and a more liberal

definition of what constitutes ‘constructive activities,’ the library space may be the only place

that provides some students ‘psychological comfort.’” (Johnson, 2013).

Objective 1: Set up a “creative corner” with coloring pages, colored pencils, drawing

pads, and jigsaw puzzles.

Evaluation: The media specialist will survey students informally once a month to see if they

enjoy using the creative corner and to see whether they would like to add anything. The media

clerk will observe how frequently the space is being utilized and make changes as needed.

Objective 2: Start a book club for students.

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Evaluation: The media specialist will conduct informal surveys after every two meetings. The

media specialist will assess interest in the book club with a formal survey at the end of each

semester.

Goal III: Increase collaboration between the media specialist and teachers in order to

accomplish student learning objectives.

Rationale: “By modeling such collaborative relationships, the school librarian helps

change the culture of the learning community to reflect the kind of relationships that comprise a

21st-century work environment” (AASL, 2009). 

By teaching collaboratively, students are able to combine academic knowledge with 21st-century

research resources and techniques. 

Objective 1: At the beginning of the school year, the media specialist will provide

instruction to teachers on copyright and ethical practices. Teachers can use this lesson in their

classrooms; a video presentation of the copyright lesson will be made available on the media

center website for future access.

Evaluation: At the end of each school year, the media specialist will conduct a formal survey

about the perceived effectiveness of the lesson. 

Objective 2: The media specialist will teach a collaborative lesson with each teacher once

per school year.

Evaluation: The media specialist will follow up with the individual teacher on the

effectiveness of the lesson. The media specialist can retrieve testing data to determine what

changes or improvements need to be made for future lessons.

Goal IV: Develop the media center collection to ensure access for all learner types.
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Rationale: “Committed to inclusion and equity, effective school librarians use evidence to

determine what works, for whom and under what conditions for each learner [...]. This success

empowers learners to persist in inquiry, advanced study, enriching professional work, and

community participation through continuous improvement within and beyond the school

building and school day” (AASL, 2018).

Objective 1: Purchase materials in Spanish and any other language needed by students.

Evaluation: The media specialist will analyze circulation data of non-English language materials

at the end of each semester to determine what materials need to be purchased. The media

specialist will also analyze student data based on ELL status at the beginning of each school year

to determine needs based on population size and language.

Objective 2: Purchase high-Lexile materials for Gifted students.

Evaluation: At the beginning of the school year, the media specialist will retrieve and

analyze Lexile data for the school population to determine need.

References

American Association of School Librarians. Empowering Learners: Guidelines for

School Library Programs. (2009). AASL Publications.

American Association of School Librarians. (2018). AASL Framework for Learners.

https://standards.aasl.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/AASL-Standards-

Framework-for-Learners-pamphlet.pdf

Barack, L. (2016). On the Rebound. (2016, April). School Library Journal, 44-47.

Cartersville City Schools / Homepage. (n.d.). Retrieved January 30, 2022, from

https://www.cartersvillecityschools.org/
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Chambless, K. (2021, July 20). Miller copyright for educators. Padlet. Retrieved

February 26, 2022, from https://padlet.com/kendrachambless/copyright

Dickinson, G. (2004). Budgeting Easy as 1-2-3. (2004, March) Library Media

Connection, 14-17.

GADOE. (n.d.). 2019 College and Career Ready Performance Index CCRPI). GADOE

CCRPI Reporting System. Retrieved January 30, 2022, from

http://ccrpi.gadoe.org/Reports/Views/Shared/_Layout.html

Jacobsen, L. Big Fish Small Budget. (2018, March). School Library Journal, 26-30.

Johnson, D. (2013). The Indispensable Librarian: Surviving and Thriving in School

Libraries in the Information Age (2nd ed.). ABC-CLIO, LLC.

Kachel, D. Advocating for the School Library Budget. Teacher Librarian, 45(2), 48-50.

Learning Commons and Media Centers / Policies & Procedures. (n.d.). Retrieved

February 26, 2022, from https://www.atlantapublicschools.us/Page/12390

Media Center / Vision, mission and goals. Dawnville Elementary Media Center. (n.d.).

Retrieved February 11, 2022, from https://www.wcsga.net/Page/2278

Moreillon, J. (2013). Policy Challenge: Consequences that Restrict Borrowing. School

Library Monthly, 29(4), 23.

Policies & procedures. Board of Education – Columbia County Schools. (n.d.). Retrieved

February 26, 2022, from https://www.ccboe.net/apps/pages/index.jsp?

uREC_ID=1197232&type=d&pREC_ID=1438925

Schaffhauser, D. (2013). Will This Website Save Your Library (and Your Librarians?)?.

THE Journal, 40(11), 22-28.

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U.S. Census Bureau. (2020). QuickFacts - Cartersville city, Georgia. United States

Census Bureau. Retrieved January 30, 2022, from

https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/cartersvillecitygeorgia