Operating and Evaluating School Library Media Programs: A Handbook for Administrators and Librarians

Describes the various aspects of the library media program from the basic philosophy of service to minute clerical functions. The processes of evaluation of program administration, collection management, instructional elements, and technology are covered in detail. In addition, a number of appendices provide sample documents such as evaluation forms, job description and function manuals, and student evaluation questionnaires. Annotation c. by Book News, Inc., Portland, Or.

Yesner and Jay attempt to clarify for school administrators everything a school librarian should be doing in an exemplary school library media program. They cover staffing, programming, collection management, instructional strategies, and technology use. General themes are further divided into specific functions ranging from overdue notices to volunteer management to displays and exhibits. For each topic, they provide a brief philosophy of current practices followed by checklists of positive, negative, and missing elements and possible solutions. Generous appendixes include sample evaluation forms (from Montgomery County, MD), job descriptions, a technology acceptable-use policy (from Bellingham, WA), and several ALA and AASL documents. Although the number of school administrators willing to read and put into practice these suggestions is probably smaller than the authors had hoped, this will certainly be welcomed as a self-evaluation tool by practicing school librarians. Kay Weisman