An Introduction to Library Media Center Flexible Scheduling
How does flexible scheduling improve on rigid scheduling?
Is flexible scheduling just another fad?
Questions,
Comments, Concerns?
The teacher and the librarian collaborate on purpose and content of library visits, lessons and projects. Classes are brought to the library accompanied by their teacher. Small groups or individuals may be sent to the library, rather than the entire class if the teacher and the librarian plan it that way. (Note: Stop into the library for a sample schedule of one week of flexible library or email me and I'll put one in your mailbox!)
It is a management procedure for providing services, equipment, materials and instruction in the use of the resources of the library media center for as many faculty and students as need them on any particular day. It serves to integrate the tools of learning with the content of the curriculum (North Carolina DPI A-15).
It involves, among many things, a change from teaching information skills in isolation to integrating skills throughout the curriculum, a change from library media specialists working alone to cooperatively planning with teachers (Buchanan 5).
Flexible access is much more than choosing a time or allowing students to use the media center at their leisure. Flexible access affects every aspect of the library media program. It is a program pulsing with activity, adapting as necessary to make materials, personnel, and facilities readily available to the school community. A successful flexible access library media program allows students of various grade levels to participate in a variety of activities simultaneously. Large groups may use the media center in one or more sessions for curriculum-related instruction which has been planned cooperatively with the classroom teacher. Simultaneously, a small group may be doing class research, and a constant stream of individuals may be using the library media center for personal needs. The flexible access program makes each day unique. The emphasis is not on the quantity of time or instruction but on the quality. The library media specialist has time to confer with teachers; work with individual students; select, order, catalog, and process materials in addition to providing instruction and working with resource-based teaching.
The
definition of this type of library media program underscores the meaning of each
term in the phrase: flexible and access.
The outcome or vision of such a place brings to mind concepts such a
busy, full, ever changing, needs fulfillment, hub, network, heart
(Buchanan 8).
How
does flexible scheduling improve on rigid scheduling?
It frees the librarian to deal with individuals, small groups, and entire classes according to their needs and instructional planning.
It frees the library to be used as needed.
It encourages a better use of resources at the time of instructional need.
It promotes the use of library media center as an integral part of the school’s instructional program.
It redefines the position of the librarian as an invaluable member of the instructional team who helps the teacher match requirements in content and skill development with available resources based on the individual needs of students.
It encourages students to seek information on their own, thus promoting attitudes for life-long learning.
(North Carolina DPI A-15)
Is
“flexible scheduling” just another fad?
No,
it has been used increasingly since the 1960’s by those educators who realize
the importance of alternative strategies and a variety of media to meet the
needs of individuals. It continues
to be recommended by the American Association of School Librarians (see ALA/AASL
Position Statement on Flexible Scheduling http://www.ala.org/aasl/positions/ps_flexible.html
) because it allows for new kinds of media services as the need arises
(North Carolina DPI A-15). In addition, the latest edition of Information
Power, the AASL’s publication that outlines and explains the national
standards for school libraries, states:
The library media program requires flexible and equitable access to information, ideas, and resources for learning. In a student-centered school library media program, learning needs take precedence over class schedules, school hours, student categorizations, and other logistical concerns. To meet learning needs, the program’s resources and services must be available so that information problems can be resolved when they arise. Predetermined timetables without other options . . . can stifle intellectual curiosity and authentic learning. Flexible schedules can also allow the school library media specialist more opportunities for collaborative planning with teachers. Flexible, equitable, and far-reaching access to the library media program is essential to the development of a vibrant, active learning community . . . (89)
According to Jan Buchanan, author of Flexible Access Library Media Programs,
In the midst of the present-day information explosion, a student having just one “turn” to use the library media resources on Tuesday at 10:00 a.m. is not enough. Students must have access to information at all times, be able to think critically, integrate ideas from several sources, and use all those ideas to solve often complex problems or questions (2).
Montauk
Public School should provide its students with a flexibly-scheduled, accessible
library media center. After all, we
are on a mission to create “successful learners; confident and motivated to
perform in a global society with excellence, dignity and pride.”
American
Association of School Librarians. Position
Statement on Flexible Scheduling. http://www.ala.org/aasl/positions/ps_flexible.html
October 17, 2000.
American
Association of School Librarians and Association for Educational Communications
and Technology. Information
Power: Building Partnerships for Learning.
Chicago: American Library Association, 1998.
Buchanan, Jan. Flexible Access Library Media Programs. Englewood, Co.: Libraries Unlimited, Inc., 1991.
North
Carolina Department of Public Instruction, Division of Media and Technology
Services. Learning Connections:
Guidelines for Media and Technology Programs.
Raleigh: North Carolina Department of Public Instruction, 1992.
Ame
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