The Principal's Guide to a Powerful Library Media Program

With focused and well-organized topics from understanding the research and standards to supporting and sustaining them through collaborative processes, this revised edition (Linworth, 2005) offers a great deal of concrete information. The first chapter asks, "What is instructional leadership?" Literacy is addressed, and principals empowering their librarians as partners in a leadership role is advocated. This book gives administrators a clear idea of what is required in the media center and the role of the librarian as a specialist and not just a dispenser of information in a routine capacity. The next chapter addresses collaboration at multiple levels and the obstacles that arise in the process. The authors point out that principals foster greater support for media specialists when they understand the professional activities outside the walls of the library, the noninstructional duties required, and the need for 21st-century tools to get the job done. Principals' expectations and evaluation of media specialists are discussed in later chapters. Finally, the issue of continued involvement is addressed. While the book is written with school librarians and principals as the primary readers, it can be adapted for public librarians to create open communication between both entities. Overall, an excellent choice for the professional media specialist's or principal's shelf.—Donna Marie Wagner, George West High School Library, TX