Career Report: School Media Specialist
MLIS 7000, Fall 2009
Rachel Briggs, Kim James, and Amy Littlefield
The position of the school media specialist is normally found in the public school sector.
Although most commonly found in public schools, private schools are starting to
recognize the importance of libraries in their schools as well. According to the 2003-04
School and Staffing Survey (SASS), 94% of the 88,113 public schools had school
libraries, and there were 50,553 total paid full-time state-certified library media center
specialists at that time, 54.1 percent of which had a master’s in a library-related education
field (NCES, 2003-04 SASS). Legislature mandates in some states that schools must have
a certified library media specialist on staff, while other states rely on state school
accreditation standards to assure certified library staff are in schools. There are 5 regional
agencies across the United States that govern staffing and define the role of school library
media centers: the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools and Council on
Accreditation and School Improvement (SACS CASI), the New England Association of
Schools & Colleges (NEASC), the Northwest Association of Accredited Schools
(NAAS), the Middle States Association of Schools and Colleges (MSA), and the Western
Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC) (Razza 2008, 56-58.). “Accreditation
standards affect not only who runs the library media center, but can also affect the size of
the library media collection, the number or existence of library support staff to assure a
quality program, and the administrators' perception of the importance of the library media
program” (Razza 2008, 56-58.).
Media specialists typically have a broad undergraduate education with a master’s from an
accredited program of study that includes preparation in library and information science,
education, communication, media, and technology training (AASL, Position Statement
on Preparation of School Library Media Specialists). Media specialists must meet state
teacher certification requirements as well as librarian certification requirements, and they
must obtain recommendation from their program institution for such certification. As a
result of the strict certification requirements, most school media specialists are older in
years and working in school libraries as a second career. The fact is, not many young
people choose school librarianship as a first career. According to the American Library
Association (ALA), “only 6.7 percent of the nation's 120,800 librarians are under 30 and
just 13 percent are under 35” (Whelan, 2003, 52-55). Most media specialists are in their
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mid to upper 40’s and are typically white females (Nutt 2005, 24-26). Many started out as
teachers, and after several years teaching began looking for work outside the school
classroom and found their way into school media centers. Others experienced burn-out in
their jobs and with a love of books looked to libraries as an alternate career. As a result of
the profession’s aging population, it is projected that 58 percent of professional librarians,
66,470 of whom are certified library media specialists, will reach retirement age by 2019
(Whelan, 2003, 52-55).
The responsibilities of school media specialists have changed over the years. It has been
suggested that school librarians need to “reshape the perceptions of others,” like other
educators, school board members, and legislators, otherwise “their status, priority
funding, and support will continue to elude them" (Whelan 2003, 52-55). The days of
passive school librarians are gone. The focus has switched from simply reading books
with children in their classrooms to becoming a vital part in the education of both
students and teachers. Today's media specialists are active master-level teachers who
want to take a leadership role in education. The message needs to get out that school
librarians aren't staid old ladies who sit at desks and stamp due dates in books.” (Whelan
2003, 52-55). Today’s media specialists are information professionals.
The school media specialist must juggle many roles: librarian, teacher, instructional
partner, program administrator, cyber-space/technology expert, as well as information
specialist. The media specialist must also be the intermediary between the resources that
are located not only in the school’s library but also those that can be used from outside
sources. Media specialists gather, organize, and deliver or communicate information to
the students and teachers they serve (SLA, About Information Professionals). Media
specialists must anticipate the needs of the students as readers and as researchers, and
they must collaborate with teachers to provide access to the information needed to
educate students while meeting curriculum guidelines. They have the ability to find
information and know what information is important for students and teachers. They help
kids define what their information needs are, show them how to use and evaluate that
information, and then help them to organize it in a way that creates new knowledge
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(Whelan 2003, 52-55). As information professionals, media specialists must embrace
new technology and teach students and teachers to use that technology as well (Black
2004, 3-6). The media specialist has to develop relationships with teachers,
administrators, and parents to ensure that the students have access to everything possible
for them to succeed.
The media specialist job incorporates many of the tasks that children’s and young adult
librarians deal with in the public sector. The school librarian is responsible for developing
the collection, performing story times, and creating programs. Although both public and
school librarians are responsible for collection development, the school librarian must not
only order the books most popular among students, but they must collaborate with
teachers to ensure the educational needs of the students are met as well. An example of
this kind of collaboration would be a media specialist and a science teacher working
together to help students complete their science fair projects. The media specialist could
design a program that helps the children find specific books and articles that coincide
with their individual projects. Although media specialists have many other
responsibilities, they cannot forget that their first responsibility is “promoting reading,
viewing, and listening by children and young adults.” (AAS L Learning about the Job).
According to the American Association of School Librarians, school library media
specialists are typically on the same salary schedule as teachers who hold the same level
of certification (AASL). In 2008, the national average salary for librarians in elementary
and secondary schools was $45,116 (Maatta 2009). In the state of Georgia, an entry-level
school media specialist position would have a salary of $33,424 plus any supplement
provided by the local school system (Houston County Board of Education). After the
third year of credible service, there is an increase in salary with each year of experience
and if higher levels of certification are obtained.
As employees of the school system, the media specialist is eligible to receive the same
competitive benefits package as teachers. In the State of Georgia, these packages include
medical insurance, dental insurance, vision insurance, life insurance, short term and long
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term disability, paid holiday time, paid vacation time, direct deposit, and retirement
(Georgia Department of Education).
Although limited, there are possibilities for career advancement. A school media
specialist may be promoted to the district level as an administrator in the position of
Media Director or Media Supervisor. The Media Director supervises library media
professionals and media support personnel and is responsible for providing leadership in
the development, implementation, and evaluation of the media program (IredellStatesville Schools). The Media Director also assists in the development of policies
concerning the use of media and aids school superintendents in making presentations of
these policies to the school board. The school media specialist who is promoted to an
administrative position may act as the head of media for a single school district, several
districts, or for all districts in a position with a state department of education.
Since advancement opportunities are limited within school systems school media
specialists may seek employment outside of the elementary or secondary school setting.
Those SMS who go on to earn doctorate degrees may become college professors for
Library Science programs and train future media specialists. Those who hold an M.L.I.S.
degree in addition to SMS certification may become employed in a public library system
as a Children’s Librarian.
Sources for school media specialist employment listings are numerous and the Internet is
a valuable resource. School Media Specialist employment opportunities can be found on
school district websites, state department of education websites, and websites like
LibraryJobPostings.org.
The following is a list of websites that could prove helpful for job seekers in Georgia:
School Media Specialist
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
Libraryjobpostings.org http://www.libraryjobpostings.org/libmedia.htm

Georgia Department of Education
http://www.doe.k12.ga.us/pea_hr_jobsearch.aspx
Children’s Librarian
 Georgia Public Library Services “Jobs in Libraries”
http://www.georgialibraries.org/jobs/
Bibliography
American Association of School Librarians. “Learning about the Job,” American
Association of School Librarians, http://www.ala.org/ala/mgrps/divs/aasl/
aasleducation/ recruitmentlib/learningabout/learningabout.cfm. (accessed
November 1, 2009).
American Association of School Librarians (AASL), division of ALA. Position
Statement on Preparation for School Library Media Specialists.
http://www.ala.org/la/mgrps/divs/aasl/aaslissues/positionstatements/slmspreparati
on.cfm (accessed November 1, 2009)
Black, Alistair. 2004. Information history and the information professional. Library
Histroy 20, no.1 (March): 3-6
Georgia Department of Education. “Employee Benefits,” Georgia Department of
Education, http://www.doe.k12.ga.us/pea_hr.aspx?PageReq=PEAHRBenefits
(accessed November 17, 2009).
Houston County Board of Education. “Certificated State Salary Schedule,” Houston
County Board of Education, http://www.hcbe.net/employment.aspx (accessed
November 17, 2009).
Iredell-Statesville Schools, “Job Description: Media Director/Supervisor,” IredellStatesville Schools http://www.iss.k12.nc.us/tech/mediadir.htm (accessed
November 20, 2009).
Maatta, Stephanie. “Placement and Salaries Survey 2009: The Issues that Matter.”
Library Journal, (2009), http://www.libraryjournal.com/article/CA6700596.html
(accessed November 17, 2009).
National Center for Education Statistics (NCES). Table 43: Of schools with
library media centers, characteristics of library media center staff, by school type
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and selected school characteristics: 2003-04. http://nces.ed.gov/
surveys/sass/tables/ sass_2004_43.asp (accessed November 1, 2009)
Nutt, Pam. 2005. TRENDS in the LMC: what school librarians can expect…and aim for.
MultiMedia & Internet @ Schools 12, no. 1 (January/February): 24-26.
Razza, Betsy L. 2008. The five regional accreditation associations and their standards for
library media centers. School Library Media Activities Monthly 24, no.8 (April):
56-58
Special Libraries Association (SLA), division of ALA. About Information
Professionals. http://www.sla.org/content/SLA/professional/index.cfm (accessed
November 12, 2009)
Whelan, Debra Lau. 2003. The only young school librarian? School Library Journal 49,
no. 5 (May): 52-55.
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