Information Services for Secondary Schools

This comprehensive, practical, and up-to-date guide will help the preservice and in-service library media specialist to develop an information services program to meet the changing curricular needs of high schools and to integrate information access and usage skills into the total school curriculum. Dana McDougald, head library media specialist of the Cedar Shoals High School Learning Resources Center, which received the 1993/94 Margaret Alexander Edwards Award from the ALA for its outstanding information services program, and Melvin Bowie, a specialist in training preservice media specialists, share their expertise and years of practical experience in this guide. It brings together information sources that are commonly used in secondary schools, including electronic resources, and proposes an effective model for services that should be provided by the media specialist. In addition, the authors offer guidelines for the development of a basic reference collection that is stable enough, and eclectic enough, to support the high school curriculum.

Chapter one provides practical suggestions for planning with teachers to ensure that students are given many opportunities to learn how to access and use information as an integral part of their coursework and in their personal and career development. Chapter two presents guidelines for selection of an effective print reference collection, recommends essential reference sources for a comprehensive high school, and discusses selection policies for instructional materials. Chapter three discusses selection of a library automation system to meet staff and student needs and the systems available from specific vendors. Chapter four discusses the use of CD-ROM technology, online services, and the Internet, and offers guidelines for selecting valuable electronic resources and services for the media center. Chapter five offers models and project ideas for integrating information skills into the curriculum and short lessons on the Internet. The final chapter offers models for developing an effective information services program and for evaluating the information service provided.