Library Media Center
The library media program in the elementary school provides the foundation skills for students to become critical users of information, and readers for lifelong learning. Standards for the 21st-Century Learner published by the American Association of School Librarians provides the framework for instruction.
WHPS Library Media Services Program Vision
The library media center should be the learning hub of every school. Library media specialists are student-centered instructional collaborators, and literacy and technological leaders. The essential mission of school libraries is to inspire and prepare students to be independent knowledge seekers, critical thinkers, creative problem-solvers, and lifelong learners. We create spaces that are welcoming and inclusive. Because the pace of information growth and technology advances exponentially, we help students actively develop a flexible set of skills and mindset to adapt and contribute to the ever-changing nature of our world.
Toward these ends, our program seeks to:
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Support library media specialists who remain on the forefront of literacy and educational technology.
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Foster a lifelong passion for reading for pleasure as well as for information.
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Create planned and integrated opportunities for professional collaboration between the library media specialist and classroom teachers.
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Create opportunities and flexible spaces to foster student curiosity and creativity.
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Promote inquiry as the key to developing authentic knowledge and skills. This involves teaching students how to locate, evaluate, synthesize and communicate information.
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Teach the ethical use of information and technology.
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Nurture the habits of mind that allow students to take ownership of their learning and pursue their passions.
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Provide opportunities for students to honor, develop, and explore their identities through engagement with texts and resources that reflect themselves and others.