Promote positive and creative uses of the Internet to families. Information Power defines four roles for the effective library media specialist. That the librarian is a teacher is well understood by those who have met their state s certification requirements, but not as well understood by other teachers and administrators. Although they do not preside over a self-contained classroom, librarians are an integral part of the students learning experience. They help students and teachers define their information needs, locate information in a variety of formats, analyze and evaluate the information, and apply it to construct personal meaning.
Effective librarians are instructional partners with the teachers in their school.
They collaborate with teachers to refine information-seeking assignments, encouraging the development of those that foster critical thinking. They identify the cross-curricular connections that are essential to interdisciplinary learning. They share their awareness of information, communication, and technology components of state and national standards to help teachers integrate them into their curriculum. Librarians are information specialists and information generalists. They may not know the answer to a specific question, but they know where and how to find it.