The Primary Program
Position Statements

Library Media Center

One of the important roles of educators is to nurture the natural curiosity of young learners and to promote a lifelong love of learning.

It is a fundamental expectation of the primary program that children have ongoing opportunities to be immersed in rich literature, non-fiction, and multimedia materials.

Children must learn how and where to access information from diverse sources, including reference books, computer databases, and a range of audio-visual materials. Therefore, a well-organized collection of learning resources, both fiction and non-fiction, print and non-print, is essential. Although the library media center is the heart of the school, it is also important that children have a range of quality materials available on a long-term basis in their classrooms. The media collection is always evolving and provides depth and quality in meeting the educational needs of staff and children.

As information and technology rapidly expand, the collaborative support of teacher-librarians is needed in other ways. A teacher-librarian has knowledge of students, curriculum, teaching strategies, and library management and makes the library resource center into more than a storehouse. In fact, the library media center resembles a work shop or learning center which students use continually to meet their learning needs.

Teacher-librarians, because of their special expertise and their experience as classroom teachers, share with their colleagues a common understanding of students and how they learn, and of teachers and how they teach. The responsibilities of teacher-librarians for curriculum development, consultation, and the selection of learning resources are carried out in partnership with the classroom teacher. With the widespread move toward cooperative planning and teaching, teacher-librarians are increasingly involved in program planning, curriculum implementation, instruction, and the evaluation and selection of books and resources.