Teaming with Opportunity: Media Programs, Community Constituencies, and Technology

A myriad of exciting opportunities for collaboration and networking await you! This guide shows you how to identify and optimize partnerships that benefit your library media center and help you build a true learning community. In addition to theoretical foundations of collaboration and learning, hands-on guidance is given for teaming up with school members, families, universities, libraries, community agencies, professional organizations, and businesses. A valuable professional reference for school librarians, administrators, teachers, and anyone seeking the skills and intellectual background to nurture a culture of lifelong learning and assume the lead in taking the library media center to the next level.

This text by Farmer (library media technology, California State U., Long Beach) provides a guide to developing library media centers into true learning communities through collaboration with other community resources, such as school members, families, universities, libraries, community agencies, professional organizations, and businesses. The author discusses the nature of partnerships, at both individual and group levels; the steps for developing and maintaining partnerships, particularly with groups; and ways in which technology can affect educational collaborative efforts. For school librarians, administrators, teachers, and others interested or involved in a collaborative role.

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KLIATT

Farmer, a professor of library media technology at California State University, Long Beach, makes a convincing case here that creating partnerships is essential for school media specialists, and she shows how to go about establishing successful collaborative relationships. She begins by describing the learning community and the importance of incorporating information literacy into teaching; she discusses technology as a means and as an end; she covers how to team up with school members, families, institutes of higher learning, libraries, community agencies, professional organizations, and business, among other topics. In each case she incorporates case studies and helpful examples of proposals and projects. Carefully organized for clarity, this up-to-date guide to forming valuable alliances will be helpful for school media specialists at all levels. KLIATT Codes: n/a 2001, Libraries Unltd, 206p. tables. bibliog. index., $32.50. Ages adult. Reviewer: Paula Rohrlick; KLIATT , November 2001 (Vol. 35, No. 6)

LESLEY S. J. FARMER is Coordinator of Library Media Teacher Services Credential Program and Professor of Library Media Technology at California State University, Long Beach. A frequent contributor to professional journals, she was selected by CSLA as the 1999 Technology School Librarian of the Year.