reflection4

=Reflections on Program Administration=


 * Course(s):**

Administration of School Library Media Programs


 * Semester(s):**

Fall 2008

ALA/AASL Competencies: 4.0 Program Administration 4.1 Managing information resources: selecting, organizing, using 4.2 Managing program resources: human, financial, physical 4.3 Comprehensive and collaborative strategic planning and assessment
 * Competencies addressed:**

Oklahoma Competencies: 4.0 Communicates effectively with students, faculty, staff, and administrators, parents, other colleagues, and the general public. 5.0 Applies basic principles of evaluating and selecting resources and equipment to support the education goals of the school. 8.0 Implements policies and procedures for effective and efficient acquisition, cataloging, processing, circulating, and maintaining equipment and resources to ensure access. 9.0 Develops, implements, and evaluates school library media programs, including management of personnel, resources, and facilities.

OSU L.E.A.D.S

4.0 Diversity 5.0 Service Orientation/ Community Outreach

The public relations assignment consisted of creating a website and flyer. I used our school’s book club website. For the flyer, I created a Twilight movie night flyer to draw in members of the community, but more importantly members of the school, to be apart of our book club meetings. The demographics assignment consisted of me evaluating the students and community in and around the Cleveland area. This assignment really opened my eyes to the members of our community and what levels of SES our school was servicing. Finally the budget and facilities assignment taught me vital administration skills. In these assignments I had to assess the current budget and floor plan of Cleveland Middle School and make suggestions and adjustments. This skill will be very important in the future when I become the library media specialist of my own library.
 * Summary of activities completed:**

The book club website artifact fits under competencies 4.0 for ALA/AASL, 4.0 for Oklahoma competencies, and 5.0 for OSU L.E.A.D.S, all of which focus on being a program administrator and reaching out to the community. As the program administrator for a library media program, it is my job as a library media specialist to maintain a website that can effectively communicate with students, faculty, staff, and administrators, parents, other colleagues, and the general public. Creating the book club website for this assignment taught me how to create and maintain a website for future use as a school library media specialist. The demographic artifact fits under competencies 4.2 for ALA/AASL and 5.0 and 9.0 for Oklahoma competencies because through the demographics assignment I had to look at the community for which my library was serving, and adjust the needs for the library media center around that community. The budget and facilities artifacts fit under competencies 4.0, 4.2, and 4.3 for ALA/AASL and 5.0 and 9.0 for Oklahoma competencies because through the budget and facilities assignments I had to look at the needs of my library media program versus the availability of resources and finances and work accordingly with what I need and had at my disposal. The budget assignment taught me how to work within given parameters to best serve my student and faculty, while the facilities assignment helped me to assess my current library’s floor plan, and as the program administrator, develop refurbishing ideas to create a better, stronger library media program. The public relations flyer fits under competencies 4.0 for Oklahoma competencies because the flyer is a tool that is used to effectively communicate with faculty, staff, and administrators, parents, other colleagues, and the general public.
 * Explanation of how artifact relates to competencies:**

Taking this class has helped me as a professional educator because it has taught me necessary administration tools that I need to be a successful library media specialist and school leader. The website and public relations assignments have taught me vital communications skills. The demographics assignment was particularly enlightening because it clearly illustrated to me members of my community that my library media program was servicing, and I can use this knowledge to create a stronger program. Taken together as a whole, these assignments were used to create an action research program that I can literally take with me outside the classroom and actually implement the ideas into my school and library media program, creating a stronger learning environment for students, faculty, and community.
 * Explanation of how this experience helped you as a professional educator:**

My book club website needs some work. If I were to do this assignment again I would probably have more graphics and less text. Another artifact that I would work on is my budget assignment. Creating in Microsoft Excel, I simply used the chart for plug numbers in. I did not use Excel’s formula programs, and that I one thing I would change for that artifact. Finally, if I were to redo the facilities assignment, I would probably interview the current library media specialist and students at our school to get their vital input before deciding what refurbishing ideas I would most want to implement in our library.
 * Explanation of what you would change if you were to create/use this artifact again?**