PHILOSOPHY

There is a staggering amount of information available to students and with each passing year it is increasing exponentially. With this increase, information literacy becomes more important to our students every year. For students to take full advantage of the information that is available to them, they must have the skills to find, evaluate, and use the information they need, otherwise the research task is overwhelming. With information literacy skills, students will possess the capability to transfer their information knowledge to real-life information needs situations. With this curriculum, students will master the use of information, whether that information is obtained from a library or on a home computer.

The intent of Clarkstown's library curriculum framework is to create consistency and momentum in the district's information literacy program. This intent is directing our plan to fully integrate information literacy curriculum into the subject curriculum district-wide. Research indicates that information literacy skills taught in a vacuum remain at the introductory skills level. To teach beyond this introductory level, we must integrate information skills into all curriculum areas and we must commit our information literacy programs to the goals and principles presented here.

GOALS

The goals of our program are reflected in Information Power pp.6-7 and are as follows

1)     To provide physical access to information through a complete and varied range on information resources;

2)     To have a carefully selected and systematically organized local collection of diverse learning resources that represent a wide range of subjects, levels of difficulty, and formats;

3)     To have a systematic procedure for acquiring information and materials from outside the library media center and the school through such mechanisms as electronic networks, interlibrary loan, and cooperative agreements with other information agencies; and instruction in using a range of equipment for accessing local and remote information in any format;

4)     To provide learning experiences that encourage students and others to become discriminating consumers and skilled creators of information through comprehensive instruction related to the full range of communications media and technology;

5)     To provide leadership, collaboration, and assistance to teachers and others in applying principles of instructional design to the use of instructional and information technology for learning;

6)     To provide resources and activities that contribute to lifelong learning while accommodating a wide range of differences in teaching and learning styles, methods, interests, and capacities;

7)     To provide a program that functions as the information center of the school, both through offering a locus for integrated and interdisciplinary learning activities within the school and through offering access to a full range of information for learning beyond this locus;

8)     To provide   resources and activities for learning   that represent a diversity of experiences, opinions, and social and cultural   perspectives and to   support the concept   that intellectual freedom and   access to information are prerequisite to effective and responsible citizenship in a democracy.               

LEARNING AND TEACHING PRINCIPLES OF SCHOOL LIBRARY MEDIA PROGRAMS
(From Information Power, p. 58)

Principle 1: The library media program is essential to learning and teaching and must be fully integrated into the curriculum to promote students' achievement of learning goals.

Principle 2: The information literacy standards for student learning are integral to the content and objectives of the school's curriculum.

Principle 3: The library media program models and promotes collaborative planning and development of curriculum between the school library media specialist and the classroom teacher.

Principle 4: The library media program models and promotes creative, effective, and collaborative teaching.

Principle 5: Access to the full range of information resources and services through the library media program is fundamental to learning.

Principle 6:The library media program encourages and engages students in reading, viewing, and listening for understanding and enjoyment.

Principle 7:The library media program supports the learning of all students and other members of the learning community who have diverse learning abilities, styles, and needs.

Principle 8:The library media program fosters individual and collaborative inquiry.

Principle 9: The library media program integrates the uses of technology for learning and teaching.

Principle 10: The library media program is an essential link to the larger learning community.