Beth Bartlett

Media literacy is a natural fit for school library media programs. As a subset of information literacy, media literacy shares many of the same goals. Although it can be linked to the independent learning and social responsibility standards in the "Information Literacy Standards for Student Learning," it fits most specifically with Standard 2:

The student who is information literate evaluates information critically and competently...
Indicator 1. Determines accuracy, relevance, and comprehensiveness...
Indicator 2. Distinguishes among fact, point of view, and opinion...
Indicator 3. Identifies inaccurate and misleading information...
Indicator 4. Selects information appropriate to the problem or question at hand..."
(American Association of School Librarians [AASL], & Association for Educational Communications and Technology [AECT], pp. 14-15)

Media literacy is also mentioned explicitly in the "Learning and Teaching Principles of School Library Media Programs" as one of the goals for Principle 6:

The library media program encourages and engages students in reading, viewing, and listening for understanding and enjoyment...
3. Work collaboratively and individually to design, develop, and implement programs that develop skills in media literacy, including the critical analysis of film, television, and other mass media" (AASL & AECT, pp. 14-15)

Media literacy is interdisciplinary, with the potential for library media specialists to collaborate with teachers from many content areas. It also is crucial for lifelong learning. However, I found very little in the professional literature about specific media literacy activities as part of school library media programs.

My theory was (and still is) that library media specialists are involved in promoting and teaching media literacy but are not receiving credit for it. Therefore, for my applied project, I attempted to uncover how much Georgia library media specialists are involved in media literacy activities.

To what extent do library media specialists in Georgia teach and promote media literacy activities, as evidenced by their programs' Web sites?

This topic is worthy of research because, although state and national standards for students include media literacy skills, the literature has little explicit evidence of library media specialists teaching or promoting this subset of information literacy. School library media programs are a natural point of access to videos, DVDs, newspapers, advertisements, streaming videos, and other mass media. Media literacy is crucial for lifelong learning; outside school, students may choose not to learn through formal methods, but most will continue to learn through our media-rich culture. They need to learn how to evaluate this information critically.

The context for this project involves Georgia public schools where the library media specialist has posted information on the Internet about his or her school library media program. These media literacy activities could occur outside the library media center itself but would include learning opportunities conducted or supported by library media specialists.