Study Guide

Library Media Specialist
Sample Questions

Competency 0001
Apply knowledge of the role of the school library program in relation to the school's overall educational program and the relationship of the school library program to information resources and services beyond the school.

1. The most important role of the school library program in supporting the school curriculum is to:

provide opportunities for students to access, use, and evaluate information in all subject areas.
keep teachers informed of students' proficiency levels regarding information literacy skills.
oversee students' work in the school library to allow teachers more time for instructional planning.
create displays that encourage students' independent exploration of various instructional topics.

Enter to expand or collapse answer.Answer expanded: Correct Response: A. The primary goal of the school is to promote student learning. A school library program that works with teachers to interweave information literacy skills into subject-area instruction helps students develop cognitive strategies for locating, analyzing, creating, and communicating information and apply these strategies in relevant educational contexts. This integrated approach provides students with tools to support their achievement of subject-area learning goals.

Competency 0002
Apply knowledge of the roles and responsibilities of the library media specialist, including strategies and resources for ongoing professional development.

2. The most effective way for a library media specialist to gain current, research-based knowledge about resources and strategies that are effective in promoting students' information literacy skills is to:

visit vendor Web sites to learn about new products and technologies for libraries.
subscribe to and regularly read journals for library professionals.
form a mentoring relationship with an experienced library media specialist.
attend district-level meetings for library media specialists.

Enter to expand or collapse answer.Answer expanded: Correct Response: B. To develop and maintain expertise in the diverse and ever-changing field of information literacy, the library media specialist must engage in constant learning. This requires reading the current literature of the field. Journals that are written specifically for library professionals contain information such as summaries of research studies, articles written by librarians, strategies for integrating theory and practice, and reviews and descriptions of new resources and technologies.

Competency 0003
Apply knowledge of skills and strategies for communicating and collaborating with various school stakeholder groups to promote information literacy.

3. Which of the following steps should a library media specialist take first when conducting a reference interview with a student?

explaining to the student the locations and purposes of various information resources
evaluating the student's proficiency in using different types and formats of information resources
asking questions to determine the nature and quantity of information the student requires
formulating a research question to guide the student's information search

Enter to expand or collapse answer.Answer expanded: Correct Response: C. One of the primary roles of the library media specialist is to assist students in the use of the library and its collection. One strategy for fulfilling this role is the reference interview. The reference interview is a conversation between the library media specialist and a student for the purpose of clarifying a student's information needs. Asking questions to clearly define the nature, quantity, level, and format of information needed is essential in guiding the student to the resources in the collection that will be most helpful and relevant.

Competency 0004
Apply knowledge of child and adolescent development; principles and practices of curriculum development, instructional planning, delivery, and assessment; and strategies for providing information resources and services that are responsive to the needs of diverse students.

4. Which of the following strategies is most appropriate and effective for an elementary school library media specialist to use to support kindergarten students' emergent reading skills?

providing students with instruction on techniques for identifying easy readers in the library collection
gathering a special collection of picture books for students to browse when they come to the library
having each student color a page of pictures associated with one letter of the alphabet and compiling the pictures into a book for the class
reading aloud to students from Big Books that include alliterative or rhyming texts and pointing to each word as it is spoken

Enter to expand or collapse answer.Answer expanded: Correct Response: D. Emergent readers are just beginning to understand print and its relationship to our sound system and the words we speak. By using Big Books, the library media specialist can engage a group of students in shared "reading" to help reinforce this understanding. Word patterns, rhymes, and alliteration provide language regularities that make text easier for emergent readers to decode.

Competency 0005
Apply knowledge of strategies for creating an inclusive, student-centered learning environment in the school library that facilitates intellectual and physical access to information, literature, and ideas and promotes inquiry and lifelong learning.

5. Which of the following strategies would be most effective for creating a student-friendly environment in the school library?

showcasing student work and achievements in the library throughout the school year
giving certificates or other rewards to students who make frequent use of the library
creating a library assistant program that allows students to volunteer to work in the library
providing a suggestion box to invite students to make comments about the library

Enter to expand or collapse answer.Answer expanded: Correct Response: A. When students see their own work displayed in the library, they are more likely to feel a sense of community and belonging in the library. Displaying students' work also conveys to students that they are a priority in the library.

Competency 0006
Apply knowledge of characteristics and uses of various information and technology resources, the types and characteristics of literature and informational texts for children and adolescents, and strategies and skills for promoting literacy.

6. A general almanac would be the most helpful information source for answering which of the following questions?

What is the origin of the word curfew?
What is the population of the Czech Republic?
What literary awards has J. K. Rowling won?
Where is the country of Oman located on a map?

Enter to expand or collapse answer.Answer expanded: Correct Response: B. A general almanac is an annual publication that provides useful data and statistics related to topics such as governments, demographics, geography, and economics. The data and statistics in a general almanac are most often presented in the form of charts and tables.

Competency 0007
Apply knowledge of the full range of information, media, and digital literacy skills and methods and materials for promoting the development and application of these skills.

7. As a middle school class begins work on an independent research project, the library media specialist has students list what they already know about their topics and what they want to learn about their topics. This activity is likely to be particularly effective in helping students:

learn how to organize information about their topics logically.
identify the types of resources they should consult.
develop a focus for the information-gathering process.
consider their topics from multiple perspectives.

Enter to expand or collapse answer.Answer expanded: Correct Response: C. A central concept of national information literacy standards for students is efficient and effective use of information. Students will be able to gather relevant and useful information for a particular need most effectively if they develop one or more guiding questions based on what they want to know about the topic. The approach described teaches students a process for forming such questions that is applicable to all content areas as well as personal inquiry.

Competency 0008
Apply knowledge of the principles of collection development and procedures for developing, managing, and organizing the school library collection.

8. When selecting new fiction titles to add to the library collection, the key advantage of using professional selection tools is that they:

are helpful in locating materials that can be purchased at a discount.
flag materials that contain potentially controversial content.
recommend materials according to a uniform set of criteria.
provide authoritative information about and reviews of available materials.

Enter to expand or collapse answer.Answer expanded: Correct Response: D. Many new materials and resources become available every year. Professional selection tools are available in both print and online formats and contain annotations, reviews, and commentary useful in evaluating materials for the school library collection. Professionals in the school library field provide much of this information. Use of such tools helps the library media specialist locate reliable information about new materials in a quick and efficient manner.

Competency 0009
Demonstrate understanding of the principles, policies, and procedures for managing human, financial, and physical resources of the school library program.

9. Which of the following steps should a library media specialist take first when planning a budget for the library?

determining how much money is available for the current fiscal year
considering possible sources of funding for enhancing the budget
reviewing purchase orders from the previous school year
making appointments with several vendors to preview materials

Enter to expand or collapse answer.Answer expanded: Correct Response: A. Allocating funds to different components of the library program can be a challenging task. To manage the library program in a cost-effective manner, the library media specialist must first be aware of how much money he or she has to spend. In this way, the library media specialist can plan strategies, such as grant proposals or fund-raising activities, for meeting specific needs (e.g., new reference materials, periodical subscriptions) that may exceed the regular budget allowance.

Competency 0010
Apply knowledge of techniques and procedures for comprehensive and collaborative planning, assessment, and evaluation of the school library program.

10. Use the questionnaire below to answer the question that follows.

A high school library media specialist asks students and staff to complete the questionnaire shown at the end of each school year. The primary benefit of this practice is most likely that it:

assists the library media specialist in identifying materials to weed from the library collection.
provides the library media specialist with insight into users' information and recreation needs.
enhances the library media specialist's ability to conduct an objective evaluation of the library program.
helps the library media specialist decide which materials to highlight through displays or booktalks.

Enter to expand or collapse answer.Answer expanded: Correct Response: B. Collaboration with members of the school community is an essential step in providing a library collection that is responsive to the information and recreation needs of library users. This collaboration can be achieved through a variety of methods, including various types of questionnaires. The questionnaire shown has open-ended responses, allowing students and staff to be as specific as they wish and providing the library media specialist with helpful data for determining whether current resources and services are what the school community most needs.

Study Guide

Library Media Specialist Sample Questions

Competency 0001Apply knowledge of the role of the school library program in relation to the school's overall educational program and the relationship of the school library program to information resources and services beyond the school.

Competency 0002Apply knowledge of the roles and responsibilities of the library media specialist, including strategies and resources for ongoing professional development.

Competency 0003Apply knowledge of skills and strategies for communicating and collaborating with various school stakeholder groups to promote information literacy.

Competency 0004Apply knowledge of child and adolescent development; principles and practices of curriculum development, instructional planning, delivery, and assessment; and strategies for providing information resources and services that are responsive to the needs of diverse students.

Competency 0005Apply knowledge of strategies for creating an inclusive, student-centered learning environment in the school library that facilitates intellectual and physical access to information, literature, and ideas and promotes inquiry and lifelong learning.

Competency 0006Apply knowledge of characteristics and uses of various information and technology resources, the types and characteristics of literature and informational texts for children and adolescents, and strategies and skills for promoting literacy.

Competency 0007Apply knowledge of the full range of information, media, and digital literacy skills and methods and materials for promoting the development and application of these skills.

Competency 0008Apply knowledge of the principles of collection development and procedures for developing, managing, and organizing the school library collection.

Competency 0009Demonstrate understanding of the principles, policies, and procedures for managing human, financial, and physical resources of the school library program.

Competency 0010Apply knowledge of techniques and procedures for comprehensive and collaborative planning, assessment, and evaluation of the school library program.