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Michele Tota
SLM 501
Module #3 Evaluation
Margaret Gaudino
11/22/14
Evaluation
I conducted my evaluation and assessment of an elementary
school library in Dorchester County. Mrs. L is the library media
specialist at this elementary school and has been for the last six years.
Previously, she was an English teacher at the middle school in this
same county for over ten years. While the county uses only the
Maryland State Library Standards as their evaluation document, Mrs. L
does use The Empowering Learners rubric to help with her own
professional development.

A Planning Guide for Empowering Learners with School Library

Assessment Rubric
This assessment tool allows for the evaluator and the library
media specialist to focus on objectives and goals that can turn an
effective librarian to a highly effective librarian. With this assessment,
the components are divided into three categories that fit each of the
objectives. For example, Empowering Learning through Leadership,
each component is leveled by a descriptive definition of effectiveness.
With the rubric subdivided this way allows for the library media
specialist and the evaluator to truly assess the effectiveness of the
librarian. Each category has its own definition which is written in such

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a way that makes it easy to understand. In particular, Empowering

Learning through Leadership states, The School Library program is
built by professionals who model leadership and best practice for the
school community (A Planning Guide 65).

Although this assessment tool seems a bit daunting, the rubric

allows for the librarian to assess each area explicitly and allows for true
reflection of his/her practices.
L4L Sample School Librarian Performance and Evaluation
System
The librarian and I reviewed this document together and
determined each of the areas where she flourishes and where there
could be improvements made to make her a more effective librarian.
Each of the domains of this system follow the Danilesons Four
Domains which are Planning and Preparation, Classroom Environment,
Instruction, and Professional Responsibilities, and also follows the
countys new evaluation system for classroom teachers.
Domain 1: Planning and Preparation
Mrs. L is knowledgeable of all curriculums within the school and
technology and digital literacy. She is distinguished in this area, as
well as with demonstrating the knowledge of her students needs and
interests. Her knowledge of her students needs and interests also
helps with the technology and materials she provides for them. One of

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the areas we both agreed needed improvement was the collaboration

with teachers, but as she pointed out with a fixed schedule this task is
more than a notion. While the county has recognized that this
collaboration needs to take place, there is not time worked into the
regular school day schedule to accommodate any collaboration.

Domain 2: The Library Environment

Mrs. L has a wonderful and expressive personality that has
allowed her to make lasting relationships with her colleagues and
genuine rapport with her students. The physical space of the library is
very welcoming and inviting, but has very limited access to technology
for classes/students who need to use the computer lab. The computer
lab is separate from this space, and makes it impossible for Mrs. L to
have a class check out books or complete an activity in the library
while using the computers. Her procedures and rules are clearly stated
at different stations around the library and in the computer lab as well.
Because of her good rapport with students, her classroom
management is a non-issue.
Domain 3: Instruction
Both Mrs. L and I felt that this domain was one of her strengths.
She clearly communicates directions and procedures in a variety of
mediums for her students. Her focus, especially at the elementary

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level, is to teach the students how to create open-ended questions in

order to introduce the elementary students to research. She uses
various high interest books to engage students as well as contests to
keep students coming back to the library.
Domain 4: Professional Responsibilities
Using her own reflection journal, Mrs. L reflects on her services,
resources, instructional strategies, and facilities and tries to
communicate her needs and changes that will make her library more
effective. One of the areas we felt that could be improved upon was
her website, which as not been updated in quite some time. She also
shared that because of budget cuts and trying to keep her collection
up to date, she has not been able to participate in outside professional
development opportunities. But she does try to make the most out of
the resources she has available within the county by meeting with
other librarians. Budget has always been an issue even though she
keeps excellent records and provides evidence to her administration
for additions to her collection; the money she receives is very minimal
and must rely on fundraisers and book fairs to update her collection.

Aspect 1: Developing Visions for Learning: Mission

Subcategory
Statement

Descriptor Choice
Comprehensive

Alignment

Integral

Reason for Descriptor Choice

Ms. L. showed me where I could find the librarys mission

statement which was located on the schools website as well
as on a placard visible at the entrance of the library. The

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Publication

Publicly recognized

mission statement aligns with the countys mission

statement, but also includes her own additions and thoughts.
The mission of the ____________Elementary School
Media Program is to create lifelong learners and readers by
providing an atmosphere conducive to learning, building a
collection reflecting curricular needs and interests of the
school population, and collaborating with instructional staff
to promote independent use of ideas and information.

Aspect 2: Teaching for Learning: Collaboration

Subcategory
Team Roles

Descriptor Choice
Unassigned

Participation

Informal

Reason for Descriptor Choice

Because of a fixed schedule, the librarian shared with me

that there was no time worked into the school day where
teachers can plan with her or vice versa. She provides
planning time for teachers, which leaves her no time to
formally plan with her. She did state that she does design
her lesson plans around the teachers pacing guides to align
her curriculum, but no actually collaborative planning takes
place. The county and administration still view her as a
relief teacher even though collaboration is something that
is mentioned in county documents.

Aspect 2: Teaching for Learning: Reading

Subcategory
Instruction

Descriptor Choice
Articulated

Reason for Descriptor Choice

While collaboration is off the table because of the schedule,

Ms. L does follow the reading objectives for 3-5 and
Promotion
Initiating,
follows the pacing guides for K-2. Research is the biggest
Continuous, Intrinsic,
objective for fourth and fifth graders. She is held
and Into the School
accountable for in Performance Matters (a countywide
Community
database used for collecting testing data of all students) and
the students through their Social Studies Benchmarks, but
again no time for full collaboration with teachers.
Ms. L does provide students with multiple opportunities to
practice reading at school and in home, throughout the year
she hold various reading promotion activities. Just recently,
students participated in pumpkin decorating contest where
they had to decorate their pumpkin as their favorite
storybook character. All pumpkins which placed received
gift certificates to the Scholastic Book Fair held the same
week.
Aspect 2: Teaching for Learning: Multiple Literacies
Subcategory
Learning
Process
Legal, Ethical,
and Social
Responsibilities

Reason for Descriptor Choice

Comprehensive
Articulated

Ms. L shared with me that there are different learning and

reading levels with all grades, but she has limited resources
to provide the students because of budgetary issues. Her
most helpful tools are the World Book Kids and Students
databases and Enchanted Learning database. These

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databases can be used to accommodate those students who

may not be quite on grade level yet. Since she doesnt have
the collaborative time to plan with teachers, she feels that
she also doesnt have the time to go to their rooms and give
individualized instruction on new Web 2.0 Tools. And not
all of their technology is always reliable.
Aspect 2: Teaching for Learning: Inquiry
Subcategory
Educational
standards
Differentiation

Descriptor Choice
Ongoing

Reason for Descriptor Choice

Subcategory
Formative
Assessments
Summative
Assessments

Descriptor Choice
Integrated

Reason for Descriptor Choice

Subcategory
Planning
Process
Strategic Plan

Descriptor Choice
In-Progress

Reason for Descriptor Choice

Subcategory
Quantity
Position
Descriptions
Training

Descriptor Choice
n/a
n/a

Reason for Descriptor Choice

Ms. L shared that the biggest task she encounters through

the course of the school year is teaching students how to
Consistent
write open-ended questions; this task requires a lot of time
and practice. She voiced that because of a fixed schedule
Information
Integral
and lack of state of the art technology; this task can be very
Search Process
Evaluation
Comprehensive
difficult for her. However, she does work with the students
Role of
Under Development
one on one as much as possible. In the computer lab is
Technology
where she keeps instructions at each of the stations for the
databases instructions.
Aspect 2: Teaching for Learning: Assessment for Learning
Most types of assessments are oral assessments solely
because of time; however, Ms. L does use multiple
Comprehensive
manipulatives and graphic organizers such as exit tickets
and quick checks to check for understanding.
Aspect 3: Building the Learning Environment: Planning and Evaluating
Ms. L in the past has received extra plan blocks from
administration when she has needed it, especially during a
In-Progress
yearbook deadline. In the course of a week Ms. L has to
plan for all levels K-5 and has the equivalent of 150 books
Stakeholder
Collaborative
to check in/out per day. Most of the planning for the library
Participation
Evaluation
Periodic
is controlled by the administration and curriculum
supervisor and/or is guided by teachers pacing guides, but
again with no time for collaborative planning. There is some
parent involvement with planning the librarys strategic
plan, but this is very limited as Ms. L uses Follett to help
evaluate and plan her collection development, but all
improvements and materials must have prior approval from
administration.
Aspect 3: Building the Learning Environment: Staffing

n/a

Ms. L is the only librarian and assistant all in one. She can
have volunteers help in the library, but there is no paid
position to have trained assistants or staff for the library
media specialist. Ms. L shared with me that there have been
occasions where a retired librarian comes to the media
center and helps shelve books or her mother has helped on
occasion.

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Aspect 3: Building the Learning Environment: The Learning Space

Subcategory
User orientation

Descriptor Choice
Assistive

Reason for Descriptor Choice

Subcategory
Planned and
data-driven
Funding Level

Descriptor Choice
Basic

Reason for Descriptor Choice

Subcategory

Descriptor Choice

Reason for Descriptor Choice

Stakeholder
Involvement
Collection
Development
Ethical Use of
Information
Technical
Services
Resource
Access
Reconsideration
Policy

Unilateral

All policies, including the ethical use of information policy,

are written with the librarians, supervisors, school board
members, and principals and are available on the countys
website. The main stakeholders are mainly the
administration since collection development is not much of
a priority anymore. For all intents and purposes, Mrs. L
says that she does follow the county guidelines, which are
similar to what we learned in Mona Kerbys collection
development course at McDaniel.
All technical issues default to the IT Help Desk which is
handled by the board who is in charge of the IT specialists
for each school in the county.

While the space in the media center is cute and welcoming

to both staff and students, there are limitations with the
Access
Access
space. There are areas directly in the media center for story
time, book checkouts, testing, and instruction, but the
Function
Limited
computer lab or access to computers is across the hall from
Storage
Limited
the library in a classroom/lab closed off from the library.
While there can be multiple activities going on in the
Website
In-Progress
library, one of those activities cannot involve the use of
computers. There is a small storage room behind the
Technology
Limited
circulation desk, but the librarian does not use it since it
Infrastructure
houses other classroom supplies and a shared copier and
faculty lounge. Ms. L also shared the librarys website
needs to be updated, but does have the necessary
information for parents and staff regarding library times,
database information, and the online card catalog. As for
the technology infrastructure, the internet and Wi-Fi is not
always reliable. There are two mobile lab carts (laptops),
but only one currently working. All inquiries and issues are
directed to the helpdesk where ITs can be reached.
Aspect 3: Building the Learning Environment: Budget
The budget is not data-driven and is not based on data, but
uses data to determine what to budget for in the following
Marginal
year. The data used was not made clear or if the budget was
aligned with the School Improvement Plan, only that it is
OutcomesOutcomes
allotted by the school principal and not the school board.
oriented
The funding for the library mainly comes from fundraisers,
Proactive
In-Progress
such as the bi-annual Scholastic Book Fair. Only $1,000
comes from the principal; while the principal is very
supportive the budget only allows for minimal spending.
Aspect 3: Building the Learning Environment: Policies

Formal
Inclusive
Formal
Basic
Formal

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Students and teachers can access the schools databases

after school hours with a login. There is also access to the
___________ County Public Library which opens the
county to the public librarys databases.
Mrs. L shared a personal story about the countys
reconsideration policy where she has only had one issue in
six years of being the librarian at this elementary school. A
parent had an issue with a book that her daughter brought
home for a book report, A Corner in the Universe by Amy
Martin, because there was a scene where a brother hung
himself. The book did not have to go all the way through
the reconsideration process because Mrs. L had printed out
the documentation for the book that included the book
reviews and the information about the grade level
appropriateness awarded the book. With this documentation
it proved its place in the elementary library collection and
the book was not removed from the shelf. Mrs. L also
shared that when the girl turned in her book report she said
that it was one of the best books she had read.
Aspect 3: Building the Learning Environment: Collection and
Information Access
Subcategory
Diversity

Descriptor Choice
Client-based

Levels of
Difficulty
Intellectual
Freedom
Curriculum
Support
Adequacy

Client-based

Quality

Demand-Based

Alternative
formats
Currency

Adequate

Responsive to
student input

In-Progress

Fully Supported
Curriculum-Related
Adequate

Mixed

Reason for Descriptor Choice

The elementary school does not have a huge diverse

population; however, there is a growing number of
ESOL/Spanish speaking students. Mrs. L has focused some
of her collection to ensure there are bilingual titles. There
are a variety of reading levels to accommodate all levels and
students with special needs. All of the collection meets
standards and is aligned with teachers pacing guides and
teacher suggestions, but not based on collaboration with
teachers. The quality of the collection even after being
weeded is mediocre at best. The average age of the
collection is 18 years old, but with such a small budget it
has been difficult to try to restock the shelves with newer
titles. Mrs. L does stay current with student requests of
titles, but says that some bigger collection pieces like her
solar system section is what is difficult to replace.

Aspect 3: Building the Learning Environment: Outreach

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Subcategory
Advocacy Plan

Descriptor Choice
Basic

Partnerships

Beginning

Communication

Effective

Reason for Descriptor Choice

Mrs. L and I discussed at length about advocacy plans and

the need for a plan, but she does not have a formal plan in
place. She communicates regularly through a school
newsletter that is sent out to teachers, but does not use her
library website for such communications. The website is
used mainly for accessing the databases only. Her
partnerships include the local public library and the parent
organization, but nothing beyond that.

Aspect 3: Building the Learning Environment: Professional

Development
Subcategory
Plan

Descriptor Choice
On-Demand

PD for school
community
members
PD for school
librarian

n/a
Limited

Reason for Descriptor Choice

Mrs. L stated that she has never been asked to conduct any
professional development at her school. She has attended
conferences such as MASL in the past, but because of
budget cuts has not been able to attend many conferences.
If she wants to attend a conference or any professional
development outside of the county professional
development days she has to pay out of her own pocket.
All professional development is driven by the county and
curriculum supervisors and is not controlled by the school
librarian. Mrs. Ls professional development plan is
something that is kept on file with the school
administration, but is up to the librarian to provide the
information for this file in accordance to Maryland State
certification requirements.

Aspect 4: Empowering Learning Through Leadership: Leadership

Subcategory
Involvement

Descriptor Choice
Initiative

Innovation

Change Advocate

Professional
Activity

Professional
Participation

Reason for Descriptor Choice

Mrs. L participates in multiple committees within her school

and participates in countywide professional development.

Aspect 4: Empowering Learning Through Leadership: Relationships

Subcategory
Principal

Descriptor Choice
Shared Vision

Parents

One-Way

Community
Organization

Informative

Reason for Descriptor Choice

Mrs. L and the administration have an excellent relationship

and communicate with each other regularly. Mrs. L does
not have many relationships outside of the school
community, but feels that she does hold a strong partnership
with the public library and parent organization.

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Libraries in the
Greater
Community

Informative

Goals and Objectives for Improvement

Goals
The School library program will promote collaboration among
members of the learning community and encourage learners
to be independent lifelong learners.
Objectives
The librarian will work with supervisors and administration to
find optimal time to work with classroom teachers in order to
schedule and plan collaborative planning.
Audience

Administration, Curriculum Supervisors, Teachers

Goals

The school library program has sufficient funding to support

priorities and make steady progress to support the programs
mission, and to attain its goals and objectives.
The librarian will advocate for the release of more funds to
support the growing need for diversity in her collection and
the needs of her students and teachers.

Objectives

Audience

Administration, Curriculum Supervisors, School Board

Members

Goals

The school library program will include a well-developed

collection of books, periodicals, non-print materials in a
variety of formats that support curricular topics and that are
suited to inquiry learning and users needs and interests.
The librarian will advocate for proper funding and the need
to weed and restock her collection to meet the needs of all
learners.
Administration, Curriculum Supervisors, School Board
Members

Objectives
Audience

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L4L Sample School Librarian Performance and Evaluation

System: Key growth areas Identified by using the L4L
Evaluation
The advocacy plan I created will be working directly with teachers in a
collaborative atmosphere during their duty/PLC meeting days. This plan will benefit
teachers and students by having extensive and effective pans that meet the goals set by
the teachers and by the county. Teachers will be able to collaborate with the LMS, who
can provide teachers with valuable resources for their classrooms, including new
technology, technology integrated lesson plans. This plan will promote the use of the
library as well. This plan will help teachers to evaluate and reach their SLO goals.
Overall, this plan will help increase student achievement and bring more foot traffic to
the media center. The more team planning and teaching that takes place over the course
of the year will show the dedication of our teachers to want to improve their teaching
methods. A direct effect of this collaboration will be the students overall successes.
Classroom teachers, the administrative team, and parents will take notice of the teamwork
and dedication of their teachers.
Using the L4L evaluation system I found that with Planning and Preparation my
plan could be determined as distinguished. From working with the teachers in
collaborative setting, I would be knowledgeable of information, media, digital literacy;
the students developmental levels, interests, basic skills, abilities and special needs.
Also, I would have knowledge of all instructional goals across all or most curriculums.
The area that would need work, would be getting the teachers to collaborate with me so
that I could become familiar with their curricular needs and their students ability levels.

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Another area that could be improved upon is the area of Domain 3, Component 4c
Communicating School Staff and Community. While I would send out reminder emails, I
think it would be more helpful to create an area of the schools website that showcases
the classes that have benefited from teacher collaboration. Or display teachers and the
librarian working during the collaborative planning sessions.
The last area where improvements could be made is in Domain 4 Component 4e
Growing and Developing Professionally. In this area I could seek out more
opportunities through the library association or MASL to learn more about how to make
my library program more effective. I could also seek out more professional development
to bring back to the classroom teachers regarding collaboration and its benefits to the
school learning community.
Conclusion
Experiencing the evaluation process with this project was very eye opening and
time consuming. I never realized how much time really goes into evaluating someone;
however, I am glad that it is as in-depth as it is. Whether it is the L4L evaluation tool or
the Maryland State Standards rubric, both evaluations ask for the evaluator to look
beyond the library walls, but at the librarian herself and provide details on how to get
from effective to highly effective. The end result is that the librarian has a tool or tools
that can help her to self reflect on her practices and to improve them.

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Works Cited

AASLs L4L Sample School Librarian Performance and Evaluation System. Londonderry
School District: AASL, 2009.
A Planning Guide for Empowering Learners with School Library Program Assessment
Rubric. AASL: American Association of School Librarians. N.p., n.d. Web. 12
Nov. 2014.
Empowering Learners: Guidelines for School Library Programs. Chicago: AASL. 2009.
Print.