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Library Media Services

Mission

The mission of the Office of Library Media Services is to support district library media supervisors and other stakeholders; ensuring that school librarians create and maintain quality library programs that foster the love of reading and the effective use of ideas and information by both students and faculty. This mission is accomplished by building programs that:

  • provide intellectual and physical access to materials in a variety of formats
  • provide instruction to advance competence and stimulate interest in reading, viewing and using information and ideas
  • involve other educators in designing learning strategies that meet the needs of individual students

FINDS - Florida's Library Media Research Model

  • Focus on the information need
  • Investigate resources to search for answers
  • Note and evaluate facts 
  • Develop information into knowledge for presentation
  • Self-Evaluate presentation and search

FINDS, Florida's Library Media Research Model, incorporates research skills that are imbedded in the Florida B.E.S.T. Standards and provides a framework for the application of these standards through a sequential research process. By making use of a wide range of learning resources and the collaborative efforts of the classroom teacher and school librarian, students learn inquiry-based skills that are applicable across disciplines. Consequently, students acquire the dispositions and competencies needed to function successfully in this demanding, information-intense, technology-driven world.

READS- Florida's K-12 integrated library media reading guidelines

  • Read as a personal activity
  • Explore characteristics, history and awards of creative works
  • Analyze structure and aesthetic features of creative works
  • Develop a literary-based product
  • Score reading progress

One of the goals of the school library media program is to provide intellectual and physical access to a broad range of literature and informational reading materials for personal pleasure and curriculum support. Library media programs aggressively support reading through a variety of promotional and instructional strategies that are carefully crafted to meet the unique needs of learners at each developmental stage. Additionally, the library instructional and promotional activities are collaboratively planned with classroom teachers so that the concepts and skills taught in the classroom are reinforced, enriching the learning experience.

READS Components and Standards

ExC3EL - Expectations for Collaboration, Collections, and Connections to Enhance Learning: Florida's K-12 Library Program Evaluation Tool

The ExC3EL Rubric provides a continuum for developing outstanding school library media programs that enhance and support the school's educational agenda. Quality library media programs provide a welcoming, resource-rich environment that supports multiple literacies, cultivates a culture of inquiry and literary appreciation, and encourages the independent, ethical exploration of information and ideas.

School Library Award Program

Florida Power-Library Schools (FPLS) and Renewals
Program sponsored by The Florida Association of Supervisors of Media (FASM) and the Florida Department of Education's Library Media Services which recognizes outstanding library media programs in the State of Florida.

Library Media Survey 2018

On September 9, 2018, the Library Media Services office within the Bureau of Standards & Instructional Support sent out a voluntary survey to district media supervisors to gather information regarding state-wide media center programs.

Certification

For information on educator certification and subject area requirements for Florida, please visit Educator Certification.

A resource guide to educator certification steps and guide for all states, please visit Teacher.org.

Contact Information

Katelyn Barrington
Director of Library Media and Instructional Materials
Bureau of Standards and Instructional Support
325 West Gaines Street, Suite 424
Tallahassee, Florida 32399-0400
Phone: 850-245-0633
Katelyn.Barrington@fldoe.org