Write+a+mission+statement,+goals+and+objectives

In order for a school Learning Commons to have a clear direction and purpose, it should have a shared vision succinctly expressed in a mission statement. Summarizing Wooll's pages 74-75, the statement should have the following qualities:


 * Collaborative in nature. Constructed by the entire Learning Commons staff, ideally with the assistance of an advisory committee, and approved by the entire school community.
 * Should be directly aligned with the District and School mission statements or stated goals.
 * Is a brief statement whose succinct wording encapsulates the heart and purpose of the Learning Commons, being a guiding force for its policies, planning, and services provided.

These additional key points should be considered in developing a mission statement, and are listed by Zmuda and Harada (2008), on pages 13 and 14 of //Librarians As Learning Specialists: Meeting the Learning Imperative of the 21st Century://
 * Describes specific long-term goals for learners.
 * Goes beyond specified knowledge and skills in established content standards to address larger aims of schooling (for example, becoming a responsible citizen, a lifelong learner, and a critical thinker).
 * Provides enough specifity to be addressed through design of curriculum, assessment, and instruction.
 * Commits key stakeholders to the scope of the mission statement.
 * Scheduling of time in the library (flexible versus fixed time)
 * Existing cornerstone and summative assessment tasks that hold students accountable for information literacy learning.
 * Designed relationships between library media specialists and teaching staff (expectation for collaboration as demonstrated in practices, protocols, committee work, and staff development)
 * Long-term educational vision of 21st-century learning (as evidenced in national, state/provincial, or local documents)
 * The American Association of School Librarians' "Standards for the 21st-Century Learner"

References:

Woolls, B. (2008). //The school library media manager// (4th edition). Westport, CT: Libraries Unlimited.

Zmuda, A. and Harada, V. (2008//) Librarians as learning specialists: meeting the learning imperative for the// 21st century. Westport,CT: Libraries Unlimited.

Further Readings:

Wiggins, G. and McTighe, J. (2007) //Schooling by design.// Alexandria ,VA: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development.

Zmuda, A., McTighe, J., Wiggins, G., and Brown J. (2007//) Schooling by design action tool//. Alexandria, VA: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development.