Benign neglect: Principals' knowledge of and attitudes towards school library media specialists

A school library media specialist once told me that she is always a heartbeat away from a good school library media program because as soon as she "trains" one principal, that principal moves on and she has to "train" another one. Despite the fact that multiple state-wide studies of school library media programs have reported a positive relationship between good school library media programs and student achievement, principals continue to be benignly neglectful of school library media programs.; A survey of state leaders in school library media shows that any benefit of the state studies has been on the individual school basis; there is little evidence of any state-wide impact. A review of the literature on principal training programs shows that very little has been written on the role of the school library media program in the school curriculum. If the problem is that school principals believe that school libraries are best left to their own management, it probably comes from the fact that principal training programs do not include information about school library media programs, either in their courses or in their textbooks. This study addresses this benign neglect by proposing a professional development program for pre-service and in-service school principals that will help principals become aware of the instructional role of the school library media program in the school curriculum and will raise principals' expectations of the school library media program and specialist.