| A critical analysis was made of the certification requirements of all the states plus the District of Columbia for school librarians for 1950-51, 1960-61, 1970-71, 1980-81, and 1985-86 to investigate whether or not school librarians were required to have training and experience in the library science field, the media field, or in both the library science and media fields. Compilation and analysis of data from the certification requirements of the states yielded information leading to the following major conclusions. (1) The certification requirements of the fifty states for school librarians revealed the influence of the development of many new forms of media. (2) The proliferation of terminology and nomenclature utilized in the certification requirements showed an increasing confusion as more library skills, media skills, and library media skills were specified. (3) A trend toward a combination of the library and media terminology and concepts was revealed. (4) Increased usage and responsibility has called for additional, as well as different kinds of, training and experience for school librarians. (5) Providing for special education children required additional skills and training for school librarians. (6) School librarians were expected to participate in the teaching/learning process and in the in-service of faculty and to act as resource persons in addition to the traditional librarian roles. (7) There was very little uniformity between, or among, state certification requirements. (8) One fifth or twenty percent of the states did not mention the role of school librarian in any way in the certification requirements. (9) A very recent trend was the use of national or criterion referenced tests for certification. |
