home

=**What Makes a Library a Library: A Comparitive Look at Two Libraries**=

According to the American Association of School Librarians, the mission of the school library program is as follows:
﻿to ensure that students and staff are effective users of ideas and information. The school librarian empowers students to be criticial thinkers, enthusiastic readers, skillful researchers, and ethical users of information by:


 * collaborating with educators and students to design and teach engaging learning experiences that meet individual needs
 * instructing students and assisting educators in using, evaluating, and producing information and ideas through active use of a broad range of appropriate tools, resources, and information technologies
 * providing access to materials in all formats, including up-to-date, high-quality, varied literature to develop and strengthen a love of reading
 * providing students and staff with instruction and resources that reflect current information needs and anticipate changes in technology and education
 * providing leadership in the total education program and advocating for strong school library programs as essential to meeting local, state, and national education goals

//Empowering Learners: Guidelines for School Library Programs.// American Association of School Librarians. 2009.

=﻿It was with the above stated information that I visited two school libraries with very distinct differences.=

**//Castle High School Media Center://**
===﻿//Castle High School is a public 9-12th grade school serving 1,938 students on a 92 acre campus. The school's mission includes: "to prepare students to succeed in a culturally diverse and highly technological society." The media center completed in 2009 aids in that mission. The center is staffed by two full-time librarians. The school, itself, has a teaching staff of one hundred and is located in Warrick County, Indiana some seven miles away from Evansville Christian School.//===

//Evansville Christian School Media Center://
===//Evansville Christian School is a private K-8 school serving 620 students on a small campus. The school's mission is to inspire students to excel spiritually, mentally, physically, and emotionally. The media center renovated in 2006 aids in that mission. The center is staffed by one full time librarian and one part time assistant as well as numerous volunteers. The school, itself, has a teaching staff of forty and is located in Vanderburgh County, Indiana.//===