Study Guide

Field 138: Library-Media Specialist 
Sample Selected-Response Questions

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General Test Directions

This test consists of two sections: 1) a section with selected-response questions and 2) a constructed-response section that includes two writing assignments.

Each question in the first section of this test is a selected-response question with four answer choices. Read each question carefully and choose the  start uppercase ONE end uppercase  best answer. Even if you are unsure of an answer, it is better to guess than not to answer a question at all. You will  start uppercase NOT end uppercase  be penalized for guessing.

The second section of this test consists of two constructed-response assignments. You will be asked to provide a written response to each assignment. Directions for completing your written responses to the constructed-response assignments will appear immediately before the assignments.

Sample Selected-Response Questions

Competency 0001 
Apply knowledge of the professional roles and responsibilities of the library-media specialist, including how to demonstrate leadership and advocate for equitable intellectual access to information for all members of the school community.

1. Which of the following approaches by a library-media specialist provides the best foundation to advocate effectively for school library programs?

  1. publishing a weekly summary of library resource usage by learners and staff
  2. engaging in intentional relationship building within key stakeholder groups
  3. developing a research curriculum for schoolwide implementation
  4. offering school library facilities for use by community groups

Correct Response: B. The ability to collaborate with library stakeholders is an important part of a library-media specialist's job responsibilities. When a library-media specialist makes efforts to forge intentional relationships with key stakeholders, a foundation of respect and trust is built among the parties. Once this foundation is established, the stakeholders will be more likely to support the library-media specialist's initiatives to improve upon and add to the school library programs.

Competency 0002 
Apply knowledge of professional standards for the library-media specialist and how to engage in ongoing professional development.

2. A high school library-media specialist and technology teacher are leading learners through a unit on creating digital mash-ups that combine elements of existing digital content to create a new product. Which of the following ethical considerations is most important for the specialists to emphasize to learners during the course of the unit?

  1. practices that promote censorship
  2. principles of intellectual property
  3. guidelines for file sharing
  4. confidentiality of information

Correct Response: D. Intellectual property rights are exclusive rights, such as copyrights, trademarks, and patents, granted to a person or group to protect their work. Students and school personnel must remain in compliance with the law with regard to intellectual property rights and must credit creators' works when appropriate. When seeking to use digital content for their mash-ups, learners should consider using works that are in the public domain or asking the content creators for permission to use their works. If these options are not feasible, the principle of fair use generally allows for a small amount of content to be used without permission if the content is used for educational, rather than commercial, purposes.

Competency 0003 
Apply knowledge of strategies for communicating and collaborating with members of the school community to promote information access and learner success.

3. A library-media specialist will be overseeing a group of sixth-grade learners who are engaged in a collaborative project. The specialist can most effectively support the success of their collaboration by:

  1. facilitating group members' discussions as they work through each component of the task.
  2. suggesting an appropriate timeline for progress monitoring and check-ins on group members' individual tasks.
  3. encouraging group members to select one member to lead the effort and resolve challenges as they emerge.
  4. assisting in organizing project tasks in a way that enables equitable participation and contributions by each group member.

Correct Response: D. Collaboration among learners requires equitable participation and contribution, particularly when they are working together on group projects. The library-media specialist can help monitor and assist group members to be successful by helping them to organize their project tasks in a way that meets both goals (e.g., lists, charts, graphic organizers). This practice shifts the responsibility for meeting the goals and completing the project tasks to the learners.

Competency 0004 
Apply knowledge of principles and practices of developmentally appropriate curriculum, instruction, and assessment to promote learners' acquisition of information literacy and inquiry skills.

4. Which of the following instructional approaches by a library-media specialist is most consistent with the principles of constructivist learning?

  1. providing direct instruction on specific skills required for a given purpose
  2. engaging learners in inquiry activities that are interest-based and content-related
  3. demonstrating the use of information resources using different content topics
  4. instructing learners on how to use memorization strategies to recall information

Correct Response: B. Constructivist learning is the theory that suggests that learners use their own experiences, reflections, and schemas to construct knowledge rather than passively taking in information. By engaging learners in inquiry activities related to their interests and the content they are studying, the library-media specialist can provide opportunities for learners to build new knowledge to add to their existing knowledge.

Competency 0005 
Analyze the characteristics of and strategies for creating equitable physical and virtual learner-centered environments.

5. Fourth-grade classes are engaged in research as part of a social studies unit on Oklahoma history. The school library collection includes a number of high-quality and helpful resources on this topic, but the resources are in high demand due to the number of learners who need to use them. The library-media specialist can best facilitate equitable access to the resources by taking which of the following actions?

  1. organizing the resources into a traveling collection that teachers can check out as needed
  2. limiting the circulation period for the resources to two or three days
  3. dividing the resources equally into smaller classroom collections for the duration of the unit
  4. placing the resources on reserve temporarily for use only in the school library

Correct Response: D. Since all fourth-grade classes are researching the same topic, it is important for the library-media specialist to provide the most equitable access possible to all learners. The strategy of placing the appropriate resources on reserve during the time the learners will need them and limiting the use of the resources to the school library would be the most effective, equitable way to provide access to the high-demand materials to the most learners.

Competency 0006 
Analyze strategies and methods for promoting the development of independent and collaborative information literacy, inquiry, and critical thinking skills as well as promoting social responsibility and effective and ethical use of information.

6. High school learners are engaged in independent research projects on self-selected topics. The learners have gathered substantial information from various print and online resources. One learner approaches the library-media specialist about some information in one resource that seems questionable and asks how best to evaluate the information. Which of the following suggestions by the specialist would be most appropriate and effective?

  1. determining whether the information was published in the last three years
  2. verifying the accuracy of the information in other resources and formats
  3. consulting the classroom teacher about whether to use the information
  4. investigating the credentials of the author of the information

Correct Response: C. The most appropriate, effective suggestion for the library-media specialist to make to the learner is to consult their classroom/content-area teacher, who would likely be the most knowledgeable person on how to evaluate the validity of subject matter for a particular content area and assignment topic.

Competency 0007 
Apply knowledge of the foundations and characteristics of an effective library program and its relationship to the total school program and to information resources and services beyond the school.

7. Which of the following goals is most closely associated with the characteristics of an effective school library program?

  1. providing equitable, curated, and open access to a variety of print and digital resources that reflect a range of perspectives and ideas
  2. organizing a collection of resources for every class according to instructional needs and priorities
  3. ensuring that every class is provided with an equal amount of time to access and use resources and information
  4. balancing the collection in a ratio of 60 percent digital resources to 40 percent print resources

Correct Response: A. According to the American Library Association's Library Bill of Rights open parens adopted 19 39 close parens, libraries should provide materials that present all points of view on current and historical events. These materials should be carefully sourced and verified by the library-media specialist before they are offered to library patrons. Everybody should have access to the library materials they need electronically or in person, regardless of their age, ethnicity, home language, socio-economic status, education, or geographical location. Everyone should also have open access—the ability to download, open, and read library materials online—and free access to scholarly materials via digital archives and online journals.

Competency 0007 
Apply knowledge of the foundations and characteristics of an effective library program and its relationship to the total school program and to information resources and services beyond the school.

8. High school learners are studying the history of the community during the period of the Vietnam War. The learners are interested in learning about community life during this period. Which of the following resources beyond the school would best meet this information need?

  1. academic library
  2. area newspaper archives
  3. state government Web sites
  4. public library

Correct Response: B. Area newspaper archives would be the most appropriate resource for learners to use for this purpose, because area newspapers provide information about the local community, and the newspapers' archives would include past articles about the community's history. Government Web sites and libraries that serve broader geographical areas are unlikely to offer as much information about a specific local community.

Competency 0008 
Apply knowledge of principles, policies, and procedures related to the development and management of the school library program collection.

9. A library-media specialist who is engaged in the collection development process wants to identify collection gaps to ensure learners' information needs are addressed. Which of the following techniques would be the most helpful  start italics first end italics  step?

  1. creating a map of the alignment between the current collection and content curricula
  2. gathering frequency data on learners' use of the school library collection
  3. analyzing collection data disaggregated by various categories
  4. asking teachers to evaluate the current collection and suggest acquisitions

Correct Response: C. In the collection development process, the most important step for the library-media specialist to take first is to analyze the library's current collection and identify its gaps before moving on to next steps, such as evaluating the collection's alignment to the content curricula and getting recommendations from school staff. By using data to break down the collection into smaller groups according to category (i.e., disaggregating) and using collection mapping (i.e., the process of examining the collection to identify strengths and gaps), the library-media specialist is better able to identify the materials in the library's current collection and determine its most immediate needs.

Competency 0009 
Apply knowledge of considerations, procedures, and practices related to the development, implementation, and evaluation of the library program.

10. A middle school library-media specialist schedules small focus groups of teachers, parents/guardians, and learners to discuss the following questions.

This approach most effectively facilitates which of the following processes?

  1. ensuring equitable access to library program resources and services
  2. developing a meaningful vision for the library program
  3. aligning the library program to relevant state and national standards
  4. defining library program goals for the short and long term

Correct Response: D. The approach the library-media specialist is taking by asking stakeholders within small groups questions about their perception and usage of the library is an effective tool to help determine the necessary steps to meet the needs of its users. The library-media specialist can then use the results obtained from the focus groups to develop long- and short-term program goals for the library.