Whether you are about to seek your first school library position or are assisting in the hiring of a school library media specialist, the ability to focus in on the roles and responsibilities specific to a school library media specialist will be important. The sample questions below will serve as a starting point as you prepare to interview for a school library position or take part in hiring a school library media specialist.

Professional Style

Briefly outline your educational preparation and any work experiences that have led you to seek employment as a school library media specialist.
What adjectives would your peers and/or your students use to describe you?
How should the media center look and feel to students, and how you would go about making it look and feel that way?
Describe a library-related project or program that was/would be a favorite with students.
Which after-school programs or activities do you most like to see offered in a school? In which of these, or in which others, might you be willing to participate?
Are you familiar with the Alaska Content Standards for Library/Information Literacy? If so, how would you address these standards with our students?

Philosophy

Name three main responsibilities of a library media specialist and explain which is most important?
Which media formats should the school library support and in what proportion to the collection as a whole?
How will you help ensure information literacy skills are integrated throughout the curriculum?
If you are unable to locate a requested resource or information on a specific topic using the materials in your school library collection, what should you do?
In which professional organizations are you a member, and what is your level of participation in each?

Technology

With which computer platforms are you comfortable?
What experience have you had with circulation or catalog systems? With which specific library systems are you most familiar?
Give some examples of how you have used electronic information resources in your lessons?
Which Internet resources do you regularly use with students, and why?
What skills do you feel are most important for students to master as they use the Internet?
How would you assist staff members in learning to effectively use new information technologies?
Which search tools do you use most often for your own research?
What are the issues related to using Internet filters and with which filters do you have experience?
How do you stay current with constantly evolving information technologies?

Literature/Reading

How do you determine your current collection needs?
Which review journals do you rely on to help you select materials?
What other methods do you use in selecting quality literature to meet student interests and needs?
What do you know about this district’s reading program, and how would your library media program support its goals?
Name two of the best children's or young adult books you’ve read recently? If I were a student, introduce one of these books to me in a way that would make me want to read it.
How would you promote recreational reading?
Explain your knowledge/experience with Alaska’s Battle of the Books program.

Relations with Community and Staff

What type of library schedule - regular weekly or flexible schedule - do you prefer and why?
Give an example of instructional collaboration involving the library media specialist and a classroom teacher?
In what areas might you be qualified to inservice or train staff members?
How might you encourage parent involvement in the library media program?
What steps would you take if a parent expressed concerns about an item in your collection?
How would you work with the teaching staff to address the issue of student plagiarism?
Describe an event you might design and carry out to encourage the community to visit the library.
What are some appropriate uses of the library facility outside the school day?

Conclusion