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

• Why are you the best candidate for this position?
• What questions do you have for us?