While working toward this degree, I have had the opportunity to visit many media centers and I've been struck as to how different each media center is even when they are only a few blocks away from one another. I have decided that one of the biggest factors in what makes a media center the way that it is, is the personality of the media specialist. In a lot of ways the media center is a reflection of the media specialist. This can be deceiving if you just go by appearances. For instance, I visited one media center that had beautiful murals on the walls and it was decorated with tons of stuffed animals. It was basically stuffed animal overload. However, the media center certainly was not a warm and friendly place because the media specialist was so cantankerous. The students wanted nothing to do with her and their experience in the media center was only positive if she wasn’t there. I got the same vibe from the teachers, as well. It was a waste of some really nice stuffed animals! In contrast, I visited another media center where a new media specialist was recently hired. The media center was not visually appealing and she was hoping to make some big changes. This didn’t matter to the kids, however. She was so warm and kind. It was obvious that the kids and the teachers enjoyed visiting the media center. It was a fun place simply because the media specialist had such a positive energy. It made me realize how influential the media specialist is to the students’ attitudes about the media center. I have decided that it takes more than a degree and years of experience to make a good media specialist. You also have to love the job.
