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Apple Valley High School
AVHS students and staff conduct research in the Media Center.
Originally published in Resource Sharing News
November 2005
"One of the beauties of being a high school media specialist is that the other teachers give
assignments and deadlines, but most of my day is spent helping kids solve a problem," says
Gordy Hagert, the Media Specialist at Apple Valley High School (AVHS). As Gordy enthusiastically
describes how his work with students helps them become "learners in their own right," the
importance of the role of media centers in high schools becomes obvious.
The Media Center at Apple Valley High School serves 2350 students in grades 9-12. It looks and
sounds nothing like the libraries those of us over 30 used when we were in high school. The Media
Center still primarily serves students working on class assignments, but you will also find a wide
range of other tasks and projects taking place. Making up book carts of relevant class materials
and providing instruction to students and teachers on database search strategies are some of the
everyday tasks.
However, with the state of school finances in Minnesota, high school libraries and media centers
need to make sure they are seen as a vital part of the school. AVHS' Media Center is positioned
in a prime spot to attract users. It's an open space in the center of 1970's style classrooms
(built without doors) surrounding it. Gordy says, "I can't hide, I'm in the desk in the middle
of the room!"
It's convenient for a teacher to stop by to make a color overhead picture of a white blood cell,
for a student to look up her grades online during "passing time" or for a class to gather to learn
how to build a custom slide show on PowerPoint and then make an electronic presentation. The Media
Center has become a catch-all for the school's information and technology needs.
Gordy is a former social studies teacher who describes himself as someone who "stumbled into technology
and fell in love with media, and this end of the business." Today he still instructs students and teachers,
but with a different focus. For instance, he will now show them how to use search engines to improve the
quality of the information they retrieve.
He says, "Searching for something in Google is a lot like falling out of bed and hitting the floor—you
are going to find something." Part of his work as a Media Specialist is to impress upon the students what
Google cannot do, and how using the right subject specific databases will help produce more reliable
information. When students do catch on, it's a validation of the work he does.
Gordy thinks Minitex has been instrumental in filling the gap in information needs when there is a
necessity for resources beyond the scope of a high school library. For instance, when high quality
college level research is required for a class, they can use the Electronic Library for Minnesota
(ELM) databases, and have access to the University of Minnesota Libraries through Minitex Document
Delivery. That helps the school budget because otherwise library field trips meant the school spent
money on bus rental and substitute teachers while students visited the University of Minnesota libraries
for their research needs.
The Media Center's Web site is kept up-to-date with current news. Recently Gordy created a page with
links to Supreme Court cases. Popular databases for the students are "Opposing Viewpoints Reference Center,"
"Wellness Reference Center," "CQ Researcher," and the "Minnesota Career Information System." The students
are using eBooks too. The Media Center replaced an incomplete reference set on drugs, tobacco and alcohol
with the electronic version that is accessible to students 24/7 and will never be lost, stolen or damaged.
But Gordy also needs to make sure students don't miss the obvious—such as when one came to him looking
for information on the mafia—but never thought about looking at print books on the subject. In a high
school media center, the staff manage discipline with students too. Gordy laughed as he talked about the
time a student came to the Media Center and said, "I'm looking for the librarian, do you know where she is?
My teacher sent me and I'm sure he outranks you!"
For a look at some of the recommended Web sites for students, check out
Apple Valley's Media Center Web site.