| Changes in education today are many and intense: governance issues, societal demands, the influx of technology, and ever-present budgeting problems. Library media professionals are rarely involved in the ongoing dialogue of change in education. In an effort to bring this group of educators into that dialogue, a statewide future search conference, a specific whole systems approach to planning, was held in Washington state in October 1994. The thirty-two conference participants represented eight stakeholder groups (four in each group): library media specialists, principals, administrators, university educators, teachers, business representatives, technology experts, and students. The participants addressed the following question: "What can we do through information systems to most effectively enhance learning in K-12 schools in Washington state in the next five years?"; The conference, which was facilitated by an outside consultant, was a modification of the future search conference models outlined in Weisbord's Discovering Common Ground (Weisbord et al., 1992) and Spencer's (1989) Winning Through Participation. The future search conference methodology was specifically chosen to provide the opportunity for a wide variety of stakeholders to share their individual perceptions of where information services fit into the larger picture of the future of the educational system and how information specialists should most effectively direct their energies. Coming with their own individual perceptions, then, the stakeholders worked toward "discovering a common ground" or a common vision.; The message of the Washington conference was clear: Information services personnel should be an integral part of the ongoing dialogue of change in education today. Three recommendations flow from this study. First, information about the successful future search conference model needs to become more widespread in education. Second, the library media professionals must see themselves as collaborative workers and change agents in education. Third, and most important, pre-service training for education personnel at all levels needs to change. Training programs for principals must provide more organizational development training and should train them to understand more fully the potential of the library media specialist as a partner. School library media specialists need leadership training in order to prepare them adequately for their role as change agents. |
