THE LEADERSHIP ROLE OF THE PUBLIC ELEMENTARY SCHOOL MEDIA LIBRARIAN AS PERCEIVED BY THE PRINCIPAL AND ITS RELATIONSHIP TO THE FACTORS OF THE SEX, EDUCATIONAL BACKGROUND, AND THE WORK EXPERIENCE OF THE MEDIA LIBRARIAN

The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between the public elementary school principal's perception of the leadership role of the media librarian and the factors of the sex, educational background, and the work experience of the media librarian.;The principal's perception of the leadership role of the media librarian was determined by using the Leader Behavior Description Questionnaire Form XII. The principal also completed a School Demographic Questionnaire and a Principal Demographic and Background Questionnaire. The media librarian completed a Media Librarian Demographic and Background Questionnaire. These questionnaires were mailed to 140 randomly selected public elementary schools from 10 Maryland Counties. From this population, a sample of 75 matched sets of principals and media librarians from the same schools was obtained.;The hypotheses were tested using an SPSS forced order multiple regression program in which certain school, principal, and media librarian characteristics were entered first into the regression to control their effect. In the final steps, the independent variables of the media librarian's sex, educational background, and work experience were entered into the regression. These variables were compared with the total score of the Leader Behavior Description Questionnaire Form XII and its 12 subscale scores.;It was found that the F ratios for most of the analyses were non-significant. The only exception was a significant finding for the relationship between the Production Emphasis subscale and the educational background of the media librarian. It was concluded that the hypotheses were generally not supported by the research data. Further research should be conducted to reanalyze and replicate this study.;The following hypotheses were tested: (1) There is no relationship between the public elementary school principal's perception of the leadership role of the media librarian and the sex of the media librarian; (2) There is a positive relationship between the public elementary school principal's perception of the leadership role of the media librarian and the educational background of the media librarian; (3) There is a positive relationship between the public elementary school principal's perception of the leadership role of the media librarian and the work experience of the media librarian.