School Librarians and Music Educators: Unique Interdisciplinary Partnerships

Abstract

The National Association for Music Education has recognized the vital role technology plays in the 21st century P-12 music classroom. Its standards for technology integration in the music classroom emphasize that technology integration choices should be made by people who clearly understand the musical needs of the children (NAfME, 2011). School librarians are instructional leaders who specialize in developing 21st century, technology-infused learning opportunities in collaboration with teachers across the academic discipline spectrum. Through the development of an interdisciplinary partnership, librarians can provide the technological expertise and training required for fine-arts educators to effectively integrate technology in the music classroom. In turn, music educators’ focuses of advocacy, marketing, program planning, and creativity are highly-developed skill sets and resources the media specialists can benefit from. This chapter briefly covers research on interdisciplinary partnerships and identifies the strengths each of these professionals offer from their respective disciplines. Instructional and professional partnerships, cross-curricular collaboration, common instructional foci, and shared concerns are discussed.