ABSTRACT
Echoing a goal that has long been held by the school library media field, these authors capture both the promise and the uncertainty that characterize any fond hope. In fact, many scholars and other leaders in the field have been vocal champions of a strong relationship linking the library media specialist, various learning technologies, and instructional design; however, the realities of life in the public schools have presented serious obstacles to the full flowering of this relationship. Today, as at other periods in the evolution of the library media field, internal and external changes affecting the school environment suggest that the library media specialist is poised to assume a much more active role as an instructional designer/instructional technologist than has been possible in the past. Understanding the nature and history of the fieldwill enable school librarymedia professionals and others to make a realistic assessment of the opportunities that lie ahead and to devise strategies to take advantage of them.
