The purpose of this publication is to provide principals with guidelines to be used in the development of functional media center programs. Five elements are required before this goal can be achieved: adequate facilities, well-trained media specialists, appropriate collections, active media programs, and supportive budgets. Accordingly, advice is offered on the roles of the media center, principal, media specialist, and faculty, and guidelines are provided for the media center facility, materials, media program, and media center budget. Also included are the current certification requirements for media staff and an instrument for evaluating staff performance. (TE)