Developed jointly by the American Association of School Librarians (AASL) and the Association for Educational Communications and Technology (AECT), these guidelines for the school library media specialist are based on the premise that teachers, principals, and library media specialists must form a partnership and must plan together to design and implement the program that best matches the instructional needs of the school. Emphasis is placed on the responsibility of the building level media specialist to exercise leadership in establishing the partnerships and initiating the planning process. The central unifying concept of the guidelines is the provision of both physical and intellectual access to information, increasingly through networks extending well beyond the school. The guidelines are presented in eight chapters: (1) The Mission and the Challenges; (2) The School Library Media Program; (3) The School Library Media Specialist: Roles and Responsibilities; (4) Leadership, Planning, and Management; (5) Personnel; (6) Resources and Equipment; (7) Facilities; and (8) District, Regional, and State Leadership. Seven appendixes provide: a report on a survey of school library media centers; budget formulas for materials and equipment; library media facility guidelines; policies and statements on access to information; a list of selected research studies; and lists of individuals who have contributed to the development of the guidelines, either financially or as professional consultants. An annotated bibliography lists 12 sources of information on the history of school libraries and six guides to national standards and guidelines for school library media programs published between 1920 and 1975. (GL)