As a librarian, it’s important that I have a deep understanding of the School Library Standards to serve my community. The School Library Standards will ultimately guide me through interacting with “learners, educators, and stakeholders” (AASL, 2018).
Standard 1: The Learner and Learning
As a school librarian, I’ll be working with students throughout the building. It’s imperative that in my role, I assess and consider all aspects of the learners, including “development, diversity, and differences” (ALA, 2019). Throughout my time in the MLIS program and my time as a classroom teacher, I’ve had endless opportunities to do just that. As demonstrated in the Collaboration Unit, students were encouraged to create a product after learning in a Jigsaw method, and then share their product with the class. In the Collection Management Plan, I assessed a school’s community and their library, and made decisions about the collection in regards to the learner diversity. The Paired Text Teacher’s Guide centers around students with learning differences, and provides lessons for diverse learners using a fiction and nonfiction text with common themes. Finally, through both the Pathfinder and Digital Learning projects, I have created “virtual learner-centered environments that are engaging and equitable” (ALA, 2019) that allow students to learn through various modalities.
Standard 2: Planning for Instruction
One of the main focuses of a school librarian is to collaborate with staff members to “strategically plan, deliver, and assess instruction” (ALA, 2019). Without successful collaboration, impact of student learning may not be strategically considered for future instruction. During my practicum time, I worked with a school librarian and a classroom teacher to develop my Collaboration Unit, in which we designed multiple lessons that “integrate[d] inquiry, innovation, and exploration” (ALA, 2019). We created lessons which guided students through the inquiry process of child development, using a variety of instructional strategies, such as independent inquiry, Jigsaw collaboration methods, teacher guided instruction, and independent creation. Additionally, we used various methods of assessment to evaluate student learning and “revise[d] [our] instruction to address areas in which learners need to develop understanding” (ALA, 2019).
Standard 3: Knowledge and Application of Content
Using what I have learned throughout my time in ODU’s MLIS program, I can confidently say that I am “knowledgeable in literature, digital and information literacies, and current instructional technologies” (ALA, 2019), and plan to keep up with current technologies and literature to apply it to my teaching. My Paired Text Teacher’s Guide and Pathfinder projects both encourage reading engagement through multimodal formats, including books, audiobooks, websites, podcasts, and videos. The Collaboration Unit and Digital Learning projects display my knowledge of “teach[ing] critical-thinking and the inquiry process by using multiple literacies” (ALA, 2019) in my lessons. In the collaboration unit, students were given a variety of resources, and evaluated which were useful and credible before taking notes on the information. Many of the aforementioned projects display high quality technology-enabled learning experiences, many of which are a “choose your own adventure” style, allowing students to learn in a format which works best for them. For my Conference Presentation, I “evaluate[d] the effectiveness of digital tools, resources, and emerging technologies” (ALA, 2019), and created a presentation, titled “Keeping Your Tech Toolbox Current” to share my knowledge of current technologies with other professionals.
Standard 4: Organization and Access
Meeting the needs of the community a librarian serves is of utmost importance. Through the MLIS program assignments, I’ve assessed user needs, curated collections, and advocated for equitable access to resources. In my Collection Management Plan, I “use[d]… data and other forms of evidence to evaluate and [make] inform[ed] decisions about” (ALA, 2019) the school’s library collection. For my Collaboration Unit and Pathfinder, I “select[ed] information resources in a variety of formats” (ALA, 2019) for students to evaluate and use in their inquiry projects. In the Speaking Notes project, I used a scenario in which the principal of the school wanted to restrict certain books to a certain age range, and I “advocate[d] for flexible, open access to library resources and services according to the ethical codes of the profession” (ALA, 2019).
Standard 5: Leadership, Advocacy, and Professional Responsibility
Being a librarian in a school puts me in a position of leadership, one which I must always advocate for the students in the school, and participate in professional networking. In my Conference Presentation, I created a professional development session to meet the needs of my community, teaching about current tech tools, which will “positively impact learner growth” (ALA, 2019). My Speaking Notes demonstrate that I am prepared to “advocate for all learners, resources, services, policies, procedures, and school libraries” (ALA, 2019). Finally, my Collection Management Plan shows my ability to successfully collaborate with others to implement lessons to aid in student learning.
American Association of School Librarians (AASL). (2018). The national school library standards for learners, school librarians, and school libraries. Chicago, IL: ALA.
American Library Association. (2019). ALA/AASL/CAEP School Librarian Preparation Standards (2019). Retrieved from https://www.ala.org/aasl/sites/ala.org.aasl/files/content/aasleducation/ALA_AASL_CAEP_School_Librarian_Preparation_Standards_2019_Final.pdf