Introduction:

The AASL standards exist as a model of professionalism in the school librarian. These standards span the scope of the role of the librarian, from providing accessible and equitable resources within the library to advocating and educating ourselves beyond the library’s walls. The standards encompass what it means to be an effective and valuable librarian. As I enter the school librarian community, I feel well prepared from my coursework and professors at the ODU MLIS Program to engage with students and faculty in a professional, learner centered way. My assignments demonstrate my strong understanding of these standards and are a solid reflection of my work to come.

Standard 1: The Learner and Learning

Understanding the role of the learner in the library is essential to a successful library program. As I have progressed through the program, I have become more aware of the specific role that the librarian plays in engaging and supporting learners within this environment. This is an ongoing process, requiring me as a librarian to actively engage and support learners in a variety of ways. I likewise will regularly reflect and make adjustments to ensure inclusion and positive learning interactions for all students. 

My Strategic Plan Executive Summary was developed after careful consideration of learner diversity (1.2), learning differences (1.3), and learning environments (1.4). In developing a programming plan, including redesigning the facility, enhancing the collection, and engaging learners, the outcome resulted in a greater understanding of the importance of considering all learners. This artifact outlines my ability to consider diversity, differences, and the learning environment to support all learners. In addition, my Lesson Plans demonstrate my clear consideration of the needs of students, including differentiating instruction (1.3) as well as the development of the learner (1.1). Here I have developed plans that include a part of the inquiry method, engaging students in ways to think and create independently. 

As a current classroom teacher, I have already seen an impact by engaging my students using methods from my library courses. By encouraging more independent exploration and creative thinking, they are more eager and interested in learning. Empowering students in this way is awesome, and I look forward to implementing these strategies as a librarian in the future. 

Standard 2: Planning for Instruction

As a veteran educator, I have been planning for instruction for a while; however, I have shown much growth in recognizing the importance and power of collaboration, the specific roles of the librarian in instruction, and effective assessment methods. In order to be effective at these, integrating well planned lessons is essential. My Lesson Plans and Paired Text artifacts demonstrate my ability to plan for instruction effectively. The lesson plans identify all four subcategories of standard 2, as they include both virtual and in person instruction, inquiry and literacy lessons, and effective assessment on student learning, the librarian, and the collaboration efforts. Likewise, my first plan demonstrates my ability to teach learners about assessing information (2.3), an incredibly important role for the school librarian. These two lesson plans showcase my skills at developing effective plans for students and collaboration with classroom teachers.

In addition, my Paired Text artifact delves into an even greater collaboration between several classroom teachers and me as the librarian (2.1). There are several instructional strategies employed, including bulletin boards, group discussions, mock elections, and musical representations (2.2). This is a great example of my ability to make library connections with a diverse range of collaborative partners while implementing varied instructional strategies. As a future librarian, I want to ensure that classroom teachers are aware of the value of collaborating with me, and this artifact showcases my ability to connect to diverse subject areas.

Standard 3: Knowledge and Application of Content

A key role of the school librarian is encouraging and improving literacy and reading engagement with students, faculty, and staff. This separates the role of the librarian as an educator from other teachers in the building. This standard demonstrates the importance of promoting reading and literacy among the school community, as well as working to provide access to quality digital resources and tools to further engage learning experiences. I am an advocate for reading and for finding something that is interesting to the individual. I read a wide variety of fiction and non-fiction, but I feel that it is important to engage students where they are and to try to find the right book for each reader.

As I reflect on this, I recognize that my Lesson Plans and Paired Text artifacts also reach learners in this capacity, encouraging reading (3.1) and supporting information literacy (3.2). Both artifacts encourage students to read and engage with the text. The lesson plan on literacy promotes discovering something that interests the student individually to read, while the paired text supports reading across the curriculum. My Collection Plan also supports reading engagement (3.1) as I seek to update the collection to reflect the needs of the students in order to better support the school community. In addition, my Challenged Book Memo highlights the importance of providing literature that addresses a variety of needs for all students (3.1). This artifact discusses the need to include books in the collection and the challenges librarians face in potential censorship. 

My assignments have well prepared me for applying the specific skill set of the librarian as an educator and literacy advocate. I am well versed in the roles of the school librarian and the importance of supporting students in a wide variety of reading and literacy methods.

Standard 4: Organization and Access

Learning about curating and collection developments was a highlight in the MLIS program. I enjoyed synthesizing the effective strategies in the selection process as well as our conversations in how to best organize a library. Likewise, I loved discussing the ways to provide access to materials, both in person and online, and ensuring that we as librarians are engaging our students and faculty in equitable and ethical access to resources. 

In my Collection Plan, I clearly outline the school environment and its needs before discussing the changes made. This was developed with clear evidence-based decision making (4.3), ensuring that the solutions were supported by data and facts. It also demonstrates my ability to use selection principles when deciding what is appropriate to add to the collection (4.2). In addition, my Facilities Redesign incorporates data points in developing changes to the space. As a librarian, it is my responsibility to ensure that changes made meet the needs of the community and are based on facts and data, rather than simply anecdotal commentary. Both of these artifacts also demonstrate my ability to consider access to resources (4.1), first by addressing the collection itself (I sought to increase access to e-books and weed out some physical books that are rarely used), and then by rethinking the space to make it more flexible and accessible for everyone. 

The LIS Issues Artifact, while for a public library, also shows my thoughtfulness in considering evidence and access in decision making. This artifact discusses the appropriate steps to take in addressing public concern over a library being named after a Confederate general. I found previous articles and documents about this in other areas of the country in order to create well vetted potential solutions. Again, the artifact demonstrates the importance of evidence-based decision making. As a school librarian, making decisions that impact the greater community will require thought and research, something that these artifacts demonstrate I can do.

Standard 5: Leadership, Advocacy, and Professional Responsibility

This standard is essential to implementing an effective and strong school library. Being a good leader and advocating for the library, the learners, and myself within the school community and beyond will allow the library to have the greatest impact and reflect the goals of the previous four standards. As I enter the school library world, growing professionally, collaborating, and advocating will all help me ensure that my library is making a positive difference in the community.

My Professional Growth, LIS Issues, and Challenged Book Memo artifacts all demonstrate my ability to lead and advocate within a library. Attending the virtual VAASL conference in the spring enlightened me to new learner strategies and ideas, and this is definitely something that I will continue to engage in for further professional development as I enter the school library field (5.1). This also gave me opportunities to connect with and learn from others within the library community (5.2). In the future, I hope to be able to collaborate more actively with other librarians in my county, Virginia, and beyond. In addition my LIS Issues artifact demonstrates my advocacy for best practices for the library community as I sought ways to best support the library and its community in a potentially more inclusive name change (5.3). This artifact, along with the Challenged Book Memo, show my ethical practice of following appropriate protocols while advocating for the Library Bill of Rights to ensure that everyone has access to the resources of the library in an equitable and inclusive manner (5.4). 

Conclusion:

Throughout my time in the ODU MLIS program, I have recognized the value and importance of these standards as I have completed real-life applicable assignments. Most recently, as I have prepared and implemented library lessons in my collaborative unit, I have actively seen the impact of effective planning by thinking not just about the library, but also about the learner and the environment I establish. I am seeing the difference in engaging students with materials that interest them and the positive impact that has on their reading engagement. I look forward to establishing my own school library in the future, using these standards as the foundation. I am confident that I will successfully lead and advocate for the library, teachers, and students going forward, and I am grateful for the experiences gained in the MLIS program.