Introduction
Having taught all levels and grades of high school English for twenty years, I naively believed I could transition from the classroom to the library with ease. As I near the end of my studies, I am acutely aware that, while teaching equipped me with many useful transferable skills, there is much preparation and specific knowledge required to be an effective librarian. My journey from content teacher to librarian has been more metamorphosis than mere transition, and the rigorous courses in the school library program have given me the experience I need to be a capable, engaged, and skilled school librarian. Since every assignment was designed with AASL School Librarian Standards in mind, I have now gained understanding and extensive practice with each of the five standards. Most importantly, my experience in this program has instilled a passion and veneration for school libraries and their incredible potential to create positive impacts on every member of the learning community.
Standard 1: The Learner and Learning
Through my coursework, I have increased my knowledge and understanding of learners at all levels and with diverse abilities. I have written school lesson plans, from elementary to high school, that focus on inquiry and include differentiated instruction to appeal to multiple learning modalities. Instruction that is inclusive, culturally responsive, and diverse results in a naturally welcoming and positive environment. The Collaborative Unit Practicum, the Collaborative Collection Plan, the Advocacy Plan, and the Plagiarism Unit all demanded I develop an understanding of learners, their development, and their intellectual and cultural diversity so that I now deeply understand Standard 1, competently implement it, and strive to meet it at every opportunity.
Standard 2: Planning for Instruction
Librarians are also educators, but they have the challenging role of serving the entire learning community. During my work on the Collaborative Unit Plan, the Plagiarism Unit, and the Pathfinder, I had to consider how to design lessons that promoted digital citizenship and literacy, implemented assessment strategies that gauged the success of students’ learning as well as my instruction/delivery, and reflected on techniques to improve instruction and increase learner success and engagement. This was valuable experience creating lessons that promote inquiry and guide learners to develop a framework of thought that will support their success in all content areas and their futures. I also gained insight and experience about the importance of collaboration throughout the school community.
Standard 3: Knowledge and Application of Content
Nearly every task in this program demanded that I gain knowledge and demonstrate proficiency of current technologies. The Collaborative Unit Practicum, the Collaborative Collection Plan, the Plagiarism Unit, and the Pathfinder assignments all enhanced my technologic literacy and developed my knowledge of instructional technologies. Furthermore, I now believe that digital citizenship is an imperative skill and have demonstrated competency delivering engaging instruction on this topic. I have always felt that diversity and inclusion are important, but now I have gained strategies on how to create collections supporting this while also sparking learner interest.
Standard 4: Organization and Access
My coursework has also provided me with opportunities to develop and curate a collection of resources that highlights the diversity of the school community and global society. I have learned the value of collecting data, analyzing it to determine how learners are impacted, and using it to develop strategies and services for my specific learning community. I have also gained valuable knowledge and practice of evaluation criteria and selection tools that assist me in selecting resources that support learner diversity and are of varied formats. The Collaborative Unit Practicum, the Collaborative Collection Plan, the Advocacy Plan, the Plagiarism Unit, and the Pathfinder all aligned with Standard 4 and helped me contemplate solutions specific to my learning community aimed to increase access, design services for the community, include selections in varying formats, and demonstrate and promote ethical use of resources and information.
Standard 5: Leadership, Advocacy, and Professional Responsibility
I have undergone a significant personal transformation as a result of my studies. I am not introverted, but I have no desire for power or promotion. Thus, I believed that I was uninterested in leadership. I now maintain that leadership in libraries is essential, though it can be very subtle and may not look like traditional leadership. Librarians must lead by initiating collaboration at every opportunity. Also, strong librarians have a vested interest in supporting teachers, and thus, learners, so they must spearhead professional development for faculty. To do this, librarians must remain learners themselves and constantly seek new knowledge and best practices. Additionally, librarians are agents of social justice and equality as they advocate for each individual in their learning community. Finally, librarians must adhere to the American Library Association Code of Ethics and the Library Bill of Rights to guide their practice and resolve dilemmas.
Collaborative Unit Practicum
School Librarian candidates must be “effective educators who demonstrate an awareness of learners’ development,” foster a “positive learning environment,” and help ensure “all learners are prepared for college, career, and life” (AASL, 2019, p.6). Years of collaborative planning and instruction ingrained the spirit of collaboration in me, but I never envisioned the librarian as an instructional partner. Now, my perspective has evolved, and I strongly believe that librarians are teachers first. Understanding this was critical to my Collaborative Unit Practicum experience as I had to contact teachers and pitch the relevance, value, and effectiveness of collaboration in the midst of Standards of Learning (SOL) testing. Moreover, collaborating with colleagues of your choice is a different experience than the collaboration required of librarians, which is not selective. A librarian must be able to plan and deliver instruction to all subject areas and grade levels (AASL, 2019, p. 7), requiring a versatility and engagement that exceeds anything demanded of me as a content area teacher. As a content teacher, I grew to understand of my students’ learning styles, strengths, and needs through daily interaction and data collection; conversely, librarians must possess “knowledge of how to work with those who have learning differences” (AASL, 2019, p. 7) and “all members of the learning community” (AASL, 2019, p.8) without the advantage of daily interaction. Thus, librarians must proficiently deliver instruction for diverse learners and abilities and do so reflexively. Therefore, creating an inquiry unit was a transformational learning opportunity, for it spurred me to grow in unanticipated ways. Approaching lessons from an inquiry mindset was a foreign and challenging task, but learning the inquiry models, how to implement them, and the incredible benefits to learner outcomes, created a complete paradigm shift in my education philosophy. It allowed me to meet “learners where they are” and give them autonomy to “make choices in their learning” (AASL, 2019, p.7). While Standards of Learning (SOL) are undeniably important, focusing on students’ conceptual understanding, critical thinking, and empowering learners to choose their own paths (AASL, 2019, p. 7) was reinvigorating and professionally satisfying. Approaching instruction from multiple points was a fresh challenge–I enjoyed not only addressing SOL skills, but also focusing on students’ abilities to access, explore, and use information. As digital learners who are drenched in information, guiding them to understand how to find information, how to interact with information, and how to evaluate information for “accuracy, bias, validity, relevance, and cultural context” (AASL, 2019, p. 9) is an essential skill. As a teacher, I was frustrated at my own inability to do this, but as a teacher-librarian I now feel equipped to do this ably, and I will work diligently to support teachers and learners in this area. Moreover, gaining practice modeling “safe, responsible, ethical, and legal use of information” was particularly helpful for me (AASL, 2019, p. 16), for the librarian is uniquely positioned to model digital citizenship skills. Collaborating with the librarians and my cooperating teacher gave me experience planning, delivering, assessing, and reflecting on the process (AASL, 2019, p. 9), and further helped me appreciate the dynamic nature of library instruction. Another benefit I gleaned from the practicum was using technology to enable learning (AASL, 2019, p. 12). To fully explore, learners need to be given the independence to personalize their learning, and using technology makes this possible. Technology was also crucial in addressing access as students were still able to access library resources electronically despite the physical barriers (AASL, 2019, p. 13).
Advocacy Plan
Years of proven study confirm the crucial importance of school libraries staffed by professional librarians and the positive impacts they make on student achievement. School libraries support students’ personal learning, reading for pleasure, digital literacy, career and college readiness, and contribute to an increase in reading levels and testing scores (AASL, 2013, p3). Although we know “strong libraries build strong students,” (AASL, 2013, p.1), they are still constantly endangered. Some districts are abolishing the positions of school librarians altogether: a 2021 study revealed that there is nearly a 20% drop in school librarian positions (Wong, 2022, para. 2). However, advocacy can reverse this trend. Recently, school librarians and supporters in Washington, D.C.,and Boston, Massachusetts, created enough public awareness for the value of school libraries and the attempts to eliminate staff within them that efforts to do so were foiled (Wong, 2022, para. 3). The AASL defines advocacy as the “On-going process of building partnerships so that others will act for and with you, turning passive support into educated action for the library program. It begins with a vision and a plan for the library program that is then matched to the agenda and priorities of stakeholders” (AASL, 2022). In this program, I developed an Advocacy Plan to ensure that teachers are aware of library resources, receive instructional support and training, have a curated list of instructional resources to enhance instruction and meet diverse learner needs, and are repeatedly invited to collaborate. As a content teacher, I had no idea the depth of resources and support awaiting me and my students in the library. Now that I am aware, I am determined to parade the wealth of assistance available in the library–not only to ensure its survival, but also to be certain that it serves all patrons. Additionally, by supporting teachers, providing channels for teachers to request support and access, and by collecting and analyzing data from the school community, the advocacy plan would also enable me to identify, evaluate, plan, and implement best practices (AASL, 2019, p. 14) so that I may continue to work toward “equitable access to resources and services in school libraries” (AASL, 2019, p. 14). The Advocacy Plan taught me that an integral part of championing learner needs is supporting teachers and creating professional relationships with all stakeholders, for this guarantees the library remains evolutionary and responsive to the changing needs of the entire school community.
Collaborative Collection Plan
The Collaborative Collection Plan provided meaningful experience with professional collaboration as I worked with classmates and future librarians, Marie Connelly and Casey Kriecar. It also gave me experience using “criteria to select, acquire, organize, and manage a collection” (AASL, 2019, p. 7) that not only supports curriculum needs but also promotes a personal reading while honoring diversity and inclusion. Furthermore, it spurred me to expand my knowledge of subject content and grade levels, as our focus was early elementary math. It also immersed me in the rich world of children’s literature and prompted me to seek a variety of selection formats to meet learner needs and interests. I gained pragmatic training in selection and curation, and this assignment underscored the library’s connection to every subject at every level–the library can lead inclusivity and support learner differences while creating opportunities that lay the foundations for success in “college, career, and life” (AASL, 2019, p. 6) even in our our youngest patrons. The library also builds cultural literacy and respect for diversity by extending opportunities for learners to “understand cultures within their community and beyond” (AASL, 2019, p.7). Every encounter with a text is an opportunity to learn new information, expand horizons, encourage inclusivity, spark curiosity, and support content.
Plagiarism Unit
I also gained relevant experience through the creation of a virtual Plagiarism Unit. I selected this topic because the rates of plagiarism are alarming, but the wealth of information available can and should be ethically accessed and used by learners. The occasion to engage students in deep, honest, and critical thought about plagiarism is an essential component of digital citizenship. Often, fear is used to motivate learners to avoid plagiarism, but having students consider why we plagiarize, why it is so common, why it is unethical, and why it is a damaging practice is more authentic instruction. Acknowledging the benefits of building on other pioneers’ ideas and knowledge affords students the ability to address a long standing culture of plagiarism and personalizes the issue. This also will assist learners in appreciating the benefits of using information ethically. Additionally, developing a virtual unit provided me experience with new technologies, which increases access and makes it possible to differentiate instruction for multiple learning modalities and abilities. Finally, this was excellent practice creating instruction that applies to many content areas, and librarians are often tasked with creating school-wide resources.
Grant Proposal
The Grant Proposal was another authentic learning experience that has guided my approach to librarianship. This proposal would provide several opportunities: interdepartmental collaboration; inclusion and diversity; student autonomy and ownership; close observation of evolving student needs to inform other programs and services; and finally, a chance to advocate both to and for students. Through this practice, I thought deeply about how I could improve “access to library resources and services” while also developing solutions to social, economic, and intellectual barriers to access” (AASL, 2019, p. 12). I also considered how to best “transform practice and policy in school libraries to positively impact the diverse cultural terrain of groups and individuals in their learning communities” (AASL, 2019, p. 14). I chose to write a grant proposal for AASL’s Collaborative School Library Award, and it was excellent practice strengthening my collaboration skills, creating inclusive environments, providing authentic learning experiences, and fostering a positive learning environment. I envisioned collaborating with a range of learners and educators: special education, math, English, and business. Though it may seem controversial to create a cafe space in a library, there is ample evidence that shows such spaces lure non-users to the space, create an inviting atmosphere, strengthen sense of community, develop positive experiences for learners in their school libraries, and equip learners with skills that will serve them in college, career, and life. Moreover, I closely analyzed the school community in order to craft a program that maximized impact. Not only did I consider which program could place learners with differing abilities in a cooperative environment, I also considered financial opportunities that could significantly mitigate some of the economic disadvantages many of the learners in this school community face. It was empowering to develop ways to “Lead and collaborate with members of the learning community to effectively design and implement solutions that positively impact learner growth and strengthen the role of the school library” (AASL, 2019, p. 14). I again found the library to be a potent agent of change (AASL, 2018, p. 13), and its connection to the entire school community profound.
Pathfinder
The Pathfinder assignment also increased my range of skills and understanding in addition to training me to be responsive to the needs of the learning community. I chose to create a pathfinder on the topic of gun control for several reasons. High school students must demonstrate proficiency in persuasive writing, so gun control is a relevant topic to help learners become competent persuasive writers, but also because the learning community at Granby High School had recently experienced two distressing incidents: a beloved former student was killed by random gun violence, and an incident in the school in which a suspected weapon may have been on or near campus caused lengthy long lock down. Although no weapon was ever recovered in the school, the possibility and ensuing lock down was traumatic for many students and teachers. The effects of these events were palpable while I was completing my practicum, so creating resources that address the issue of gun control was a specific response. Many teachers expressed frustration at the lack of professional resources to help them navigate the topic of gun violence with students, but upon research, I discovered there are resources offering strategies to approach this issue in a supportive and developmentally appropriate way with learners of all ages. This assignment also gave me practice curating reliable sources in various formats to suit all learner modalities and diversities. I now view all interactions with digital information as an opportunity to incorporate digital literacy, so the Pathfinder was another avenue to model information evaluation. Finally, because my audience is wide–from concerned citizens, to teachers, to mature students– introducing an accessible and free resource for finding scholarly sources was a way to provide and protect access to information.
References
American Association of School Librarians (AASL). (2013). AASL Advocacy Infographic. Retrieved on July 4, 2022 from https://www.ala.org/aasl/sites/ala.org.aasl/files/content/aaslissues/advocacy/AASL_infographic.pdf
American Association of School Librarians (AASL). (2010). ALA/AASL Standards for Initial Preparation of School Librarians. Retrieved on July 4, 2022 from https://www.ala.org/aasl/sites/ala.org.aasl/files/content/aasleducation/schoollibrary/2010_standards_with_rubrics_and_statements_1-31-11.pdf
American Association of School Librarians (AASL). (2019). ALA/AASL/CAEP School Librarian Standards (2019). Retrieved on July 4, 2022 from https://www.ala.org/aasl/sites/ala.org.aasl/files/content/aasleducation/ALA_AASL_CAEP_School_Librarian_Preparation_Standards_2019_Final.pdf
American Association of School Librarians (AASL). (2022). What is advocacy? AASL. https://www.ala.org/aasl/advocacy/definitions
Wong, P. (2022). School librarians are essential: successes serve as beacons of hope for bringing libraries back to schools. American Libraries.https://americanlibrariesmagazine.org/2022/05/02/school-librarians-are-essential/