The recent American Association of School Librarians (AASL) National Conference and Exhibition, held November 8–11 in Phoenix, served as the launch site for the updated National School Library Standards for Learners, School Librarians, and School Libraries—a fascinating matrix of shared foundations and competencies that allows librarians and educators to address and meet the needs of 21st-century learners. The Standards were the talk of the conference. They even infiltrated an unlikely place—an escape room. The escape room in the conference’s exhibit hall found participants using elements from the Standards— collaboration, investigation, exploration, engaging with others, sharing—to solve its clues and puzzles.
In Episode 20, we explore practical applications of the new Standards. First, American Libraries Associate Editor and Dewey Decibel host Phil Morehart speaks with Marcia Mardis, associate professor and assistant dean of interdisciplinary research and education in the College of Communication and Information at Florida State University and chair of the Standards editorial board, about the Standards, why they were updated, and what’s in the new edition.
Then we report from Phoenix where ALA Editions Acquisitions Editor Jamie Santoro chats with former AASL president Terri Grief about the AASL conference escape room before joining a team of librarians from Oklahoma as they work together to find their way out.
Finally, Santoro talks with Patty Jimenez, a teacher-librarian at Sunnyslope High School in Phoenix, about an escape room that she set up for students in her library.
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