Whatever your school’s library is like, the opportunity to bring in culturally responsive principles exists. If you are a school librarian, time is not always on your side. But with intentional steps, the culturally responsive practices that you decide to implement in your library can be structured into feasible tasks. Each of the following tasks … Continue reading Culturally Diverse Collections
Learning centers also work well in the school library, where makerspaces have similarly paved the way for innovative library instruction. Makerspaces can vary according to setting, participant grade level, budget, and purpose. In general, they’re places where learners have choices and where learners make something. Many learning centers share these qualities. The difference is that … Continue reading At the Center of Learning
The library ecosystem encompasses the life cycles of both our users (to provide representation and touchstones at each stage of a person’s life) and library workers (to assist at each stage of our careers). Seasons come and go, but libraries are always present: creating community, ensuring representation, and upholding our values. Here are some roles … Continue reading Representation Matters
Country music star John Rich, who tweeted in January, prior to the bill’s introduction, that he’d met with Gov. Bill Lee and Commissioner of Education Penny Schwinn about obscene books in school libraries, addressed the House subcommittee on K–12 education on February 23, comparing teachers, educators, and librarians to “the guy in the white van … Continue reading Book Battle in Tennessee
A study from 2021 shows that the number of school librarians in the US decreased from 52,545 in 2009 to 42,279 in 2019—a 19.5% drop. The investigators went on to note that school librarians were most likely to be absent in rural and Hispanic districts, as well as in districts with poor and minority students. Like … Continue reading School Librarians Are Essential
Magoon’s interest in the Black Panthers came when she was working as a grant writer in New York City and stumbled upon an article about the organization’s free breakfast program for school children. Unaware that the group conducted this sort of community outreach, Magoon continued her research and was “dazzled by all this new knowledge” … Continue reading Power to the People
Moderated by Kathryn Roots Lewis, retired director of libraries and instructional technology at Norman (Okla.) Public Schools and 2018–2019 AASL president, and Kathy Carroll, school librarian at Westwood High School in Blythewood, South Carolina, and 2020–2021 AASL president, the October 22 session featured four administrators who had participated in the AASL School Leader Collaborative, an … Continue reading Advocating for Yourself and Others
“It’s been a chaotic time, to say the least,” Pelayo-Lozada said. “And we all deserve to enjoy our time here, especially because the weight that you all have carried for your students, yourselves, and your colleagues over the last year and a half is a heavy one with difficult decisions, a lot of empathy, probably … Continue reading School Librarians, Together Again
This past summer, the American Association of School Librarians (AASL) created a document and chart titled “School Librarian Role in Pandemic Learning Conditions” to assist K–12 librarians as they encounter a variety of situations this school year. The document analyzes the five key roles that we fill—instructional partner, teacher, leader, information specialist, and program administrator—in … Continue reading Reset and Reconnect
Born in Mississippi in 1906, Robinson began her career as a librarian serving Black schools in South Carolina, Georgia, and Louisiana before settling in Alabama, where she initially worked for Alabama State College as an assistant professor of library education. In 1947, she helped organize a librarian section of the Alabama State Teachers Association, a … Continue reading Separate—and Unequal
As our schools and communities grapple with fostering a broader recognition of sexual orientation and gender identity diversity, school librarians play crucial roles in building a welcoming environment and providing access to inclusive resources and services. Social stigma of non-mainstream experiences in schools, particularly among LGBTQ+ students, is reinforced by a lack of accurate information … Continue reading Accepting Queer Realities
But it was all a ruse. When the music abruptly stopped, the second man revealed himself to be the real Adolph Brown; the sequined dancer was in fact his godson. Brown said he pulls this fake-out whenever he’s invited to speak before a professional organization, donning the “undercover brother” costume to walk through the crowd … Continue reading Let the Past Propel the Future
