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
But instead of helping students understand these phenomena, digital literacy curricula tend to focus on individual behavior and responsibilities: Do protect your private information. Don’t cyberbully your classmates. Do use citations. These lessons often aim to correct perceived misbehavior or build academic skills but do little to raise students’ awareness of the complex social issues … Continue reading Rethinking Digital Literacy
The state climate can be openly hostile to queer people: The nonprofit Movement Advancement Project has ranked Texas “low” when it comes to policies relating to sexual orientation and “negative” on policies related to gender identity. How, then, has the lived experience of queer librarians and library workers compared with expectations? Arro Smith, technical services … Continue reading How to Be Queer in Texas
On this bonus episode of Call Number with American Libraries, sponsored by Gale, Maggie Reagan, senior editor of books for youth at Booklist, talks with Jessica Klinker, head librarian at Franklin Heights High School in Columbus, Ohio—one of the librarians whose feedback helped shape the Agents of Change 2.0 paper. They discuss Klinker’s experiences working … Continue reading Call Number Podcast: Agents of Change
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
“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
Early on, students would often ask, “Miss, where can I find the ______ books?” I love few things more than finding just the right book for each student. But as the library’s lone staff member, suggesting books to those browsing titles can get overwhelming when I’m trying to teach class, check students into the workspace, … Continue reading The Switch to Genrefication
What were some of the biggest changes in the manual—such as new laws, policy updates, privacy rules, and technology issue—since the ninth edition in 2015? MARTIN GARNAR: One of the biggest changes was the sheer number of new interpretations of the Library Bill of Rights—eight in total, with topics ranging from religion and politics to … Continue reading Intellectual Freedom: A Manual for Library Workers
First, American Libraries Managing Editor Terra Dankowski speaks with three school library media specialists for Goochland County (Va.) Public Schools—Sarah Smith from Goochland Elementary School, Sue Vaughan from Randolph Elementary School, and Zoe Parrish from Byrd Elementary School—about how they bootstrapped a bookmobile to provide free titles to kids learning remotely. Next, American Libraries Senior … Continue reading Call Number Podcast: School Librarians Adapt to the Pandemic
Moderator Becky Calzada, library services coordinator at Leander (Tex.) Independent School District (ISD), was joined by Mary Woodard, director of library services at Mesquite (Tex.) ISD; Melissa E. Jacobs, director of New York City Schools’ Library System and the New York Department of Education’s Department of Library Services; Dot Guthrie, a retired librarian who sits … Continue reading Leaders of Change
That question and many others were answered in “Pandemic Programming: Changes to School Library Instruction during a Global Pandemic,” held Sunday at ALA Midwinter Virtual 2021 on January 24. Facilitated by Christina Norman, textbook library media coordinator for Birmingham (Ala.) City Schools, and Jennifer J. Sturge, specialist for school libraries and digital learning at Calvert … Continue reading Pandemic Programming
In 2019, Batesville (Ind.) Intermediate School began a book club using selections inspired by the United Nations (UN) Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), the organization’s blueprint for addressing global challenges like poverty and climate change by 2030. Batesville’s students use lessons they glean from the club to engage with their community and the world, earning the … Continue reading Working Toward a Sustainable World
