AASL Standards - Inquire

 Sarah Jorgenson, a public middle school librarian, spoke with me about how she implements the Inquire competencies in her library. Working with teaching on research is a major part of her job. Research is a key component of the standards for most content areas in middle school, and she works with teachers in all grade levels on various projects throughout the year. Each grade level has different key planned research activities. Sixth-grade students research inventors, and seventh and eighth-grade students choose from a variety of topics for National History Day. In addition to these annual research projects, she collaborates with teachers on new research regularly. The library is often full of students working on different research projects for different classes.

While some research is done as a whole class, the flexible scheduling in the library allows for students to come and go as needed to work on projects. She encourages students to choose a topic that interests them in order to create buy-in. Students use the book and ebook/audiobook collections as well as databases through SC Discus to research and find evidence for their topics. They create projects as a way of illustrating what they’ve learned. These projects vary from written papers and display boards to websites and documentaries. Students are encouraged through the research process to continually seek to learn, whether that research for a class project or digging into formation for their own personal understanding.

She works with teachers to provide lessons on how to research, use print and digital materials, and cite sources. These lessons are co-taught which adds to credibility for the librarian and the teacher. When students later ask questions, Jorgenson feels like she can better assist students with their needs because she has done the important work of understanding the objectives and assessments that the teacher has in place. Students use the library space to research, access materials, and ask questions as they work through their projects. One of her goals is to foster more independent research in the library, encouraging students to ask questions and have a safe place to find answers.

The challenge can be student buy-in. The information shared with them are life skills –researching, finding materials, citing sources – but often students in middle school may not see it as necessary at this time. Part of this is the age range in the school, but she is hopeful that without enough everyday connections she can help students see the long-term value of research skills. She is working to find ways to make it more memorable for them so they can see the benefits. Research skills will pay off!

AASL Standards - Explore

I had the privilege of speaking with Deborah Oswald, a high school librarian, about her implementation of the Explore standards. She works to create creative spaces, and especially uses the library website and Destiny Discover to create virtual spaces that invite conversation and wondering. The library advisory club and assistant create physical displays and bulletin boards to encourage reading. When students walk into or through the library they are greeted by new materials that are updated regularly. One of the additional ways that she has been able to support this standard is by being part of the school leadership team and contributing to schoolwide decisions. This also allows her to see the big picture of what is happening at the school. 

Collaboration is a key to her work in the library. She collaborates with ELA teachers to provide orientation at the beginning of the year. This has provided opportunities for creative programming to encourage student use of the library for class-specific uses and individual interests. For example she has done material speed dating, book buffet, makerspace, genre personality quizzes and more to promote schoolwide reading. She collaborates virtually with other content areas and provides needed materials. For example, she finds materials for specific science research projects that develop in AP Science. Some of the key resources used are Destiny Discover, Sora, FinalSite website manager, Canva, Google Slides Discus, J-STOR, TeachingBooks, and Gale in Context.

The biggest challenge that she faces is time, which is a common concern among school librarians. Oswald’s library serves over 2,500 students and, while they use an online calendar to book their 3 available spaces in the library, they cannot meet the needs of every teacher. They had one assistant cut last year, so it has been a challenge to have excellent customer service with only one assistant and one librarian in such a big school. The numbers continue to grow each year, so she anticipates this will continue to be a challenge. She aims to provide all students with the best library experience every day.

AASL Standards - Include

Diversity has been an important focus of conversations through my MLIS program, and I was excited to hear Sarah Jorgenson’s thoughts about the Include AASL standards. She is a middle school librarian in a school with high levels of diversity.

The primary way she implements the Include competencies is by purchasing a variety of books. She wants to make sure that the books reflect the community and the students’ interests. Book displays are also important in making sure that different people are highlighted regularly. She often tells students, “Every book is not for everyone, but the library has a book for everyone.” In a community that has challenged several book titles, this task can be tricky, but Jorgenson often invites parents into the library to show the diversity of her books and explain exactly why she makes certain book choices. She is actively explaining to the community that she is making book choices that reflect ALL of the diverse backgrounds and needs of the community.

The library also shows flexibility to provide for student needs, which vary greatly. Students have access to fiction and nonfiction titles, ebooks and audiobooks, games and craft supplies and more. There are multiple seating arrangements in the library like wobble stools, tall tables, and upholstered chairs. The library has flexible scheduling and moveable furniture to provide for a huge variety of student needs. Teachers can come in and reserve the space for lessons and events. Often large events like book tastings, gallery walks, and presentations are held in the space. Teachers can also reserve the space for class time and allow the students to spread out and work to record video/audio responses to assignments and to participate in other collaborative activities. The library also holds materials that students can use for their independent creation projects. There is a green screen, recording devices, die cuts, a printer and plenty of space for students to create their own learning. Teachers regularly display student work on the shelves, so students also love coming in to see their own work displayed.

Recently, teachers have become much more receptive to the idea of using the library as a space for more than book checkout, but there are still challenges to these include competencies. The biggest challenge that Jorgenson finds is making sure that she is finding materials that are representative of as many peoples as possible. She is concerned about this issue from the publishing level, as it can be difficult to find enough resources. She is excited about the conversation that has been highlighted by We Need Diverse Books. Hopefully the availability of these diverse materials continues to grow as more publishers see the need for diversity.

I enjoyed hearing more thoughts about how to make sure these competencies are implemented effectively in a school library. There are many exciting opportunities for a library when all students feel included.