Question: Whom Do School Librarians Serve?

When answering this question Dr. Ken Haycock wrote: “Most [librarians] would answer students, yet the primary clientele is terms of power, impact, and effect would be teachers” (Haycock, 2010, p. 3).

I think this is a question that many school librarians may want to consider more carefully. Yes, we are teachers and as teachers, our bottom line is student learning. However, we are teachers plus. As librarians, our position requires us to collaborate with every classroom teacher and specialist in our building.

If you are a school librarian, how would you organize your time differently if classroom teachers were your primary clientele?

Note: The Library 2.012 Conference, a free virtual professional development opportunity, will be held this week from October 3rd – 5th. Check it out at: http://www.library20.com/page/2-012-conference

Reference

Haycock, K. (2010). Leadership from the middle: Building influence for change. In S. Coatney (Ed.), The many faces of school library leadership (1-12). Santa Barbara, CA: Libraries Unlimited.

This entry was posted in Collaborative Cultures and tagged by Judi Moreillon. Bookmark the permalink.

About Judi Moreillon

Judi Moreillon, M.L.S, Ph.D., has served as a school librarian at every instructional level. In addition, she has been a classroom teacher, literacy coach, and district-level librarian mentor. Judi has taught preservice school librarians since 1995. She taught courses in instructional partnerships and school librarian leadership, multimedia resources and services, children’s and young adult literature, and storytelling. Her research agenda focuses on the professional development of school librarians for the leadership and instructional partner roles. Judi just completed editing and contributing to Core Values in School Librarianship: Responding with Commitment and Courage (Libraries Unlimited 2021). She has published four other professional books including Maximizing School Librarian Leadership: Building Connections for Learning and Advocacy (ALA 2018). (See the book study on this blog.) Judi earned the American Library Association's 2019 Scholastic Library Publishing Award.

4 thoughts on “Question: Whom Do School Librarians Serve?

  1. Sue Kowalski authored, “Raising the Bar: Engaging Staff and Students in a Culture of Participation,” in the most recent issue of Knowledge Quest. In her article, she introduces her school setting and integrated library program. The first subheading in her article is this: “Success Starts with Staff.” Sue talks about reaching out, repeatedly, to overcome stumbling blocks to developing a unified approach to the research process through collaborative teaching. She continually strives to expand classroom-library collaboration for instruction and involves staff as partners in planning and presenting library events.

    Readers of Sue’s article will note that she does not leave students out of the participation picture, but she does acknowledge that the most effective way for a library leader to impact students in by working with and through their teachers. The Pine Grove M.S. library program is an exemplary example of how Sue enacts the instructional leadership role and engages in community development. Brava, for the stakeholders at Pine Grove Middle School in East Syracuse Minoa, New York!

    Reference

    Kowalski, S. (2012). Raising the bar. Knowledge Quest, 41(1), 28-36.

  2. Sue Kowalski authored, “Raising the Bar: Engaging Staff and Students in a Culture of Participation,” in the most recent issue of Knowledge Quest. In her article, she introduces her school setting and integrated library program. The first subheading in her article is this: “Success Starts with Staff.” Sue talks about reaching out, repeatedly, to overcome stumbling blocks to developing a unified approach to the research process through collaborative teaching. She continually strives to expand classroom-library collaboration for instruction and involves staff as partners in planning and presenting library events.

    Readers of Sue’s article will note that she does not leave students out of the participation picture, but she does acknowledge that the most effective way for a library leader to impact students in by working with and through their teachers. The Pine Grove M.S. library program is an exemplary example of how Sue enacts the instructional leadership role and engages in community development. Brava, for the stakeholders at Pine Grove Middle School in East Syracuse Minoa, New York!

    Reference

    Kowalski, S. (2012). Raising the bar. Knowledge Quest, 41(1), 28-36.

  3. Pingback: Carolina’s On My Mind – Queries for School Librarians | Building a Culture of Collaboration

  4. Pingback: Carolina’s On My Mind – Queries for School Librarians | Building a Culture of Collaboration

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