School Librarians Are Connectors

collaboration_sizedThis month the BACC co-bloggers are previewing our upcoming (May 19th) Texas Library Association Webinar. See the end of this post for information. Along with our guest blogger, Melissa Johnston, each of us will be previewing our piece of the collaboration puzzle in our May blog posts. BACC co-blogger Karla Collins will offer the final contribution this month with a post-Webinar wrap-up.

Malcolm Gladwell, author of The Tipping Point: How Little Things Make a Difference, notes that “connectors” have the “ability to span many different worlds,” which may be a “function of something intrinsic to their personality, some combination of curiosity, self-confidence, sociability, and energy” (47). Thanks to our big picture view of our school learning communities, school librarians are positioned to be connectors. (And hopefully we embody at least some, if not all, of the dispositions Gladwell associates with connectors.)

When we are engaged in building a culture of collaboration in our school learning communities, we determine the best ways to meet the needs of each of our library stakeholders. Through communication and collaboration and to use a construction metaphor, we build relationships that can help cement the foundation of a culture of learners—young and older—who strive to make school a joyful, relevant, and effective learning environment for all.

On Thursday, I will introduce collaboration with students as one of the pillars necessary for building a culture of collaboration.

Webinar Information:
May 19, 2-3pm Central Time: Building a Culture of Collaboration (Collaboration Series) – FREE
How can you increase collaboration in your school learning community? Building a Culture of Collaboration at Edublogs co-bloggers will share strategies for reaching out and developing collaborative relationships with four library stakeholder groups: administrators (Judy Kaplan), classroom teachers and specialists (Melissa Johnston), students (Judi Moreillon), and families and community members (Lucy Santos Green). Bring your commitment to building partnerships, your experiences, your ideas and your questions to the conversation.

Register at https://join.onstreammedia.com/register/80146595/register_for_culture

All Webinars will be recorded. A link to the recording will be sent to all registrants (i.e. you may want to register even if you know you cannot attend the live event). All Webinars will carry Continuing Education credit.

Works Cited

Gladwell, Malcolm. The Tipping Point: How Little Things Make a Difference. New York: Little, Brown, 2000. Print.

Maxwell, Scott. “Working Together Teamwork Puzzle Concept.” 2007. Flickr.com. Web. 25 April 2015 <https://www.flickr.com/photos/lumaxart/2137737248/>.

This entry was posted in Collaborative Cultures, Professional Development 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.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *