The newest Knowledge Quest hit the mailboxes of school librarians all over the country yesterday. As one of the co-editors for this month, I was so excited to focus on collaboration but in the sense of collaborative partnerships with other professionals. This issue of KQ takes a look at the various types of mentoring relationships, including: with other school librarians, with teachers, with students, and with public librarians.School librarians from all over the country share their experiences, research, and ideas on how we can learn from each other, whether you are a seasoned school librarian or just a newbie. Take a look at this issue – I think the broad scope will engage you and introduce some possible partnerships you may not have thought of that can indeed help you grow as a professional.

As I was searching for articles for my Administration of School Library Media Centers course I ran across an interesting perspective in a blog post by Andy Plemmons about how we could include students in this process. As like most of you probably do, I always welcomed student suggestions for purchases and kept a spreadsheet of these recommendations. Plemmons goes one step further to involve his students.

Based on data collected from teachers and on his own observations, a lack of reading motivation was noted in students that were reading below grade level in grades 3-5. Again using data, Plemmons identified 45 students defined by this criteria. These students were invited to share their interests and provide feedback about how the collection did not meet their needs. Then each student was given $45.00 to select books for the library. Let the collaboration begin – students, teachers, the school librarian, and vendors all worked together to address this need in their school.

I love this idea of further involving the students in program administration aspect. The school library program is there to serve the needs of the learning community and the students are a major part of that community, so they should be a part of all aspects. This also reminded me of the way Sue Kolwalski involves her student in her program – giving them ownership in areas of scheduling tasks as library assistants. As we strive to build collaborative relationships throughout our building and beyond, I think building this relationship with students by giving them voice and ownership has to be a critical part of today’s library media program.

As I was searching for articles for my Administration of School Library Media Centers course I ran across an interesting perspective in a blog post by Andy Plemmons about how we could include students in this process. As like most of you probably do, I always welcomed student suggestions for purchases and kept a spreadsheet of these recommendations. Plemmons goes one step further to involve his students.

Based on data collected from teachers and on his own observations, a lack of reading motivation was noted in students that were reading below grade level in grades 3-5. Again using data, Plemmons identified 45 students defined by this criteria. These students were invited to share their interests and provide feedback about how the collection did not meet their needs. Then each student was given $45.00 to select books for the library. Let the collaboration begin – students, teachers, the school librarian, and vendors all worked together to address this need in their school.

I love this idea of further involving the students in program administration aspect. The school library program is there to serve the needs of the learning community and the students are a major part of that community, so they should be a part of all aspects. This also reminded me of the way Sue Kolwalski involves her student in her program – giving them ownership in areas of scheduling tasks as library assistants. As we strive to build collaborative relationships throughout our building and beyond, I think building this relationship with students by giving them voice and ownership has to be a critical part of today’s library media program.

In returning from Seattle after attending the Association for Library Science Education (ALISE) and the American Library Association (ALA) conferences I have been reflecting on collaboration and wondered if we practice what we preach. At both conferences I observed various types of collaborations taking place ranging from the very formal meeting type to the very informal chat over coffee type. I find these collaboration oppotunities one of the best aspects about conferences – sure there are some great sessions to learn from, but more importantly I think it is about connecting with colleagues. I think it is through these types of collaborations that we can grow and learn as professionals.

I have found in my career that being active in professional organizations is one of the best ways to meet potential collaborators and as a formal way to engage in collaboration. It is this professional collaboration with other school librarians that can grow our PLN, expand our thinking, expose us to new ideas, provide critical friends, and inspire us. As school librarians we are often in a building by ourselves as the sole librarian and we must look to professional organizations, whether it be at the state or national level, as a useful places to make connections. An indeed research shows that school librarians are enabled in their leadership efforts through the relationships they develop in and through professional organizations (Johnston, 2012). Yet, it is also what you make of it – get actively involved in your professional organizations and start making those collaborative connections!

References

Johnston, M. P. (2012). School librarians as technology integration leaders: Enablers and barriers to leadership enactment. School Library Research, 15(1). Retrieved from www.ala.org/aasl/slr.

As I finish up the semester I have been thinking about my student’s reflections on collaboration. One of the things that really stood out for me was the focus on how we now collaborate. I think now more than ever, technology and the tools it provides for online collaboration are reshaping collaboration for school librarians. I model using these tools in my courses for students in the hopes they will then see the value and how they can then utilize them in their own practice.

The challenges that most of us experience such as teachers saying they don’t have time to collaborate or that on a fixed schedule there is no way. Online collaboration tools allow for everyone to contribute on their own schedule and when they do have the time. Also these tools mean that more people can be involved in collaboration without the worry of coordinating everyone’s schedule. Finally, geography is not a limitation. It is possible to collaborate with professionals all over the world, even if that person may just be down the hallway.

Online collaboration tools also have also changed the way that we work with and teach students,as well as the way that students work with each other. Students have increased opportunities to collaborate, in an engaging way, and learn valuable technical skills as well. This was just noted in an article I read a couple of weeks ago – What’s Changing in education? For this Tech Tool Expert. It’s Collaboration.

As stated in the AASL Standards for the 21^st-Century Learner (2007) Common Beliefs: “Learning has a social context. Learning is enhanced by opportunities to share and learn with others. Students need to develop skills in sharing knowledge and learning with others, both in face-to-face situations and through technology.”  I ask my students all the time to look back on these Common Beliefs and think – how am I reflecting these in my school library program? How are you using technology to encourage sharing and facilitate collaboration in your library program?

American Association of School Librarians (AASL). (2007). Standards for the 21st-century learner. Chicago: American Library Association. Retrieved from http://www.ala.org/ala/aasl/aaslproftools/learningstandards/standards.cfm

Fall is the time for conferences in the world of school libraryland. I chose to attend the School Library Journal Leadership Summit in Philadelphia. This was my second year attending this summit. Last year I met some wonderful school librarians from around the country that have now become my professional collaborators and friends. I find that this summit provides opportunities to learn from speakers and panels, as well as time to spend networking with and learning from other school librarian leader participants.

The theme of the summit this year was “Advocacy and the E-Volution,” focusing on how technology and the needs of our 21st century students are transforming our roles within the school and our programs. Yet upon further exploration of speakers, panels, and their topics I found the Common Core was a prevalent theme as well in what they were calling “Librarians at the Center of the Common Core: Summit within the Summit” which immediately piqued my interest. As I tell my students every week I believe Common Core is a huge opportunity for school librarians to collaborate, teach, and demonstrated their value in the educational process.

I found this year that my take-aways from this summit were varied and somewhat conflicted. As usual for me at any conference, I always seem to get the most out of the real-world school librarian speakers. I am drawn to the practical – what is working out there for people and what is not.

I especially enjoyed hearing the energetic MIchelle Luhtala from New Canaan High School Library talk about her role in technology and how they are dealing with BYOD as this is an hot topic right now and I find myself very concerned about the digital divide aspect.

But it was the second day of the summit where the focus was on the Common Core that interested me most. The day began with a focus on “Nonfiction at the Forefront of the Common Core” with a panel of authors taking about their works and making the connections to the Common Core. They each spent time explaining why nonfiction is such a valuable tool in learning and talking about ways that school librarians could collaborate with teachers in this aspect of the Common Core, some ideas included: using authors as models of research and writing, making the connection to primary sources and drawing evidence from them, balancing and teaching perspective within a text, comparing and contrasting, and art in conveying meaning.

Also the Coordinator of School Library Programs & Partnerships in New York City, Melissa Jacobs-Israel, spoke about how school librarians in NY are working together to address the Common Core and how it can directly tie to the AASL Standards – as she said “This is what we do!” I agree wholeheartedly with her sentiment in that when you sit down and really look at the Common Core a great deal of it is what we teach as school librarians and this is also illustrated in the AASL Common Core Crosswalk. This is a chance for school librarians to step up and take on a leadership role to be proactive in collaborating with teachers to plan instruction and co-teach.

Yet even at this conference of school library leaders I still heard other participants who just still don’t seem to get it. I heard whining about the Common Core and having to teach to the standards. I guess I am still amazed in that as much literature that has been devoted to this topic, the time spent making connections for school librarians to what we do to the Common Core, and the collaborative efforts of so many school librarians, that there are still people struggling to see that this is indeed an opportunity for school librarians.

So I wonder: What are you doing in your schools to to utilize the Common Core as an opportunity to step up to lead and be proactive in collaborating with teachers to plan instruction and co-teach?

As I was reading through my email this past week I was extremely interested to see a report entitle Building a Bridge to Literacy for African-American Male Youth: A Call to Action for the Library Community from the School of Information and Library Science at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and the School of Library and Information Science at North Carolina Central University.

This report offers recommendations for addressing the achievement gap for African-American Males in this country and serves as a call to action for libraries of all types.

What resonated with me was the call for collaboration between school libraries, public libraries, and other community organizations. I frequently read and hear about the lack of collaboration between school libraries and public libraries. Yet, just as this report discusses, think of the powerful partnerships that can be formed that can benefit all students, not just those at risk.

In times of budget cuts collections have suffered and sometimes the cultural representation that should be present in a collection is not. This presents an opportunity to work with your public library – they may have resources that you don’t have and when you pool your resources together you can offer more to your students. This report describes the enabling texts that are needed to reach out to African American males. Working on building collections that include these type of materials could be a joint effort initiative between the school librarian and the public librarian.

When I opened a new school library I found the public library to be a great partner. After meeting with teachers and learning the curriculum I could keep up with what topics were coming up and then work with the local public librarian to help me gather and borrow materials to support these curricular areas. Then in return I worked with them to develop and promote various programs to support and benefit students.

Also mentioned in this report is collaboration with community organizations and partners to offer experiences to your students. This report talks of working with different civic organizations to foster community relations and provide real-world authentic learning experiences. This may be working with like-minded organizations to set up programs that can foster literacy engagement out in the community for those students who may not always be able to get to the library.

I think all too often we as school librarians solely focus on collaborating with teachers and some times forget about other possible partnerships. I believe these types of collaborations that go beyond the school walls benefit and provide valuable support for all students.