Krutka reflects and shares her journey to reevaluate her work as a school librarian, through personal professional development, and the action plans created. Krutka offers examples of monthly library themes, updating the collection, reconsidering library signage, and professional development.

When she was was first hired as the Scott County High School (KY) librarian, Megan Musick had many lofty goals. However after one week, she was overwhelmed with phone calls, e-mails, and people dropping in. She felt like she was just putting out small fires and never accomplishing anything. Her brain was frazzled because she was going from one…

Mindfulness has been a hot topic recently as many educators were forced to work from home over the past year and a half. Supporting students using mindfulness is a great way to model self-care behaviors, while being a listening ear and a shoulder to lean on. School librarians have a duty to ensure students find a safe haven in the school library.…

After many years working as a public school educator and school librarian, it is evident to the author that the relationships librarians cultivate with school library stakeholders--students, teachers, staff members, administrators, families, and community members--are the most critical ingredient to creating and maintaining vibrant modern-day…

Barber discusses the benefits of connecting STEM to literacy and includes both small and big ideas to integrate STEM education into your school library. As an opportunity to support learners across the curriculum, Barber encourages readers to harness the power of STEM education.

School librarians in Alaska have worked diligently to see the American Association (AASL) Standards Framework for Learners adopted by the state board of education from December 2018 until September 2020, when they were approved by the Alaska State Board of Education. The standards will be formally adopted after being signed by Alaska's Lieutenant…

To help school librarians develop learners' abilities to contribute to teams that can capitalize on a diversity of thinking and perspective, AASL tasked a 2024 ALA Emerging Leaders team with creating a guide for school librarians based on the Collaborate Shared Foundation in the "National School Library Standards." Working effectively in…

Instructional leadership from the school library happens when school librarians make known their areas of expertise, proactively pursue opportunities to teach, and continue to learn new technologies and strategies for student success. Knowledge of grade level curriculum is essential for offering meaningful collaboration to K-12 instructors and…

The purpose of this study was to examine K-12 School librarians' perceptions of specific patron resources as those perceptions relate to student patrons for whom English is not the first language spoken, those exposed to trauma, and those with different sexual orientations in Alabama's public schools. A quantitative phase using a 5-point Likert…

The American Association of School Librarians reached out to four organizations on the front lines of civic engagement--the Anti-Defamation League, the Human Rights Campaign, EveryLibrary, and the American Library Association--with questions to assist school librarians as they plan their civic engagement path: (1) What is the importance of civic…

K.C. Boyd discusses how school librarians can advocate for school libraries and school library services. She details how to turn frustration into strategic advocacy efforts by highlighting the school librarian's role as an essential literacy partner in students' academic achievement.

When the author began his career as a school librarian, he took time to live with the collection and the school library the way it was inherited, with systems that were already in place. And during that first year, he observed. That period of observation and living with things as they were allowed him to start innovating and problem-solving from…

K-12 instructional settings diversified worldwide due to the COVID-19 pandemic response. Research is needed in examining school librarians' evolving roles during this era. Beginning in the 2021-2022 school year, K-12 remote-synchronous learning was an instructional option in a progressive U.S. public school district. This new "school"…

In this article, the author proposes to present a superficial view of what is being taught in the 32 American Library Association accredited graduate library schools. She briefly discusses and answers the following three questions: (1) Who is teaching reference?; (2) What is being taught?; and (3) How is it being taught? [For the commentary on…

Cheney's paper was the first major article on the subject of teaching reference in American library schools. In the article, she addressed three questions: (1) Who is teaching reference?; (2) What is being taught?; and (3) How is it being taught? In this article, Linda Smith discusses how the teaching of reference has changed in the more than 50…