The Puzzle: Blog

Libraries and their librarians occupy a funny space in public imagination. They can be grand, magnificent spaces—temples of human thought and information. I picture gothic-style halls filled with long tables and those green shade banker pull-chain lamps that make patrons feel distinguished to be studying there. Librarians are the gatekeepers of the temple. Alternatively, and perhaps more often, libraries and their librarians are portrayed as outdated and uninviting. Librarians revere the Dewey decimal system and demand silence. A common refrain: put away that cell phone (chewing gum, tennis ball, whatever is fun) and get back to work. High schoolers spend Saturday detention in the library.

As a new library placement counselor at Carney Sandoe & Associates, I knew better than to believe this stereotype, but I admit that I did not know a whole lot about what school librarians actually do. Reference, circulation, and reader’s advisory seemed pretty obvious, but what else? How connected are school librarians to technology? What about STEM? How can librarians even compete when most every student is glued to his/her smart phone?

With these questions and many others, I arrived at the American Association of School Librarian’s National Conference in Columbus, Ohio. For three days in November, I chatted with librarians and professors of Library Science, listened to lectures and watched demonstrations, marveling all the while at how much the school library has transformed. School libraries are much more than spaces in which students read or research (or serve detention.) School libraries are centers of innovation. School librarians are ambassadors of technology, makerspaces, STEM programming, and independent research. School librarians are connectors and collaborators, working extensively alongside teaching faculty and engaging with the outside community. They simultaneously support and guide curriculum as well as student use of technology. They explore the frontier of 21^st century learning and then report back, helping students and teachers adapt and improve.

To be a good librarian in a school community is to be one of the most tech-savvy people in the building. When a school implements a 1:1 device initiative, it is often the librarian’s job to introduce students and faculty to resources that complement and engage the curriculum. Learning apps, Google docs, QR code scavenger hunts, and mixed-media projects all fall in the librarian’s wheelhouse. Even story-time has gone digital.   For example, Baylor School, an independent boarding school for grades 6 -12 in Chattanooga Tennessee, is hiring a “Media, Library and Communications Specialist” charged with imagining and implementing 21st story-telling projects for upper school students. This person will use a video and audio mixing lab that actually exists as part of Baylor’s library.

Such digital fine-tuners are making waves in elementary schools, as well. Just ask the “Link Ladies.” Thomasine Mastrantoni and Deborah Goldstein are elementary librarians in Harrison, NY public schools who’ve introduced technology to math, English, art, and music classrooms. “Students’ literacy skills are developed through digital, visual, textual, and technological resources,” Goldstein said, as librarians scanned the QR code printed on her shirt to access her presentation. “Technology tools such as Google Classroom, iPad apps, and 2.0 web-based programs integrate technology and engage students to deepen their understanding through student-guided learning.” Thanks to the efforts of the Link Ladies, second graders create virtual “All About Me” webs and fourth graders create interactive timelines on the history of Alcatraz Island.

STEM education is the latest national education initiative combining Science, Technology, Engineering and Math into a cohesive learning paradigm based on real-world applications (LiveScience 2014). Today’s school librarians are right there with science department chairs when it comes to developing STEM programs. Middle Tennessee State University’s Library Science program, for example, connects teachers and school librarians in Murfreesboro, Tennessee with the town’s STEAM Bus. (The “A” is for Art.) This converted school operates as a mobile discovery center, complete with microscopes, television screens and lab stations. Students recap their science projects and lab experiments with scrapbooks that libraries can display.

Elyse DeQuay of Cooley Elementary School in Berryville PA, instituted a “Legos in the Library” after-school club, in which kids rotate tables named after five children’s authors (and then are asked to read books by these authors to stay in the club.) At Timberlane Regional High School in New Hampshire, the librarians host an engineering day, partnering with local parents and scientists to offer robotics and coding tutorials. Librarians at Stanwich School in Greenwich, Connecticut produced a similar STEAM Expo, offering squid dissection and Lego robotics construction.

Today’s librarians innovate beyond the realm of STEM and technology. Darcy Coffta, upper school librarian at Berwick Academy, is also the Director of Innovation and oversees Berwick’s Innovation Pursuit program. Through this program, students conduct original research and think critically about a problem of their choosing. They collaborate and connect with experts in the field as well. Berwick’s Jackson Library keeps a database of community members and their professional interests that can advise. This year, Berwick students are creating apps, video games, and researching the history of Roman architecture.

At a cocktail hour for independent school librarians, I learned straight from the source about the challenges that instantly accessible information is presenting to the profession. “You’re basically always fighting the ‘Why Can’t I Just Google It?’ battle,” one librarian tells me. “At any age. I’m hearing from my colleagues at universities that college kids are picking the same fight.”

Information literacy is the ability to recognize when information is needed, then to effectively locate, evaluate, and use that information. It is perhaps the most important skill students raised in the information age can have, and librarians bear the majority of the teaching responsibility. Many teach their own courses in evaluating information, proper citation, and database subscriptions. Similarly, digital citizenship—essentially how one acts responsibility online, crucial for students’ safety and happiness—falls under the librarian’s umbrella. Several librarians told me they partner with chaplains, school counselors, and health teachers to host parent workshops on cyber-bullying and media sharing.

Simply put, today’s school library is so not the sleepy, old-fashioned field it is sometimes imagined to be. Libraries and their librarians are invaluable resources to schools. They usher in brand-new educational methods. They collaborate with teachers and community resources. They instruct students how best to use technology and how to exist properly online. They do this all while fostering the ever-important love of reading. Thank you very much to the AASL and all of the event’s participants for their wonderful insight!

Are you interested in working as a librarian or media specialist in an independent school? To get started, fill out our application at www.carneysandoe.com.

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