Michelle Allen

ICL
Fall 2016

Administration of School Libraries

Barack, L. (2016, May). Bridging the language gap: school libraries host events to
connect with ELL students and their families. School Library Journal, 62(5), 12.
Retrieved from http://go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?id=GALE
%7CA451409702&v=2.1&u=tel_s_tsla&it=r&p=GPS&sw=w&asid=d88e463cd5aa45be4e651
1339d06b33d

The School Library journal article gave ideas on how one K-5 elementary school librarian got
english language learners (ELL) parents involved in the school community. They had a once-a-
month, evening, meet-and-greet book club in which the book choice is printed in both Spanish
and English that was followed by a craft. The craft kept the parents hands busy and that al-
lowed the parents to feel comfortable conversing with other students and non-ELL parents there
for the same program. The librarian also encouraged the ELL teacher to model lap-reading be-
cause some countries do not have this practice. The librarian wanted the parents to be com-
fortable in the school their children attended and as a result the students became more comfort-
able as well. The library would open early in the morning for ELL parents to check out re-
sources that were purchased with them in mind, such as books about their native countries and
novels with ethic characters.
This article was of interest to me because the elementary school where I work at has a grow-
ing Hispanic population. I know the ELL students often feel out of place in the school communi-
ty, so surely the parents do as well. We are also a Title 1 school and if I were to host these
evening programs they could fall on nights in which Title 1 groups were meeting. I think it is
good for all members of the school community to have programming targeted for their inclusion
or for them specifically. In my schools community, I have not only ELL, but a variety of religions
and those with learning disabilities. I think the librarys collection and programs should cater to
all these patrons and their specific needs.

Bentheim, C. A. (2013). Doing the legwork, building the foundation, and setting the stage
for meaningful transition from traditional library to learning commons. Teacher
Librarian, 41(1), 29-33. Retrieved from http://go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?id=GALE
%7CA349903192&v=2.1&u=tel_s_tsla&it=r&p=GPS&sw=w&asid=36c1e7ca4ead-
d1801c416 db6552c9151

The author is a library media specialist in a new job at a middle school library in the very
large Las Vegas school district. The article documents her set up of a learning commons from
the April to August before she started in the position. She rearranged the space and bought
easier to move furniture. She asked questions and networked with the schools teachers as well
as library colleagues in the district. She also created digital surveys for the staff. She present-
ed her research and findings to her principal to get his approval. The research culminated in the
creation of the mission and vision statement for the library.
The work of this librarian was a massive undertaking. She was able to do the work of the
transformation before she was in the position, which is extremely rare. The article time frame
ends at the start of the actual school year, so it would be interesting to see if once she had stu-

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dents, if she continued with the work of transformation to a learning commons. (I investigated
and found that she, in fact did not, and left the position shortly after the article was written). I
agree that more flexible furniture is a small change that could make a large impact on how the
space in the library is used. However, I feel that slow and steady wins the race. The changes
to a learning commons should take place as it fits into the culture of the school itself. Too much,
too soon may overwhelm both the staff and students, but most importantly I think it overwhelms
the librarian.

Hughes, H. (2014, January). School Libraries, Teacher-Librarians and Student

Outcomes: Presenting and Using the Evidence. School Libraries Worldwide,
20(1), 29-50. Retrieved from http://go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?id=GALE
%7CA376206635&v=2.1&u=tel_s_tsla&it=r&p=GPS&sw=w&asid=9867d65a8a36c8d9a225d
e33a33b0211

The author of this literature review found that evidence is needed to prove the worth of the
school library and librarian through quantifiable statistics and then advocate using that evidence
in the right venues in order for the evidence to be heard. The evidence then can be used to ad-
vance school libraries. The report also stated that not just any evidence would do, it needed to
focus on results rather than tasks to examine the impact librarians have on perceived enhance-
ment in student learning. The author recommend that the studies report about the role of the
librarian and not have gaps between what is recommended and what is reality.
The author noted that Australia specifically had no governmental standards of the normal
staffing levels of a school library, (which was found to affect efficiency of a school library), nor
did Australia have consistent research on the effect of qualified librarians in schools. The author
wrote this literature review to determine what research was needed. The author noted that in-
ternational research indicated a correlation between school libraries, qualified teacher librarians,
and updated collections and facilities, with higher national test scores.
The article summarized several studies on how school libraries and librarians helped stu-
dents by providing high interest book collections, updated technology, being a fun, friendly
space to be in, helping the students find answers to personal questions on their own and evalu-
ating the information retrieved for bias and effectiveness. Collaboration of librarians with other
teachers and principals also helped the school library succeed.
The author concluded that once quantifiable evidence is acquired, library advocates must
use it to perfect the role of the school librarian. The actionable evidence must also be used for
advocacy in the right forums and for the right audience, who can use the result to garner
change, because no matter what librarians do as the tasks of their job, the only thing that mat-
ters are the learning and literacy outcomes.
I agreed with everything the author noted and found many helpful ideas on how to use quali-
tative evidence to support my job. I need to set up a way to create concrete statistics on how
my being in my library impacts the students. I can control aspects of my impact such as updat-
ing the collection, finding more money to spend on the collection, having a Masters degree in
Library Science, and allowing time for optimal and heavy use of the collection. I can also make
my library friendly and inviting and provide time for the students to come in independently during
open circulation. I could also collaborate with teachers by offering professional development on
how to evaluate resources, especially on the internet.

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Kohout, J., & Gavigan, K. (2015). The years of our learning commons: a school district's
perspective. Teacher Librarian, 43(2), 18+. Retrieved from http://go.galegroup.com/
ps/i.do?id=GALE
%7CA439185862&v=2.1&u=tel_s_tsla&it=r&p=GPS&sw=w&asid=dcf0b3030cbbfab63d-
f0af 1651c4601b

The article follows a school district in South Carolina that had the idea to turn all their li-
braries into Learning Commons. They convinced the district administration to approve the idea
and put the library media specialist, literacy coach and technology integration specialist into one
space. The physical space was also transformed to have moveable bookshelves, moveable
tables, and a computer cart full of iPad Airs. The team of people who implemented the change
created a rubric to present to school administration and the instruction in the learning commons
was curriculum based. They found that once the program was implemented the space became
more flexible, but that just putting the library media specialist, literacy coach and technology in-
tegration specialist into one space did not create a common vision. They are continuing to im-
prove the idea by having more conversations up front about what the vision for the learning
commons should be.
I like the idea of active verses passive creation of knowledge that a learning commons
seems to promote. However, even though South Carolina did make these changes in an ele-
mentary school, the article did not mention the elementary school ideas. In my opinion, the
learning commons idea seems to work better for middle or high schools. The collaborative
space also reminds me of the educational practice of centers or stations. Finding ways students
could teach each other, rather than just teacher directed learning, is desirable. Group work
could happen in the center or station, instead of having it be the place for independent practice.
A problem to address is to make sure the learning commons covers concepts that will be on
state tests. The state tests are what my teachers and administration are most worried about
when it comes to what I teach in the library. Finding ways to have the students collaborate on
curriculum based learning may fulfill the best aspects of the learning commons without having to
sell administrators on change.

Maughan, S. (2015, December 7). Hot Topics in the School Library. Publisher's Weekly,
262(50), 42-46. Retrieved from http://go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?id=GALE
%7CA437507187&v=2.1&u=tel_s_tsla&it=r&p=GPS&sw=w&asid=28195abc64fffd758943b6
e3e827f75a

The library world is in the process of big transformative changes. The public opinion is that
the library is becoming obsolete because of the internet availability to search for anything you
ever needed to know, as well as e-readers putting any book you want to read at your fingertips.
However, librarians know that we are organizers of information and more importantly we advo-
cate for free and easy, universal access to information. These traits of a librarian are useful in
any arena in which there is an abundance of overwhelming raw data that needs to be intellectu-
ally controlled. Librarians are also champions of unfederated access to information. Our inge-
nuity to make ourselves relevant, has created a new world of library programming and purpose.
Makerspaces, learning commons, computer coding, integration of technology into programming
and innovative library advocacy have all emerged out of the need for librarians to command
their place in the educational world.
The article from Publishers Weekly Hot Topics in the School Library covers those subjects
in light of the recent national American Association of School Librarians (AASL) convention in
which school librarians shared their latest ideas on transforming the school library and providing

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advocacy for current trends in libraries. Makerspaces have been growing for a few years. In
the simplest form, a Makerspace is a craft station in a library in which concepts of building and
engineering are present. The possibilities are endless. They can be as simple an activity as
building with legos, to the complex circuitry of building robots. 3-D printers are still a hot com-
modity and several libraries are investing in the software to create plastic 3-D models dreamed
up in the computer. I feel that libraries have always been Makerspaces, after years of craft pro-
grams and all the projects I have seen children make; I can attest to this. I think it is good to
give the craft programs of yore a fancy name, incorporate mathematical and engineering princi-
pals, and educate the public on exactly how they are using math by building with legos.
STEM, and (personally) more desirable STEAM programming of Science, Technology, Engi-
neering, Art and Mathematics is one of the better trends that is riding hand in hand with the
Makerspace movement. Again, I think libraries always had programming that touched on these
subjects, but now there is a concerted effort to include them and advocate that libraries are like
school education, but much more fun.
The article mentions that computer coding is still a trend. The website Hour of Code is one
of the lead programs for coding. There is an effort to get students to do an hour of code during
Computer Science Education Week, December 7th-13th. The article did not mention Scratch
which is a coding program that Memphis Public Library used several years ago. There are oth-
er coding campaigns out there as well, such as Black Girls Code. The article wasn't compre-
hensive regarding all the ideas, but it may have only focused on what was at the AASL conven-
tion. Overall, the trends have been the same for the past several years, most likely allowing
everyone to catch up or get on the band wagon.

Popp, M. P. (2012, Winter). Changing World, Changing Libraries: New

Literacies, New User Needs, and Leadership for Change. Reference & User
Services Quarterly, 52(2), 84-89.
Retrieved from http://go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?id=GALE
%7CA318105267&v=2.1&u=tel_s_tsla&it=r&p=GPS&sw=w&asid=34ac081e-
bc667680d0057 065d12548c0
The author urges the reader that it is time for libraries to change. She notes that this is be-
cause information users are changing. The article cites social media as the spark for this
change and lists all the ways technology is now part of daily life and how it is being used in the
classroom. The author states that most librarians dont know what the library of the future looks
like. The article notes that a former ALA president urged ALA to change its mission and vision
of the organization, as well as, libraries in general. The author then went on to cite research on
how to produce change effectively and said the best way to produce change is to get the ball
rolling.
I think the article gives some interesting groundwork on what others have said works best
when trying to bring about changes. I had read the work of John P. Kotter before, whom the au-
thor quotes heavily. However, Kotters work, regarding how behavior change happens, is now
dated literature, yet it is still good advice. I also think that the evidence that the ALA president
agrees with change in the profession is compelling. Unfortunately, I think the author is preach-
ing to the choir and it reminds me of what another article I read for this assignment said that,
that it was important to offer quantifiable evidence of change not just regurgitate what librarians
know already.

Stubeck, C. J. (2015, January/February). Enabling Inquiry Learning in Fixed-

Schedule Libraries. Knowledge Quest. 43(3), Number 3, 28-34.

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 Retrieved from http://go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?id=GALE
%7CA398629404&v=2.1&u=tel_s_tsla&it=r&p=GPS&sw=w&asid=dccf8ceb2296b377e9f5d
2d5d122f959
The article began with the question of what the author thought was the greatest challenge
she faced in her role as an elementary school librarian and her answer was her schools fixed
schedule of classes. She noted that only 30 minutes per class was not long enough to begin
inquiry based research and seemed destined for formal classroom lessons only. She tried a
research project with her students and the process took 5 months to complete. She decided to
collaborate for a 5th grade classroom teacher on a Civil War project and have the lessons con-
tinue from the classroom into the library as well as online using a collaborative classroom pro-
gram called Edmodo. The research assignment was based on the standard curriculum topic
and the librarian garnered interest in the students to form their own research question by getting
artifacts from Civil War from a local museum. The artifacts sparked the students curiosity and
the teacher and librarian helped them narrow their initial questions into ones they could re-
search.The online component of Edmodo allowed for the teacher and librarian to collaborate as
well as monitor and assess the students progress. The result of the effort was positive and they
continue to revise and improve the process each year.
I loved that this idea was implemented in a fixed schedule elementary library and addressed
the issue of what to do for 5th graders when teaching research skills. I have a fixed schedule in
my library created by my assistant principal and it is not conducive for teaching in any capacity.
Since library class is not a graded subject, I have worried that I will not be able to get the stu-
dents to do research without either a intrinsic reward or a tangible one. If I collaborate with the
5th grade teachers, expressing my goals and getting their input at the beginning of the year, I
can come up with an entry level research project collaboration for school year. I can get Pink
Palace to deliver a Civil War suitcase full of artifacts, and completely replicate the project in this
article. I think it is a great idea.

Yaffe, D. (2015, December). A research revolution: students need new set of skills to
navigate wide world of information. District Administration, 51(12), 57-59.
Retrieved from http://go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?id=GALE
%7CA436542399&v=2.1&u=tel_s_tsla&it=r&p=GPS&sw=w&asid=fdd6a732ecf580a0b14a9
2c3d5930a50

The article begins with current research in the field regarding how todays students need to
be taught how to perform internet research. The author states that the queries posed should
be self-directed questions in order for the research process to be the most effective for learning.
The author states this is a change from research done just to learn how to research. The
process should be multistep process so that the student has time to evolve their questioning
and produce a question that multi-faced enough for in-depth research. The author provides
ways to differentiate the research process by offering suggestions for younger grades to get in-
volved by curating the resources they are allowed to search. The end result would be to teach
the students how to answer self-driven questioning beyond just Googling the query.
This is another article that is preaching to the choir. The articles tagline is that students
need a new skill set to answer their questions, but I think that need has always been present.
When child has a question they have always needed an adult to help them formulate their ques-
tion and then guide them in finding the answer, whether it is in books or online. The author
states that research should be central in the curricula and I think that it always has been as well,
even online research. I really dont think this article gave any more information than librarians
already knew.

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