As we celebrate in April 2025 the 40th Anniversary of School Library Month, I want to write a love letter to the school library profession that has given me so much both personally and professionally. It has been such a gift in my life and one I try to pay back or pay forward as often as possible. Recently, I realized that, as with many things, that sentiment means so much more than I thought and is so much bigger than my small corner of school librarianship.

Several months ago, I was excited to see that Robin Wall Kimmerer’s new book The Serviceberry was being offered as part of the free ALCs from Libro.fm, because I absolutely loved the adaptation for young adults of her book Braiding Sweetgrass that was done by Monique Gray Smith. The Serviceberry isn’t long, but its powerful message has had a lasting impact on me.

In both of the books, she shares about reciprocity and a gift economy from her perspective as a Native American and scientist. As she explained this more deeply in her newest book, I kept thinking about our communities of school librarians.

“Gratitude and reciprocity are the currency of a gift economy, and they have the remarkable property of multiplying with every exchange, their energy concentrating as they pass from hand to hand, a truly renewable resource.” (https://emergencemagazine.org/essay/the-serviceberry/)

She describes reciprocity and the gift economy beautifully in relation to the environment and the world around us, so please be sure to check out her books.

Even months after listening to the audiobook, I could not let go of the idea that school librarianship is a gift economy. One of the things I tell prospective school librarians all the time is that we are one of the most giving professions in education and beyond. Not only do we unashamedly seek out support from others, but we actively seek ways to give to our profession, our fellow teachers, our students, and our communities.

If you are struggling with something in your school library, what do you do? You seek out your colleagues to find out what they suggest. If you have great success with a lesson or a program, what do you do? You share it with others so they can possibly use it too. When you come across a really cool resource that you think would benefit someone, what do you do? You tell them about it!

Our penchant for reciprocity might come from the fact that we are often the only person in our building, and sometimes our districts, doing our jobs, and connecting with others is important to our success. It might be influenced by the fact that many schools/districts do not have folks who provide direct professional development or guidance to school librarians, because we serve such unique roles in our school communities. The fact that our school librarian preparation programs focus on leadership and connection as core tenants of school librarianship could also be a strong factor in our gift economy.

In my heart, though, I think it is because school librarians, at their core, are givers. Our purpose in life is to serve our learners. AASL uses the term learners very consciously, because our learners can be anyone from students to fellow staff members to caregivers/parents to fellow school librarians. Our fundamental motivation is to share knowledge with our learners. We do this through our instruction for students and the resources we curate and maintain, but our desire to share goes beyond the walls of our schools and our local communities.

Every time a school librarian posts an idea on social media, presents at a conference, joins a committee, writes an article or blog post, or any myriad of things, they are gifting others with their experience and expertise. They give back to their colleagues across the country and around the world. So many people do this without expectation of anything in return. It is just what you do as a school librarian. Reciprocity is built into the fabric of who we are as is the gratitude we feel for those that choose to give.

One of the administrators who participated in the 2nd AASL School Leader Collaborative, Tim Salem (Principal, Scotts Ridge Middle School, Ridgefield, Connecticut), had this to say about school librarians, “I’m enamored by the level of connectivity between librarians across the country. It is astounding. I don’t know that there’s any other group that is so well connected and deeply entrenched in trying to support one another. It’s amazing.”

Tim – I heartily agree. I am amazed every day by school librarians, which is what led me to give the Crystal Apple Award to ALL school librarians during my presidential year. You can learn more about that in a KQ blog post from last year.

And, if you are looking for a place to connect with other school librarians that isn’t on social media, and you are a member of AASL, use the AASL Member Forum on ALA Connect. It’s a great place to not only seek advice but to share about what you are doing in your school library.

And, that my dear friends, is why I am in love with this profession. Thank you all for giving me so much, for giving to all of us. I will continue to pay forward for all that I have received, and I hope you are inspired to do so too.

 

Bibliography

Wall Kimmerer, Robin. The Serviceberry: Abundance and Reciprocity in the Natural World. New York: Scribner, 2024.

 

P.S. Check out these amazing resources created by the 2nd School Leader Collaborative:

The 2022-2024 AASL School Leader Collaborative administrators shared their thoughts about the need for school administrators and school librarians to work together as learning partners to transform teaching and learning in several videos:

 

 

More videos: https://www.youtube.com/@ala_aasl