In reviewing the school library landscape and best practices for this issue of KQ, Jennifer Boudrye, Suzanna Panter, Robin Stout, and I quickly realized there were many areas of practice in a school librarian’s repertoire that influence their day-to-day work and long-term vision. As supervisors in our respective districts, we are in unique positions to see the different ways school librarians implement these practice areas in their school libraries. We decided to spotlight those practice areas that we believe hold the greatest promise for impact for school library programs, regardless of location, size, or grade level. These include: Building a Culture of Reading, Information & Knowledge Building, Empowering Learners and Teachers, and Preparing for Library/Librarian Evaluation.

As we considered contributors for the issue, we found many amazing practitioners out there doing creative, exciting, and innovative things. These school librarians are literally reimagining their libraries and their craft. We invited our authors to think about their learners, their practice, and the future of school librarianship for their articles.

Amanda Kordeliski, Kristen Deuschle, and Karen E. Smith help us re-envision reading as a social endeavor that builds a schoolwide culture of reading, learning, and communication. Ellen L. McNair, Kelsey Barker, and Paige Holden present powerful evidence supporting the library as a place where all learners build knowledge and create information by promoting and sustaining an atmosphere rich in questioning, inquiry, and innovation. Kristin Sierra, Wayne R. Cherry, Jr, Jody Rentfro, and Leah Man give us unique ideas that empower all learners by opening doors to deep student learning where creativity, collaboration, communication, and critical thinking are the norm through learner-centered making, storytelling, ideation, and design.  Susan Casstevens and Teresa Lansford help us reimagine school libraries by presenting compelling and practical ways to collect and strategically use data to inform our work as a component of evaluating practice and transforming learning.

We hope you will find these articles forward-thinking, practical, and impactful for your own practice. Most importantly we challenge you to try at least one thing you find in this issue, implement it, and build on it. School librarians transform learning!

About the Guest Editors

Kathryn Roots Lewis is director of media services and instructional technolog y for Norman Public Schools in Oklahoma. She is AASL President-Elect and a member of the AASL Board of Directors, AASL Executive Committee, and the AASL Standards and Guidelines Editorial Board. She is also a member of the Oklahoma Technology Association Board and the University of Oklahoma School of Library and Information Studies Alumni Association Board of Directors. Kathryn is the project director for the IMLS National Leadership Grant for Libraries Learning in Libraries: Guided Inquiry Making and Learning and administrator of the multimillion-dollar Intelligent Classroom project for Norman Public Schools. She is available on Twitter @KathrynRLewis.

Jennifer Boudrye is the director of library programs for the District of Columbia Public Schools (DCPS). Prior to joining DCPS, Jennifer was a school library media specialist and administrator in Montgomery County, MD, public schools and has experience working with students from PreK–12. Before earning her MLS from the University of MD, she worked as a web publisher, and radio talk show producer and host. Jennifer is committed to ensuring that all students have access to the best information resources and opportunities to develop expert information literacy skills for school and life.

Suzanna L. Panter is the new program manager for school libraries in Tacoma (WA) Public Schools. Suzanna was a Lilead Fellow, an ALA Emerging Leader, and active member of the Future Ready Libraries leadership team. She is a member of AASL.

Robin Ward Stout is the administrator for library media services and emerging technologies in the Lewisville Independent School District, a suburban district in the Dallas/Fort Worth metroplex. She is a member of AASL and is cochair of the Texas Library Association Legislative Advocacy Committee ESSA task force. She was an inaugural member of the Lilead Fellows program through the University of Maryland iSchool, and has published and presented on the digital learning environment at the state, national, and international levels. Her recent articles include “Digital Citizenship Education in Nine Steps” published in the July 2017 School Library Journal and “Digital Literacy: Digital Citizenship 2.0” in the November 2017 issue of School Library Connection.

Read their Guest Editor Column, “School Library Best Practice Requires Innovation.”

Knowledge Quest, Volume 46, No. 2 – Best Practices in School Libraries

Features

Best Practices in Building a Culture of Reading

Establishing a Community of Readers in a Secondary Library
Amanda Kordeliski

Using Parent Book Clubs to Build a School-Wide Reading Community
Kristen Deuschle

Today’s Youth’s Voice on How They View Reading and What “Counts”
Karen E. Smith

Best Practices in Information & Knowledge Building

Personalizing Learning: Think Like a Teenager
Ellen L. McNair

Let It Go: The Power of Student-Generated Questioning in Inquiry Learning
Kelsey Barker and Paige Holden

Best Practices in Empowering Learners & Teachers

If You Build It, They Will Come: How I Started a Makerspace from Scratch
Kristin Sierra

Our Place in the Universe: The Importance of Story and Storytelling in the Classroom
Wayne R. Cherry, Jr.

Partners in Learning: Creating a 21st-Century School Experience
Jody Rentfro and Leah Mann

Best Practices in Preparing for Library/Librarian Evaluation

Joint-Use Libraries: A Living Room of Learning
Susan Casstevens

Growing through Data: Improving Practices and Impacting Student Achievement
Teresa Lansford

Article

Supporting You, Supporting the Standards: AASL’s Implementation Plan
Mary Keeling, Chair, AASL Standards and Guidelines Implementation Task Force

Online Exclusive

Writing in the Library? Why Not! Using Google Slides to Reinvent the Library Checkout Period
Matthew Doyle

Column

CBC Column
Literacy: Learning and Loving It!
Molly Hurd

Departments

President’s Column
Our Tribe Has Spoken
Steven Yates

Guest Editor Column
School Library Best Practice Requires Innovation
Kathryn Roots Lewis, Jennifer Boudrye, Suzanna L. Panter, and Robin Ward Stout

Author: Kathryn Roots Lewis

Twitter

Categories: KQ Content