Characteristics of World Class School Librarians
by David V. Loertscher, Michelle Young and Charlene Peterson
Over 30 school librarians across the U.S. and Canada and who had been nominated by their peers for their excellence were interviewed as a part of the AliveLibrary Project at San Jose State University. The major question was “What are the major characteristics of world class school librarians.” Each was read and rated by three researchers, and in several rounds resulted in eight major characteristics that seem to undergird high impact on teaching and learning across a wide spectrum of locations, affluence, diversity, and communities.
David Loertscher is a professor in the School of Information at San Jose State University; has written extensively about the library learning commons and continues to teach students in the masters program to become rock stars in our profession.
Over the years, Professor Loertscher has taught and held professorial roles at four universities and spent a decade leading the editorial department at Libraries Unlimited. His leadership as the President of the American Association of School Librarians (AASL) during the "Count on Reading" initiative saw an impressive 68 million books read nationwide. For access to his extensive body of work, including numerous books and articles written over the past 50 years, visit davidloertscherlibrary.org.
Michelle Young has been working in education since 2005. She has enjoyed a variety of positions, including Library Technician, Assistive Technology Specialist, and Education Specialist. Currently, she is in her second year as a Teacher Librarian. Michelle recently graduated from San Jose State University's iSchool, earning her California Teacher Librarian credential along with a Master's degree in Library and Information Science. Her goal is to continue working in the heart of the school—the library—where she aims to create a program that supports inclusion and accessibility, fostering a space where students can pursue their passions and develop a lifelong love of learning.
Charlene Peterson is a former high school language arts teacher and has taught in New Mexico, Virginia, and Colorado from 1993 to 2023. While working her way through a Master of Education and Principal Licensure program at Colorado State University, she fell in love with school library education and had the good fortune to serve as a school librarian for the past seven years. Serving as a school librarian prompted her to enroll in the Master of Library and Information Science Program at San Jose State University where she serves in the roles of the ALiVE! Library Initiative coordinator, graduate assistant to Dr. David Loertscher, president of the iSchool's Library Advocacy Group, and co-project manager of the Reading Nation Waterfall Sunrise Project.
It's great to see that so many of my experiences and thoughts were echoed in other's interviews.
ReplyDeleteThe eight characteristics of effective school library leaders rings very true for me and aligns well with strands within Leading Learning.
Facilitating Collaborative Engagement = Library Concept, and Collaboration
Advancing the School Goals = Culture and Community
Effective Instructional Design = Program Management and Expertise
Fostering Literacies = Literacy and Collection
Designing Participatory Environment = Learning Environment
I feel so inspired by reading this paper for the first time! I have had many conversations with colleagues and administrators about pinpointing what makes a successful school librarian. It can feel so intangible and challenging to articulate why one space and program is thriving and another is not. I also find that when mentoring new teacher librarians, it can so easily feel overwhelming for them. While the findings of this paper set the bar high, the clear articulation of the 8 characteristics is so accessible. This should be a must read for all government levels that fund education, district leaders, school administrators and new and current school librarians.
ReplyDeleteDavid, Michelle, and Charlene: I wish this paper existed in 2010! Back then, I was trying to write my Masters culminating task on "Factors that Support the Development of Exemplary School Library Programs" and this paper would have been a perfect addition to my literature review!
ReplyDeleteI like how the Alive Library Project aims to spread the word about excellent school library and school library professionals in a way that is cost-efficient and easily accessible. This ties in nicely with the local (but older) research study called "Exemplary School Libraries in Ontario". The beauty and benefit of Alive Library is that the participants can be promoted and publicized, unlike people who partake in research methods that must have their privacy protected. (Wow, that was a lot of Ps in that sentence!)
I had some questions about the intriguing graphs in the middle of the paper. Can you clarify what constitutes the regions in figure 3 on page 6? Do they correlate to high/low population areas? For diversity on page 8, what's the difference between "high majority" and "mixed diversity"? I wonder what my school would qualify as.
On page 15, your team said "Library educators should re-examine their credential programs to encourage multidimensional outcomes that prepare young people for career and college readiness. These programs should insist that newsies are capable of grasping at new trends in the field as possibilities for leadership in the schools." The content of teacher-librarian credential programs are closely guarded intellectual property (although built from the same directions - in Ontario, it's the Ontario College of Teachers guidelines/requirements for the TL AQs), but it's a good recommendation to examine existing courses to ensure they do this.
David, you do not know the meaning of "slow down" or "retire"! That you are launching a new, online, peer-reviewed journal for school libraries called Learning Hub shows how devoted you are to life-long learning and to promoting school libraries everywhere.
I'm particularly delighted to see some familiar faces in your Zoom YouTube interviews (looking at you, Joseph Jeffrey, Marc Crompton, Lisa Lewis, Jennifer Brown and Beth Lyons!).
Diana Maliszewski
It's interesting to consider the traits of a "World Class" school library professional. And I wholeheartedly agree that in the colleagues you interviewed, there are absolutely some commonalities to be found. These strengths, no doubt, are some of what make us - as a profession - leaders in our field.
ReplyDeleteHowever, I am also left wondering if there is space left for school library professionals that don't see themselves in these traits? While a strong list of traits, I am not sure that the all school library professionals can be painted with the same brush. Just as not all great teachers are cut from the same cloth, neither can we suggest that all school library professionals are either. What I appreciate about the TLs I know is that we are - in fact - quite different from one another. And thank goodness for that!
Thank you for your excellent observations. One of the joys of this project was to realize that each individual in the study had individual characteristics that demonstrated their value. And while the eight characteristics appeared as a pattern, it is the individual creativity and leadership ability that makes them invaluable in there schools. I think there is room for this individual creativity, and find that one size does not fit all even though there are commonalities. I think our professionals who discover their own worth find their jobs. Absolutely fascinating and this gives them the strength to follow their passion. Add make a difference far beyond just doing the work and collecting the paycheck. Thanks again for your thoughts.
DeleteA friendly reminder to always identify yourself when commenting, either by signing into your Google account, or by naming yourself at the beginning of your comment.
DeleteDavid and all, I loved reading through our paper and thinking back to my time in the LLC, as well as now in a classroom. I think that this paper serves as an excellent example of what TLs not only do each day in the library but will be used for years to come to help support new TLs to the role. The characteristics you have outlined are outstanding and something all TLs I have had the honour to work with strive for in their daily practice with students and colleagues. I am in a unique position of not only working to transform a library space but also being witness to the space in my current school being transformed for the benefit of the school community. As a classroom educator, the characteristics you have outlined are on full display in our LLC and also something I am working to bring to my classroom. I think this paper could even reach beyond the LLC and be used for classroom educators to rethink and revision their spaces and practices.
ReplyDeleteThat read “your paper”!! I detest typos.
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