The Six Habits of Highly Effective School Librarians: Thank you for being one!
Earlier this year, the American Association of School Librarians issued a statement on
the instructional and collaborative roles that school librarians can play with students, teachers,
and administrators (published in Knowledge Quest). Librarians are “uniquely positioned,” said
the AASL, “to teach every student and the school community through traditional, blended, and
distance learning.” Some key areas:
• Inquiring – Librarians orchestrate engaging learning experiences that fill knowledge
gaps and get students displaying initiative and curiosity, developing skills, thinking critically,
identifying problems, and honing strategies to solve problems and share their products.
• Including – Librarians select reading materials and resources in a wide variety of
formats – print, textual, visual, media, news, and digital – that reflect diverse and inclusive
points of view and develop students’ ability to read for information and personal enjoyment.
Content is reading-level-free and includes assistive technology that makes it accessible to all
students.
• Collaborating – Librarians are instructional partners with colleagues – planning, co-
teaching, and co-evaluating – as the school deepens learning, boosts academic achievement,
broadens perspectives, and empowers students to work with others and assess their own work.
• Curating – Librarians select a wide range of resources that complement the school’s
curriculum and students’ interests, and empower colleagues and students to do their own
selecting, organizing, and sharing of helpful information.
• Exploring – Librarians work with their colleagues to guide students as they explore,
discover, reflect, enjoy, create, innovate, and build stamina – all with a growth mindset.
• Engaging – Librarians develop and maintain an environment that is fun, inviting, safe,
flexible, collaborative, inclusive – in short, conducive to learning. This includes teaching and
modeling digital citizenship, adhering to copyright and fair use, and providing guidelines for
anytime/anywhere access to the online library catalog, digital and audio books, and a variety of
information resources, devices, and tools.
“The Instructional Role of the School Librarian” by the American Association of School
Librarians Board of Directors in Knowledge Quest, November-December 2020 (Vol. 49, #2,
pp. 8-9)
