Astor Center for Public School Libraries
Librarians have a unique role within school communities.
Established in 1997 by a generous grant from the Astor Fund for Public School Libraries, the Astor Center at New Visions is dedicated to improving New York City's school libraries and supporting professional growth among the city's school librarians.
Librarians have a unique role within school communities. From collaborating with teachers to enrich classroom curriculum to directly supporting individual student learning, librarians foster a schoolwide culture of literacy and teach literacy skills. That culture ensures a broad range of access to information and new technology, supporting every student's success. The librarian's role has become even more important as large, struggling schools have been transformed into multiple thriving schools within a shared campus facility. Within a campus of small schools, the librarian oversees the shared instructional resources used by all the schools in the building.
The Campus Librarian Network (CLN) supports school librarians undertaking to meet the uniques needs of multiple schools that share campus facilities, including the school library. It provides librarians monthly opportunities for professional learning and collaboration. Through this work, librarians develop strategies for fully integrating the library into the fabric of the several school communities on a campus and improving library systems and resources. In addition, librarians further their own understanding of students' media and information literacy skills to inform the larger teaching community with their schools.
Any librarian supporting multiple NYCDOE schools that share a campus library, including at least one secondary school, and all librarians supporting New Visions Affinity and Charter schools are invited to participate in the CLN. CLN is facilitated by the Astor Center at New Visions jointly with the NYCDOE's Office of Library Services.
