As an introvert, I was a little apprehensive when I entered the MLIS program and learned that collaboration was considered to be a key element of librarianship. My immediate thought was of the group work I hated throughout high school and college, where one or two people ended up doing all the work for a group of four or five, while everyone else just slacked off and took credit for work that they did not do. However, this is not what collaboration refers to in the library world.
Instead, collaboration is an ongoing process of working together with other librarians and information professionals to ensure that the information needs and goals of library users are being met. Whether this means sharing resources, planning programs together, or sharing ideas, depends on the nature of the relationship between the collaborators and how each will benefit from collaboration.
A wonderful example of a successful collaboration would be the ONEAccess program between the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Public Library and the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools District. The two systems created an arrangement where all CMS students automatically receive a library card as soon as they enroll, allowing them to use all digital resources licensed to the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Library and the library’s physical collection as well. The arrangement is mutually beneficial; the public library sees an increase in their circulation and digital resource usage, and the school district gets free access to resources that would otherwise be very expensive. Both organizations were aiming to benefit the children of Mecklenburg County by improving their access to reading material and information resources.
In LIS 664: Reading, Literacy, and the Library, we worked in small groups to research and analyze different stages of literacy. In doing so, we learned how to adapt our libraries' services to better serve readers at that stage of literacy development. Working in a group meant that we benefited from each other's varying experience, backgrounds, and interpretations. Our group worked on adult literacy, something I was unfamiliar with, having only worked in school libraries, so the experience of my public library group members was very helpful.
Learning to collaborate can be difficult. Early in the MLIS program, I was often hesitant to join in discussions and wary of group assignments, but I eventually realized that there is a fundamental difference between group work and collaboration. Collaboration implies that the people participating are genuinely interested in working together towards a common goal.
One of the most important ways for school librarians to collaborate with others is by working with classroom teachers to improve instruction. Several parts of the ALA/AASL Standards for Initial Preparation of School Librarians describe collaboration with teachers to be a critical part of school librarianship(ALA, 2010). It is our job to work with teachers to integrate information literacy skills and inquiry into the classroom curriculum, so that students have opportunities for authentic learning experiences and gain the skills they need to participate effectively in our modern society.
In LIS 654, I worked with a high school social studies teacher to plan several lessons to include in a unit. The class in question was a standard-level 10th grade Civics and Economics class. The teacher wanted to incorporate technology and research skills into a unit on the legal system. She also wanted a way for students to investigate local issues with the legal system. We decided to have her students use an online discussion board to respond to questions she posted, and to require them to provide evidence for their responses.
Before introducing the discussion board to the class though, they needed to learn how to determine whether the information they find is appropriate. I came up with a lesson on evaluating sources for accuracy, bias, and relevance that she could open the unit with. For the local aspect, we came up with a lesson involving bringing in community experts. The students would then be able to interview the experts in small groups and learn how the legal system works in our community. These lessons addressed several of the AASL Standards for the 21st-Century Learner (AASL, 2009), mostly from Standard 1: “Inquire, think critically, and gain knowledge.”
In the final practicum, I worked with an 8th grade English/Language Arts teacher to teach part of a unit she was doing on writing definition essays. Again, she wanted to work with her class on evaluating information found online. Since these students have less experience with doing research online, I had to develop a lesson that covered more basic principles of evaluation.
It is also important for school librarians to collaborate with each other. In order to do this, school librarians should put an effort into maintaining relationships with other librarians in their district and state, and participate in professional organizations (ALA, 2010). Since I am not yet a licensed school librarian in my district, I have not been able to take part in any of the district meeting or professional development for school librarians, but I have been making an effort to build up my professional network by meeting other librarians and observing their library programs. I have also stayed in regular contact with the librarian at the high school where I substitute teach, and seen what does and does not work in her library. I look forward to working further with her and the other librarians in the district in the future.
AASL. (2009). Standards for the 21st-Century Learner. Retrieved from http://www.ala.org/aasl/standards/learning
ALA. (2010). ALA/AASL Standards for Initial Preparation of School ... Retrieved fromhttp://www.ala.org/aasl/sites/ala.org.aasl/files/content/aasleducation/schoollibrary/2010_standards_with_rubrics.pdf