PLO 5

Advocate for public policies, laws, organizations, and resources that promote a just information society.

5.1 Information Policy: Assess the potential impacts of policy and laws on the ability of libraries and information organizations to fulfull their missions

5.2 Current Trends: Evaluate trends and issues impacting libraries and information organizations (awareness is lowest level, analyze impact, advocate for decisions= create response/plan to address issue/trend)

5.3 Advocacy: Advocate for your organization and the Library and Information Science Professions

5.4 Evaluate the roles professional associations play in collective advocacy

5.5 Advocate for equity and access for your community: Particularly for historically marginalized groups to overcome existing power structures (e.g. healthcare, voting rights, technology access, transportation, education)

Artifacts:

LIS 653 Advocacy Plan (5.2, 5.3, 5.5)

LIS 650 Group Project Scope, "Empowering Collaboration Between Teachers and School Librarians: Project Scope" (5.1, 5.2, 5.4, 5.5)

PLO 5 looks at how advocacy for equitable access involves an awareness of local trends and policies, and then using that data to create strategic plans for more effective library practices, programs, and services. Throughout my MLIS journey, advocacy on behalf of my community is a reoccurring theme and many assignments have helped me understand more fully the impact this can have on my students, particularly those historically underserved and/or less likely to go to the library. 

In LIS 653 I created an Advocacy Plan that aimed at getting students I don't normally see into the library twice per month. There are many kids who grow up thinking "the library isn't for me", for one reason or another. Perhaps it's that they are not strong readers and don't want to call attention to this, or perhaps they are from a marginalized background that hasn't experienced dedicated library outreach (5.2). This Advocacy Plan acknowledges this group of students in my school and implements outreach to them. I also want the teachers of support classes to understand that collaboration with the School Librarian is not reserved for teachers of core curriculum classes. It is for them, too! (5.2, 5.3, 5.5) This Advocacy Plan works to breakdown barriers to create a more just and equitable library program within my school. 

In LIS 650 I was part of a semester-long group project that collaborated as a library management team to solve a library problem. We were presented with survey results indicating that only 35% of teachers at our imaginary school felt confident incorporating library resources into their lesson plans. As a management team, we worked together to anaylize the data, brainstorm solutions, and create a plan to fix the problem including a budget proposal and timeline (5.2). We presented our Project Scope to our imaginary administrators to advocate on behalf of this evidence-based need and its ability to create a more successful library program (5.3). Key to success was administrative support in setting a policy requiring teachers to meet on a scheduled basis with the media specialists, and media specialists required to provide regular professional development to staff.  “Administrators’ perceptions and support are critical to successful collaboration because they set the tone of the school culture...” (Colvin & Croft, 2024, p. 3). (5.1).

By aligning our arguments with the American Association of School Librarian Standards, our cause was given greater weight and validity. Administrators could see not only a clear timeline for execution, but that our initiative aligned with AASL Standards Crosswalk for Future Ready Framework. This states that media specialists will “Lead professional learning to cultivate broader understanding of the skills that comprise success in a digital age (e.g., critical thinking, information literacy, digital citizenship, technology)” (American Association of School Librarians, 2018, p. 5). We also highlighted our alignment with AASL’s National School Library Standards to “Work effectively with others to broaden perspectives and work toward common goals” (“Standards Framework,” 2025) (5.4).

These assignments reconfirm the importance of advocacy and how evidence can be a powerful tool in creating an equitable, accessible, and robust library program. By being an active member of my learning community, I become aware of trends that need attenion and action. Creating an advocay plan focused on my under-recognized support teachers brought them more equitably into community with our school library. At the same time, it brought a greater swath of teens into the library giving them the opportunity to build a sense of stakeholdership in the space and its resources. In the Project Scope assignment, the American Association of School Librarian Standards amplified the credibility of our proposal. This lead to collective advocacy (between the library management team and their professional association) resulting in school administration creating policy in support of our initiative to achieve 100% teacher confidence in using library resources.

References:

American Association of School Librarians (2018). National School Library Standards  crosswalk with Future Ready Librarians.  https://standards.aasl.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/180828-aasl-standards-crosswalk-future-ready.pdf 

American Association of School Librarians. (2018). National School Library Standards for Learners, School Librarians, and School Libraries. ALA Editions. https://standards.aasl.org/  

Colvin, K., & Croft, M. L. (2024). Indicators of Successful School Librarian and Teacher Collaboration: A Phenomenology, School Library Research, 27, 2–19. https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ1451458.pdf