Leap into the Future of School Libraries 2

Table Talk Speakers

Dr. Christopher Harris

Dr. Christopher Harris is the Director of the School Library System for Genesee Valley BOCES, an educational agency supporting 22 small, rural districts in Western NY. He was a participant in the first American Library Association Emerging Leaders program in 2007 and was honored as a Library Journal Mover and Shaker in 2008. In 2022, Dr. Harris was named a Senior Fellow for the American Library Association. Dr. Harris received his Ed.D. from St. John Fisher University in 2018 for research on helping teachers become confident in teaching computer science. He is the lead on the LibraryReady.AI PK-12 curriculum project.

Presentation Title: Teaching About AI: Preparing Students for an Unavoidable Literacy

Artificial Intelligence is already part of our students’ daily lives and while there are real challenges and ethical concerns around AI, the best path forward is to help students understand the technology, its strengths, and its limitations. This session introduces LibraryReady.AI, a scope and sequence designed for schools and libraries to explore AI at the intersection of computer science, media literacy, and information-seeking practices. We will look at practical strategies for guiding students in responsible and critical use of AI tools, helping them develop the skills to evaluate AI-generated information, understand how the technology works, and make informed decisions in a rapidly changing digital landscape.

Dr. Kim Krutka

Kim Reichenbach Krutka is Assistant Professor of Library and Information Studies at Old Dominion University. Previously, she was a high school social studies teacher for 7 years and an elementary and high school librarian for 10 years. Research interests include critical examination of libraries, exploration of STEAM experiences for students, consideration of technology’s role in librarian practices, and understanding of the significance of libraries within communities.

Presentation Title: Looking into Mirrors and Windows: School Librarians’ Perspectives on Diverse Representation in Book Collections

Librarian professional standards include the development of book collections with diverse representation, and the study of multicultural literature is often part of library science programs and professional development. However, there is a lack of academic scholarship examining what multicultural literature signifies for librarians and its role in libraries. In addition, the current landscape surrounding books, libraries, and librarians jeopardizes students’ access to literature. This context includes district and state book bans, legislation aimed at prosecuting librarians, and restrictive content guidelines for collection development. This has created a narrative that attempts to exclude specific identities and experiences from libraries and portrays librarians as irresponsible and harmful. This study aimed to build a foundation of understanding and critical insights into this problem through a survey distributed to a sample of Texas school librarians. Survey data was analyzed through descriptive statistics and content analysis to understand school librarian perspectives, assess school librarian practices, and gain insight to support the presence of multicultural literature. Rudine Sims Bishop’s metaphor of books as “mirrors and windows” was a foundation for this study. A theoretical lens informed by Critical Race Theory and Critical Information Literacy and an interpretivist approach were used to guide the methods and analysis. Findings, conclusions, and recommendations will be shared at the table talk.

Kay Hones

KE Hones worked in K-12 San Francisco school libraries 1987-2020. In 2013 she became the librarian at three San Francisco county high schools and established the first libraries at Civic Center and Hilltop. As a National Board Credentialed Librarian, she supported teachers & counselors & librarians who are National Board Candidates. She currently mentors school librarians at Montana State University. She also volunteers every week at Hilltop Pregnant Minor High School. KE presents workshops locally, at state. national library & teacher conferences & internationally with IASL.

Presentation Title: Touching History

Teaching with primary sources emphasizes the integration of primary sources into instruction and the use of media to develop 21st-century skills. Using multimedia and primary sources in instruction. Why are primary sources essential for the inquiry process? What will the students learn using primary sources in lessons? Explore primary sources and "Think like a Historian” evidence, context, and significance

Connie Williams

Connie Williams, MLS, NBCT, is the Petaluma History Room Librarian with the Sonoma Co. Library. She was a Teacher Librarian with Petaluma City Schools for 28 years and Adjunct Librarian at Santa Rosa Junior College. She presents and writes on the topics of using government information and primary sources, inquiry, library advocacy, literacy, and question-building. She is the current Chair of the Government Information for Children Committee (GODORT/ALA) and is the Chair of the California State Library Services Board.

She is the author of the book: Understanding Government Information: a Teaching Strategies Toolkit for Grades 7-12; and is co-author with Blanche Woolls of Teaching Life Skills in the Library: Career, Finance and Civic Engagement in a Changing World . She most recently authored a chapter on the National Park Service in the book: What Can U.S. Government Information Do for Me? She hosts the Primary Source Starter Kit for Teachers (because every subject has a history) at chwms.libguides.com.

Presentation Title: Let’s Talk Gov Info

Let’s talk government information. What is it, why is is useful, and what the heck are these changes being made? What’s a teacher librarian to do and how do we keep track of it all? This will be a discussion-rich conversation with everyone pitching in to talk about the government websites that have been useful to them, what changes (if any) they may have noticed, some sites one can go to for archived gov info, and I will bring the most up-to-date information I have from government docs librarians. Things are changing daily and by October… will have changed even more no doubt from today. I am not an expert, but have been working to figure stuff out… let’s pool our collective resources and see what’s out there and how we can help our classroom colleagues and students.

Debra Kachel

Deb Kachel is an online Affiliate Faculty member of Antioch University Seattle, teaching in the School Library Media Endorsement program. She has over 30 years’ experience as a high school librarian and district library coordinator in southeastern PA. In 2022, she became a Core Team member of PARSL-the Philadelphia Alliance to Restore School Librarians, an all-volunteer grassroots community group of over 1,600 supporters—dedicated to adding certified school librarians in the School District of Philadelphia. https://www.restorephillylibrarians.org/

Deb has written and administered several federal IMLS grants, including SLIDE: The School Librarian Investigation--Decline or Evolution? that examined the status of school librarian employment nationwide. The current IMLS grant she worked on, the Urban School Library Restoration Project, has been defunded by the current Trump Administration although the work continues with the School District of Philadelphia.

She is an active member of the Pennsylvania School Librarians Association’s Advocacy Committee and earned American Association of School Librarian’s Distinguished Service Award in 2014 and frequently presents and writes about school library advocacy issues.

Presentation Title: The Status of School Librarian Employment and Recent Restoration Efforts in Urban School Districts

Data from the SLIDE Project on the status of school librarians will be updated with NCES 2023-24 data highlighting trends in school librarian employment. Strategies to add school librarians in 11 urban school districts interviewed during Fall 2024 will be shared, as well as local grassroots efforts in Philadelphia to add school librarian positions.

Dr. Keith Lance

Keith Curry Lance is a Ph.D. sociologist who has spent much of his career studying school libraries and how they benefit students. His most recent affiliations were being a research consultant to the SJSU iSchool during the 2024-25 academic year and the principal investigator of SLIDE: The School Librarian Investigation—Decline or Evolution?, a 2020-23 IMLS-funded project of Antioch University Seattle. He is best known in the school library community as the lead researcher for 18 studies of the impact of school libraries on students’ test scores, 17 conducted since 2000. The founding director of the Library Research Service of the Colorado State Library from 1997-2007, the highlight of his career was being a featured speaker at the 2002 White House Conference on School Libraries hosted in the East Room by then-First Lady Laura Bush.

Dr. Lance will be co-presenting The Status of School Librarian Employment and Recent Restoration Efforts in Urban School Districts.

Dr. Judi Moreillon

Judi Moreillon is an author, editor, and literacies and libraries consultant. She taught preservice school librarians for 25 years. A former classroom teacher, literacy coach and classroom teacher educator, Judi served as a collaborating school librarian at all three instructional levels. Her research and publications focus on school librarian leadership and classroom teacher - school librarian instructional partnerships. Judi edited and contributed to Radical School Librarianship: A Global Response (Facet, 2025) and Core Values in School Librarianship: Responding with Commitment and Courage (Bloomsbury, 2021). She is the author of four other professional books for school librarians and classroom teachers. Judi has also published four books for children. She earned the 2019 Scholastic Publishing Award. Judi lives in Tucson, Arizona, U.S. and earned both an MLS and a PhD in education at the University of Arizona. Judi’s homepage is https://storytrail.com. She posts to Bluesky @judimoreillon.bsky.social.

Presentation Title: Warriorship in the Year 2025

Warriorship in the Year 2025 involves school librarians taking action to help mend the fabric of society by affirming core values in librarianship: equity, diversity, inclusion, and intellectual freedom (EDIIF). School librarians benefit from the opportunity to consider exemplars of practice while developing their own “radical” responses to threats to EDIIF. In this table talk, I will share exemplars from around the globe from school librarian leaders who contributed to Radical School Librarianship: A Global Response (Facet 2025). In our discussion, we will identify allies and accomplices and strategize how to successfully navigate these turbulent times in which our values are under threat. Together, we can succeed on behalf of the students, colleagues, and families we serve.

Sara Kelly Johns

Sara Kelly Johns is an adjunct instructor for the Syracuse University iSchool School Library Media Program, teaching Literacy through School Libraries. Johns is a long-time school librarian and was a grade 6-12 librarian during her in-building career. She is a past-president of the American Association of School Librarians, the New York Library Association (NYLA), and the School Library Section of NYLA (NYLA/SSL). Currently, Sara chairs the ALA Publishing Committee, is a member and past-chair of the ALA Ecosystem Subcommittee of the ALA Committee on Library Advocacy, and has been the chair or co-chair of the NYLA/SSL Educational Leadership Committee since 1991. A member of the 2018 AASL National Standards for Learners, Librarians, and Libraries Implementation Team, Sara is co-author of Elevating School Libraries: Positive Perceptions through Brand Behavior and Strengthening Library Ecosystems: Collaborate for Advocacy and Impact, both ALA, 2024.

Presentation Title: Elevating the School Library: Building Positive Perceptions through Brand Behavior

Susan D. Ballard and Sara Kelly Johns will present a table talk on their AASL/ALA 2024 book. Since its publication, the authors have spoken with hundreds of school librarians from graduate students through longtime, experienced school librarians. They will share feedback received from these participants as well their own evolving ideas about using the book to revitalize and reimagine how school librarians are understood and appreciated by their school communities--their brand

Tien Triggs

Tien Triggs is the School and Digital Support Librarian at the Washington State Library and is the statewide consultant for school libraries and teacher librarians in Washington state. Before librarianship, she was a STEM and languages educator in Maryland and worked in STEM research and academic publishing before teaching. She is currently a manuscripts editor for The Reading Room: A Journal of Special Collections, an open-access scholarly publication that the University at Buffalo will be relaunching soon after being on hiatus. She is also a contributor to Perspectives on Scholarly Communication: Volume 5 and author of the chapter “Integrating Retractions into a Research Ecosystem.” She is an active member of the Washington Library Association and is the 2025 Chair of the Special Library Division and Co-Chair of the Advocacy Committee. She has also presented on special libraries and participated in panel discussions about State Library work and programs for the Washington Library Association.

Presentation Title: The “Can’t Miss” Event: Fom Curating Courses to Creating a Conference for Teacher-Librarians

Earlier this October, the Washington State Library hosted its fourth annual School Library In-Service Training Day, a one-day conference offering virtual sessions tailored to the professional development needs of teacher-librarians. In the past, fall training days for teachers had few, if any, sessions for teacher-librarians, and course offerings were scarce or required fees to earn clock hours. In four years, the State Library has transformed its training and professional development model for teacher-librarians, launching from a handful of archived courses on Niche Academy to a full multi-session conference experience with national keynote speakers, panels, and practitioners leading sessions on topics as wide-ranging as media literacy, library advocacy, AI, and TTRPGs. The conference is virtual, free, and clock hours-eligible, making it truly a “can’t miss” event for all Washington state teacher-librarians. In this table talk, I will share the model for launching a successful state-level conference for teacher-librarians and how to leverage it into a platform for engagement with our most underserved, least resourced, and remote school libraries in the state.

James Allen

James Allen is the Statewide School Library Lead for the Kentucky Department of Education in the Office of Education Technology. Previously, he was a public K-12 teacher librarian for sixteen years. James is also a Google for Education Certified Innovator, an ISTE Community Leader, a member of the Future Ready Schools Librarians Advisory Team, a past president of the Kentucky Association of School Librarians, and a member of the American Association of School Librarians National Conference Committee and Professional Learning Committee.

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