AASL Standard 5

IMPACT ON STUDENTS AND CONNECTION TO BEST PRACTICES:

It is an unfortunate situation, but school librarians have to fight for their jobs on a regular basis. Due in part to a lack of understanding of what librarians can offer, library funding and staff are line items that many schools are willing to cut. This has led to a constant need to educate those around us and to prove the value of our programs. Advocacy has become a constant in our roles to develop relationships with stakeholders to gain and maintain their support (Burns, 2015).

Doug Johnson gives the librarian the role as "Rabblerouser" (Johnson, 2015, p. 3). Not in the sense of being a critic, but of being a voice that is heard and someone to help build the program. Rather than focus on a push once in a while to gain support, this new form of advocacy involves "a deliberate and sustained effort to foster understanding of the school library program while influencing the attitudes of key stakeholders" (Burns, 2015, p.28).

We covertly advocate by bringing people into the library and making them aware of our extended knowledge base. When we introduce teachers to something new via professional development, they realize that our knowledge goes beyond books and research. While classroom teachers are held to a specific curriculum and there are constant checks that they are getting that job done, librarians rarely have a curriculum to work with and many believe all we do is read and checkout books. If we want stakeholders to know that there is teaching being done, especially if in conjunction with classroom lessons, we have to find ways to publicize that.

Sometimes it is simply useful to have another trained educator look at something with a fresh perspective. In the same way that students bring different knowledge bases to the classroom, so to do teachers, making collaborative education that much more powerful. But the move to collaborative teaching is still relatively new and involves a change in culture that takes time. Many librarians, especially in elementary schools, are seen as "specials" teachers and not connected to the curriculum. Any and all advocacy works to fix this mentality, to aim to make sure that the librarian has a seat at the table.

We are teaching 21st century learners in an age when there is simply too much information available. The librarian is the person who excels at categorizing information and finding the best tools to sort through things. But it isn't just our students who can't keep up with the information, our teachers need help too. One of our many hats these days is to be that support to teachers who need a little help dealing with the abundance of information. To offer ideas when we know the curriculum, to help in creating WebQuests, to help students with successful search strategies (Hylen, 2004). We want our students to learn that it is okay to ask for help, but we have to be willing to model that behavior.

For me, on a personal note, I have long advocated for diversity in children's literature. I became involved with Multicultural Children's Book Day when it began in 2013 as the diversity movement was taking off. This is a yearly blogging event promoting diverse authors and diversity in general. In addition to participating, I have been a co-host of the event for 5 years. Diverse literature is more than just being a way for children to see themselves in books, though that is important. As Jason Reynolds said, "Diversity means inclusivity" (Reynolds, 2015). When students read from a multicultural palate they have the potential to experience cultures, places, and experiences that are different from their own. From there, their world view expands and their empathy for others can increase (Dodge, 2015). Advocating for multicultural literature helps foster the open-minded attitude necessary for a global community.