Trust Librarians

Dear Parents and Guardians:

Welcome to the TrustLibrarians website where you will find important information designed to help you understand the responsibilities of 21st century, credentialed school and public librarians, and how they can assist you in making informed decisions regarding the world of information and technology as well as book selections and objections. The purpose of the TrustLibrarians website is to provide families with a reintroduction to libraries and professional librarians. Librarians play numerous and important roles in in the ever-changing realms of both school and public libraries.  We encourage you to learn about 21st century libraries as well as the professional librarians who work in them and explore the vast impact they have on information accessibility and education.

Librarians serve as mentors and community builders who connect parents and children with educational resources formatted in various ways for easy and equitable accessibility.  They also teach children and adults digital citizenship, so all can safely navigate the Internet.  If you’re looking to learn about digital citizenship, please take a minute to review the resources on this site that teach how to determine the accuracy of information from any source.

Due to the polarization of the political landscape, libraries have become targets and are caught in the crosshairs of unnecessary controversy.  Librarians are not adversarial, but rather advocates who offer parents and guardians the opportunity to choose the reading and information sources that are right for their families. Librarians are experts in selecting literature and offering alternatives that reflect readers’ identities and can easily satisfy reading needs. They look forward to collaborating with patrons from all walks of life to bring about a transformative experience which leads to a stronger, more informed community, and in turn, world.

After touring the TrustLibrarians site, please let us know if we can provide additional information.  We look forward to hearing from you.

Sincerely,

The faculty and graduate students

School of Information, San Jose State University

San Jose, California

Comments and questions to Professor David V. Loertscher at reader.david@gmail.com