Kiley Miller 

“Libraries in America are cornerstones of the communities they serve” (American Library Association, 1999, para. 1).  

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Librarianship in our diverse world is so much more complex than I ever anticipated before embarking on a journey towards a Masters in Library and Information Studies, and in truth at many points along the way I have found it a bit daunting. Yet, at its core, librarianship is also simple, in that it is about communities and people. If we consider that the American Library Association’s (2024) five core values are access, equity, intellectual freedom and privacy, public good, and sustainability, it is apparent that people are still the heart of libraries and a librarian’s role is one of service. A librarian needs to be familiar with the unique diversity within their community to accomplish Rubin and Rubin’s (2020) assertion that libraries are, “not transforming the community individual-by-individual but helping to transform the community itself and, in doing so, affecting the individuals within it” (p. 83). This is also true for school libraries. School librarians have the unique opportunity to transform educational and local communities thereby providing better outcomes for individual learners within those communities, but to do so they must be familiar with and meet the diverse physical and intellectual abilities and needs of their learners and communities. 

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The American Association of School Librarians (2018a) third Common Belief, “learners should be prepared for college, career, and life” resonates deeply with me because it acknowledges learners have diverse learning goals while  still considering their present and future needs (p. 3). McGrath (2015) further points out, “a school that prepares students for the twenty-first century graduates young people who are agile problem-solvers, capable of mapping their own learning” (p. 61). I hope that the learners I serve will go on to be competent, skillful, and enthusiastic lifelong learners. As such, I want to ensure that the policies I create support the library as an, “expanded learning environment” that “ensures the unique interests and needs of the individual are met” (American Association of School Librarians, 2018b, p. 1). As a leader, I believe in meeting professional challenges directly and building relationships within our community and school to better advocate for students. As a teacher, I believe in facilitating and cultivating students' academic growth, and strive to do so in a way that students are appropriately challenged and feel proud of their efforts and accomplishments. Finally, as a program administrator, I believe in providing students access to the materials they want and need, while also ensuring those resources are representative of our diverse world and specific school community.

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Throughout my coursework, I have also learned the importance of grounding everything we do as librarians in the community’s needs. My Collection Development Plan, Paired Teacher’s Text, Pathfinder/LibGuide, Grant Proposal and Collaborative Unit assignments all demonstrate this in action. In considering and planning for diverse communities, diverse learning styles, and the physical and intellectual abilities and needs of all learners, my attention has frequently been drawn to those with invisible disabilities that are often overlooked. Pionke (2019) explained, “[i]nclusion is as much about mindset as it is about making sure that there are interpreters, seating, safe spaces, etc., for people with disabilities. It is about seeing the world from multiple perspectives as you move through it” (p. 433). Awareness of differing perspectives and lived experiences is the first step to being able to see, plan for, and serve diverse needs. An open mind, flexibility, differentiation, and universal design can help library spaces and programming to be more welcoming and inclusive to those otherwise left on the margins while also benefiting all other users and learners. As CAST (2018) points out, “Universal Design for Learning, [is] a framework to improve and optimize teaching and learning for all people based on scientific insights into how humans learn” (para. 1, emphasis added). Specifically, my Grant Proposal highlights the importance and benefits of taking a family-systems-approach and embedding parental outreach within a school library program. 

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In conclusion, an ideal school library is a critical component of 21st-century learning and should be the heart of every school (American Association of School Librarians, n.d.).  As a school librarian, it is my responsibility and privilege to ensure this while developing strong connections with students. I will professionally pursue the creation of a library that is a place of discovery and engagement, motivating learners to fulfill their potential and expand their horizons. By creating a welcoming and safe environment for all, setting high expectations, providing engaging lessons, assuming positive intent, and praising positive efforts and behaviors, I hope to contribute to a school library that is transformational for its community and the individuals within it.

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References:

American Association of School Librarians. (2018a). AASL standards framework for learners. ALA Editions an imprint of the American Library Association. https://standards.aasl.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/AASL-Standards-Framework-for-Learners-pamphlet.pdf

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American Association of School Librarians. (2018b). Managing standards overload. American Library Association. https://standards.aasl.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/AASL_ManagingStandards_OnePager_2017.pdf 

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American Association of School Libraries. (n.d.). Common beliefs. https://standards.aasl.org/beliefs/

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American Library Association. (2024). B.1 core values, ethics, and core competencIes (old number 40). http://www.ala.org/aboutala/governance/policymanual/updatedpolicymanual/section2/40corevalues 

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American Library Association. (1999, February 10). Libraries: An American value. https://www.ala.org/advocacy/intfreedom/americanvalue 

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CAST. (2018). Universal Design for Learning guidelines version 2.2. http://udlguidelines.cast.org

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McGrath, K. G.. (2015). School libraries & innovation. Knowledge Quest, 43(3), 54-61.

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Pionke, J. (2019). The impact of disbelief: On being a library employee with a disability. Library Trends 67(3), 423-435. doi:10.1353/lib.2019.0004.

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Rubin, R. E., & Rubin, R. G. (2020). Foundations of library and information science (5th ed.). ALA Neal-Schuman.