Over the past 10 years, I have utilized a number of strategies to engage my teachers and communicate the value and importance of library resources, especially the value of a certified teacher librarian. I created a library menu, using humor and visuals to offer choices from quick lessons all the way through fully co-taught units. Our teachers are split-up into subject and tracked level teams to best align curriculum and standards. I get to attend these meetings as well as occasionally present on topics like useful Google cheats, Destiny hosted OERs, specific print or electronic resources for their subject area, and BreakoutEdu kits enabling student solution finding. I regularly email teachers links, content and other ideas as I find them, knowing that these items will support projects they are working on. I even have impromptu meetings in the hallway, bathroom, and faculty lounge when I am able to snag a teacher I’ve been looking for or they finally find me.
Teachers are often my best advocates, telling their teams about a great unit we did together or how useful I was in assisting their students’ research projects. They also are wonderful at reinforcing things I teach in their classrooms, requiring students to continue using databases and other strong source material that they cite properly. For example, all of my junior Social Justice teachers have me teach right at the beginning of every school year, walking students through how to spot fake news and be great online evaluators. They then have the students repeat these skills numerous times throughout their junior year while taking Social Justice classes. Whenever I can teach something to students that is real-life and immediately applicable, I am thrilled to have teachers reinforce it in class with ongoing assignments in which students immediately see the value of being really savvy online solution finders.
Years ago in my graduate library program, I was given a smart piece of advice; slow and steady wins the race. It is so true. I have slowly but steadily built trust and relationships with my teachers and administration so now they are doubly supportive of me and my work. These relationships get me into the classrooms and involved in student learning. Not only do they want me to teach expected things like booktalks and citations, teachers have me developing new content and ideas alongside them so they have the best resources supporting them all the way. Being a solo librarian is tough in a building of 1650 students and 110 teachers. I may only have four grades to support but all those teachers and kids have unique needs and projects to accomplish. Having supportive teachers who see the value in not only having me teach but in reinforcing the information literacy skills taught is vital to the success of my students.
Our guest blogger today is Kristen Rademacher. Kristen is the Librarian at Marist High School in Chicago. Along with Blue Island Public Library, Marist was the recipient of a 2018 RAILS Partnership Grant. The two libraries worked together on an "escape room" project for hundreds of local teens, offering solution finding, critical thinking and teamwork opportunities.
