Leadership, Advocacy, and Professional Responsibility
Leadership, advocacy, and professional responsibility are cornerstones of growth for school librarians. In order to grow as leaders and advocates, school librarians should engage in professional learning, both their own and that of their colleagues.
- Adapted from the ALA/AASL/CAEP School Librarian Preparation Standards (2019)
I've been afforded many opportunities for leadership in my local school district through school improvement, leadership teams, sponsoring Student Council, and project based learning labs. I also assist on the district technology committee and in many district professional learning communities.
On a state level, I have been able to lead through being a board member, then treasurer, and now executive secretary for the Nebraska School Librarians Association. In these roles, I perform essential functions for the organization, alerting membership to advocacy opportunities, and assisting in the planning and carrying out of professional development opportunities for school librarians. I also currently serve on the state Future Ready Council, Nebraska Department of Education's Future Ready Librarians Committee, and am an active member of the American Library Association and the American Association of School Librarians.
On a state level, I have been able to lead through being a board member, then treasurer, and now executive secretary for the Nebraska School Librarians Association. In these roles, I perform essential functions for the organization, alerting membership to advocacy opportunities, and assisting in the planning and carrying out of professional development opportunities for school librarians. I also currently serve on the state Future Ready Council, Nebraska Department of Education's Future Ready Librarians Committee, and am an active member of the American Library Association and the American Association of School Librarians.
Advocacy is embedded in every aspect of school librarianship. When I first became a school librarian, one of the first actions I initiated was the update of our school library policy from dittoed forms to digital. Throughout this process, I updated policies and procedures based on the recommendations of my professional organizations as well as the other schools in my district. I ensured that we had a selection and de-selection policy in place as well as a procedure for handling challenges. I also established a mission statement for my school and helped the district library team decide on a district-wide library mission statement to guide our program. In 2015, the school board approved the updated version of the library policy and procedure manual as well as two additional updates in the last five years.
I've also leveraged social media as an advocacy tool for my learners, library program, and profession through Twitter (@LibSCHS), Instagram (libraryschs), and Facebook (SCHS Library). Through social media, I've been able to spotlight my school's library to stakeholders, authors, publishers, teachers, students, librarians, and even Mark Hamill! Social media relationships lead to great opportunities for my students, including reading books before they were published for Sourcebooks Fire.
I've also leveraged social media as an advocacy tool for my learners, library program, and profession through Twitter (@LibSCHS), Instagram (libraryschs), and Facebook (SCHS Library). Through social media, I've been able to spotlight my school's library to stakeholders, authors, publishers, teachers, students, librarians, and even Mark Hamill! Social media relationships lead to great opportunities for my students, including reading books before they were published for Sourcebooks Fire.
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A room full of professional school librarians is unlike any other room. Often, it is something we must purposefully seek out as librarians tend to be lone rangers in their schools and districts. I enjoy attending physical and digital professional development opportunities, utilizing social media for professional development, and working to provide professional development for school staff and school librarians alike.
I presented at a state conference for the first time on October 12, 2017 at the Nebraska Library Association and Nebraska School Librarians Association joint conference in Kearney, Nebraska. This was a unique opportunity to co-present with one of my high school's teachers on collaboration between librarians and classroom teachers.
I presented at a state conference for the first time on October 12, 2017 at the Nebraska Library Association and Nebraska School Librarians Association joint conference in Kearney, Nebraska. This was a unique opportunity to co-present with one of my high school's teachers on collaboration between librarians and classroom teachers.
Since then, I have presented in a variety of webinars for the NSLA, in person at the Schuyler Community Schools Annual Teacher Tech Fair each year on a wide variety of topics, in person at the NLA/NSLA state conference in 2018, with a group of five school library leaders with an IGNITE at NETA 2019, and a solo an all-day, in-person professional development opportunity for school librarians in February 2019 at ESU13 in Scottsbluff, Nebraska. I was set to present at NETA 2020 for the first time as a lone presenter. However, this opportunity was cancelled due to health concerns, and I will be presenting it via webinar instead.