Resource Guides
The American Association of School Librarians (AASL) offers Web-based resource guides on many topics of interest to library media specialists. They are called AASL Resource Guides and you can link to them from AASL's homepage under AASL Quick Links.
The role of the school library media specialist continues to evolve. This is evidenced by the new AASL Standards for information literacy, which focus not only on the development of person skills, but also the need for students to communicate beyond their immediate peers in the sharing of knowledge to become ethical, productive participants in an information-rich society. As a result, school librarians may find themselves in need of additional support to address these requirements. For this reason, we again bring your attention to the ever-evolving role of the school librarian and library media center by …
Shining the Spotlight on AASL Professional Tools: School/Public Library Cooperative Activities
Collaboration with your local public library can be a low-risk, high-benefit way to address the need to reach beyond the walls of your media center in order to develop advanced communication and information-sharing skills in your students. Many school media specialists are already working with public libraries to accomplish this task and, again, AASL’s set of Professional Tools provides an excellent resource for those of you who are ready to get started or want to devote additional effort to this type of outreach.
Although we normally point you to AASL’s very effective Resource Guides for School Library Media Program Development, this month we direct your attention to the School/Public Library Cooperative Activities link , which re-directs you to the Association for Library Services to Children (ALSC) website. Here you will find many examples of effective school/public library collaborative efforts compiled by the ALSC/AASL/YALSA Joint Task Force on School/Public Library Cooperative Activities in 2004. Focusing on cooperative, collaborative and/or partnership programs between elementary, middle and high schools with local public libraries, the wealth of information provided includes details on existing programs, funding sources and point person contact information. Various examples of many program types are offered, including Assignment Alerts, Book Discussion Groups, Community Reading Projects, Library Card Campaigns, Summer Reading Programs and Tutoring. This important compilation also includes a selection of Cautionary Tales, which is a must read for those wishing to avoid programs destined for failure and other potential roadblocks to School/Public library collaboration.
We encourage you to visit this very valuable resource as you explore the potential for community outreach through your local public library. Those of you already involved in successful collaboration of this type can also benefit through the sharing of experiences via the interactive form provided.
Reported by Kori M. Gerbig
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