794 School Librarian Interview Blog

     I interviewed Henry E. Bonner Elementary School Librarian Melissa Mills for the AASL Shared Foundation Collaborate.  Mrs. Mills incorporates lots of collaborative opportunities in all of her library lessons.  She commonly uses turn and talk, group work, questions, and working in small groups on STEM activities.  I asked her if collaboration would be different for the littlest learners (K5) versus the older grades.  She said that she really implements the collaborative opportunities in the same way and that kindergarteners can do a lot more than they are often given credit for.  She advises not to be afraid to give them responsibilities because they will surprise you with what they are really capable of.  She advises that for littler students the things that may need to be modified are the placement of objects and the number of students in a group or where the project takes place.  For example, having four kindergartners work on a Le...

            I interviewed Macedonia Middle School Librarian Chris Matthews about her implementation of the shared foundation Explore in her library program.  Mrs. Matthews shares that in her middle school she finds that students are either fiction readers or nonfiction readers but rarely are they readers of both.  To encourage students to read widely and deeply in multiple formats by talking to them individually and by doing promotions such as book talks, book passes, and displays.  One display is called “pick a pair” where she takes a fiction book and pairs it with a non-fiction book that relates to it.  In her experience, if she can just get the book into a student’s hands they will often give it a try.  She helps expand their interest in learning about other cultures by incorporating this into her library lessons.   She uses STEM activities to teach problem solving and the cycle of design, implementation, and ref...

        At Moncks Corner Elementary, Dr. Brevard-Hines implements the AASL Shared Foundation Inquire by infusing her library lessons with STEAM education.  She finds fun and engaging STEAM activities for her learners and emphasizes identifying problems, critical thinking, problem-solving, and strategy development.  In her Lego team, the students are addressing the problem of plastic waste. They will have to formulate questions to further explore the problem such as: What is the impact of plastic waste on the environment? What are alternatives to plastic?  The students then demonstrate inquiry by researching and building solutions.  Critical thinking is important in the Moncks Corner Elementary Library.  Dr. Brevard-Hines shares: “Critical thinking is a cornerstone of STEAM. In any STEAM discipline, students need to assess information, evaluate different perspectives, and consider various solutions before deciding on the best course of ...

My interview with Mrs. Tamara Brown focuses on the AASL Shared Foundation Curate.  Mrs. Brown is the Media Specialist at Timberland High School in St. Stephen, South Carolina.  The school is located in a rural area affectionately known as “the Majestic Forest.”  Many students rely solely on what the media center provides for information resources so curating a quality collection of resources and teaching students how to curate, organize, and evaluate on their own is very important.  The town library branch is temporarily located in a very small building with limited resources due to renovations, and many students are not able to access it due to transportation issues - you really need a car to get there unless you happen to live in town.  Mrs. Brown works to address this by teaching students how to access SORA, Newsbank, and DISCUS in and out of school.  She also has a partnership with the local library branch where students can apply for and receive thei...