ALA President Jim Neal posted an article on the Libraries Transform site a few months back, a piece I noted because of the title. Recently, I have told you in this blog about why I think the Libraries Transform advocacy platform is so useful to school librarians in Texas, but rediscovering Neal’s piece reminded me of yet another reason: libraries are the place and their certified librarians the human catalysts to inspire students to follow their curiosity into new fields of interest, and then to build that learning into a comprehensive body of knowledge that allows these children to become engaged adults ready to lead their communities.
In my TASLTalks blog of Feb. 14, Libraries Transform – Especially when Speaking with One Voice, I noted the usefulness of the four basic messages – but in today’s post, the key is “Libraries Transform Lives.” It is through the students we impact that we can transform communities, support lifelong learning and be that smart investment of the other three messages. And that “we” is the certified school librarians who work with Texas students in school libraries state-wide every day. I cannot say it enough: we who are school librarians matter deeply to the success of our students, our schools and cumulatively our state.
As spring begins here in Texas, I want to remind you all to take full advantage of all the tools you have at a click of your computer:
- TASL programs coming soon at conference in Ft. Worth – and then the handouts and audio that comes later.
- The brand new Texas Standards for School Libraries, now available on the State Library website. These have been formally approved, and will be added to the Texas Administrative Code on March 9, when they will also go into effect. Show them to your principal!
- The 2017 AASL National Standards for School Libraries. Check out some core support resources on the website.
- The Julie Todaro 2016-17 ALA Presidential Initiative, The Expert in the Library, which offers the School Librarian PSEL Competencies and Personal Professional Growth Tool in addition to other advocacy resources.
Libraries make Leaders. And we Librarians must be leaders. We need to demonstrate to our campus leadership how libraries are essential to student achievement. We need to demonstrate to our teachers how collaboration can strengthen their classroom projects and topics. And we need to show our students the infectious excitement of following curiosity where it leads (there’s that word again!), to learn more and more about our world, their world for many years to come.
I hope to see many of you at conference, but watch here in TASLTalks to find articles about programs and award winners you might have missed. Leaders are always learning. Libraries make leaders by supporting lifelong learning.
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