Kids need teacher librarians
On behalf of the Iowa Association of School Librarians, I would like to thank the Iowa State Education Agency for its efforts to promote appropriate staffing of teacher librarians in Iowa’s schools through their legislative priorities for 2014.
As established by the Department of Education’s Vision for Iowa’s School Libraries, teacher librarians are uniquely prepared and strategically positioned to:
• Teach students to think critically and independently to construct new understandings and insights from varied information sources.
• Lead and embrace the integration of technology to enhance learning.
• Connect communities of learners in virtual and physical spaces.
• Collaborate with the school community to design and enact rigorous learning experiences and participate as positive digital citizens.
• Maximize access to quality print and digital resources.
• Champion and support the reading life of students.
• Nurture curiosity to develop in students a passion for learning for life.
In addition to managing a library program, leading the integration of technology into classrooms and connecting students and staff with high quality resources, teacher librarians also collaborate with classroom teachers to teach digital and information literacy skills which are vital to career and college preparedness. To be a successful and effective member of society, students must be able to navigate a growing digital global community, and a qualified teacher librarian has the expertise to teach students those necessary skills.
In the Iowa City Community School District, students and staff have benefited from high quality school library programs for years. Unfortunately, because of budget constraints, a shortage of qualified professionals, and some misunderstanding of the role of the 21st-century teacher librarian, many schools in Iowa are not receiving the instructional and technological leadership and expertise a teacher librarian provides.
In many schools in Iowa, there is only one teacher librarian responsible for multiple school buildings — and in some cases, this same person has additional classroom teaching duties. These professionals are tasked with not only managing the day to day operations of physical library spaces in up to five buildings, but also are expected to form collaborative relationships with all students and staff, develop and teach information literacy curriculum, lead the integration of technology into classrooms, and maintain a quality of collection of resources.
Students and staff in Iowa City can attest to the value of a high quality school library program staffed by a professional teacher librarian and supported by trained library staff. The IASL recognizes the need to ensure that programs like ours in Iowa City maintain integrity and encourage groups like ISEA and others to continue to support our students at the local, state and national level.
We encourage community members to visit a school library near them to learn more about what our students gain when their library is staffed with a high-quality professional teacher librarian all day, every day.
Chelsea Sims is a member of the Iowa Association of School Librarians.