The author believes her professional life can be divided into two parts--being a building-level school librarian and being retired, noting that few librarians she has met planned to enter the profession, and like them, she was an accidental librarian. Though trained to be a high school English teacher, she was offered a job after college as a…

Now more than ever school librarians need to be advocates. COVID brought to light so many things that are wrong with the education system around the country. According to the author, they learned that, although they talk about equity and access for their students, they are not even close to equity and access being a reality for all. As the…

As an educator for thirty-four years, the author describes several great changes she has seen in the field of education since she started in the 1970s. The author gives advice to educators just beginning their careers. Old and new ways of receiving professional development are explained along with the limitations and benefits of these options.…

Keeping a uniform, basic arrangement of the school library is essential if students are to be comfortable finding resources in other libraries. Two questions that must be answered if a new system were to be devised are: Who would decide on the particulars of that system? What criteria would be used to make the decision to ensure that use of the…

"Dewey or don't we?" is the question that hundreds, if not thousands, of school librarians across the country are currently asking themselves. Do they throw out what is old but trusted for new organizational systems, or do they continue using the Dewey Decimal Classification (DDC) system and make changes and adjustments to the…

The school library profession has begun to develop a reputation for tech-savviness. Several school librarians are nationally recognized technology leaders and present at conferences where instructional technology is at the forefront. Unfortunately, while school librarians have done a wonderful job of marketing their technological expertise in the…

The exponential influx of digital content and mobile devices into schools begs for school librarians to engage in discussions and decision making about the selection, classification, management, and distribution of content ranging from e-books to open educational resources. As information professionals, school librarians should channel their inner…

The development, publication, and distribution of the "Standards for the 21st-Century Learner" once again demonstrate the vision of the American Association of School Librarians (AASL) in pointing the way with new literacies (textual, media, digital, technology) for students. These standards include critical self-assessment strategies that will…

Professional learning nourishes practice. Sometimes we are able to navigate daily within a community of learners or find such fellowship online. At other moments we seek out books and journals to stimulate inner voyages. The author describes how different books, journals, and Web pages have helped her along her own learning voyage. (AEF)

Suggests that professional planning, not high-stakes testing, "an Industrial Age solution to an Information Age problem," is the key to education's future. Proposes that the day for school library media specialists and teachers should be equally divided between teaching and professional planning-four hours of instructional supervision and four…

An English instructor notes that educators must re-examine their methodology and allow for students to be engaged as full partners in the learning process. She provides examples of activities and projects from a course about the intersection of language and culture and suggests that self-directed learning will equip students for college level…