When it comes to the spread of disinformation, society has lived through the perfect storm. The isolation of the pandemic and the depression induced by that isolation gave rise to a raw need for camaraderie and connection. Forced into digital spaces to work, teach, and learn, meant spending increasing amounts of time in those spaces hoping to be…

The pandemic prompted Courtney Lewis and her fellow school librarians to dig deep and acknowledge that their information literacy instruction followed a just-in-time philosophy. Essentially, limited just-in-time information literacy instruction is like teaching a kid how to play soccer for seven days out of each year and expecting them to be a…

Libraries have always been civic institutions in their communities. Whether it's a public library supporting community members with election information or a school library offering 18-year-olds voter registration opportunities, participating in civic matters is a mission that comes naturally to librarians. In this article, Carolyn Foote recalls…

How does the legacy of school librarianship inform the future of school librarians as teachers? Librarians have engaged in a long and productive struggle to transform teaching and learning. This article discusses the complicated history and internal contradictions of the profession including: (1) librarian certification; (2) school library goals…

Students are continually exposed to news and information from multiple media resources. The competencies that students need to make good decisions with the information they are exposed to need to be taught, modeled, and practiced continually. In this article, the author explores how school librarians can make sure students graduate with the skills…

Content expert Maegen Rose details her journey to becoming a school librarian, her struggles in working in an independent school, and how her identity as a Black educator affects her instruction and engagement with her students.

A 2020 study from University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill's Hussman School of Journalism and Media found that since 2004 over one-quarter of U.S. newspapers have disappeared. This reduction has left many people, especially those in poor rural areas, living in news deserts, where access to professionally vetted information is limited, if not…

Croft and Barnhart share their experience when learning shifted to online at the University of West Georgia and the LibraryDen, a library mini course, was developed and used in the Multiple Literacies for School Library Media Course. Particularly impressive was the transferability of skills between the academic and school library setting.

No matter how school library standards evolve to address changes in society and educational research, certain intellectual freedom principles remain constant, including the principle to protect all learners' rights to freely access and explore information and ideas. The American Association of School Librarians' (AASL's) "National School…

One of the issues connected to the use of standards in independent schools is the varying approaches to an astonishing variety of school missions. Independent school administrators and teachers often see national standards to be the purview of the professionals they hire. As a result, teachers and department heads work to select standards that…

School librarians must teach media literacy and be on the forefront of defining what media literacy is and why it is important for students and communities. The competencies involved in information and media literacy are interwoven throughout the frameworks in the American Association of School Librarians' (AASL) "National School Library…

Librarianship is an ever-changing journey that follows the evolution of media literacy. Currently, students live in an Internet world where politicians scream "Fake news!" at reports they don't like; foreign governments create actual fake news; and journalism seamlessly blends the genres of reporting and commenting. Students must learn…

Students are looking more and more to social media for their daily news. They must learn how to verify this news and how to cite the information. From a very early age, they need to understand how to interact with networked, digital technologies. They need to learn how to use social media and learn how not to be used by it. It is important to…

Librarians are leaders in growing global digital citizens. The libraries of the future are more than just housing centers for books and media. They are invigorating meeting places and communities where truly meaningful learning and discovery take place. As technology has transformed reading and learning, it has also transformed the vision of the…

The school librarian at Farragut Middle School in Knoxville, Tennessee, describes how, given the recent surge of fake news, her school was inspired by the new American Association of School Librarians Standards Framework for Learners (2017) to overhaul its website evaluation lessons in the school library program. Concentrating on the Shared…