Collaborating with your School Librarian

During last Friday’s state in-service I was at the joint Oregon Association of School Librarians/Washington Library Media Association conference in Portland. I can tell you that your school librarians are working hard to help students achieve academic success. They are also eager and enthusiastic to collaborate with teachers in many different ways. For example, there were several presentations on how librarians can work with teachers to create strategies to successfully navigate the required elements of the Social Studies CBAs. Another session focused on reviewing and providing feedback on Washington State’s New Educational Technology Standards. One presenter discussed how she collaborated with Title I teachers to provide books for struggling readers to achieve independent level.

The Campus Library has several books that explore the benefits of teachers collaborating with their librarians in creating assignments, discussing resources and determining outcomes. Here are the titles of a few:

Inquiry Learning Through Librarian-Teacher Partnerships

More Reading Connections: Bringing Parents, Teachers, and Librarians Together

Collaborating to Meet Standards: Teacher/Librarian Partnerships for K-6

I strongly recommend that all in- and pre-service teachers meet with school librarians to find out how they can help students. I think many of you would be surprised at how much teacher-librarians want to collaborate with you to make sure your students succeed. I urge you to visit your school librarian and ask him or her, “Would you like to collaborate with me on this unit?”