AASL Standards Interview with Robin Russell, Librarian at Sandel Elementary School.

AASL Standards Interview with Robin Russell, Librarian at Sandel Elementary School.

Robin Russell is the certified librarian that I work under, as assistant librarian, in the Sandel Elementary School library. Although she has had her MLIS degree for 5 years now, this is her first year working in a school library. This is also my first year working in a school library, so we have been learning a lot together, and I have been grateful for the opportunity to work with her. I interviewed her in November, 2022, so her experiences are limited to the first few months of the school year, but she was still able to speak to me about the shared foundation I interviewed her about, which is the Shared Foundation ‘Explore’, from the American Association of School Librarian’s National School Library Standards. I wanted to know some ways in which she believes our library program implements the domains and competencies that encompass the ‘Explore’ foundation. I asked the following questions:

1. What are some examples of the ways in which you are implementing these competencies in your library program?

2. What are some of the resources in your library program that you are using to implement these competencies?

3. Do any of the competencies that you are implementing include collaboration with classroom teachers? If so, please provide examples.

4. What are some of the challenges that you face when trying to implement these competencies?

5. Are there any other comments that you would like to make regarding the Shared Foundation / Competencies and Domains that we have discussed today?

Robin believes that she has used the competencies related to the domain of ‘think’ often in the Sandel Library. It states; “1. Encouraging learners to read widely and deeply in multiple formats and write and create for a variety of purposes. 2. Challenging learners to reflect and question assumptions and possible misconceptions. 3. Enabling learners by helping them develop inquiry-based processes for personal growth.” She says that each time the students come to the library, she encourages them to open their minds to new types of books and ideas. She encourages them to think differently and question assumptions and misconceptions, by letting them know that picture books are not just for ‘little kids,’ and that graphic novels are not necessarily easier to read than chapter books.

For the create domain, she allowed the students to create a dot for National Dot Day, and encouraged them to be as creative as possible. She also allowed them to make their own shelf markers, using different materials, and making them feel more invested in the process of using shelf markers because they were the creators.

The share domain states: School librarians prepare learners to engage with the learning community by: 1. Providing strategies for acting on curiosity about a topic of personal interest or curricular relevance.” One way Robin allows the students to share with their learning community is through book talks. Students are given the opportunity to share a little about the books they have most recently read, and say whether or not they recommend it to their peers. Afterwards, if students are interested in any of the books discussed, they are able to try to look it up in Destiny to see if they can locate it in the library, and if they cannot, they can do a search for a similar topic, and find other books about this same topic they are interested in. This activity is a great one because she says it also always the students to grow, another domain we spoke about, helping the students to “recognize capabilities and skills that can be developed, improved, and expanded.” Using the cataloging system and finding books in the library is a skill they can continue to improve on, that will help them throughout their educational journey.

One challenge Robin brought up was the fact that she has little time with the students for activities. The students are usually only with their class for ‘library time,’ which includes returning and checking out books, for 30 minutes. She would like to have more time to collaborate with teachers on specific curriculum, and she thinks in the coming years more teachers will see the value in this, and she may be able to re-do her scheduling to allow for more collaboration and co-teaching. She would also like to have more resources available to her such as makerspace supplies. She is looking forward to continuing to grow her program and making some of these improvements over time.