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School Librarians Take the Lead During the Pandemic

Phil Morehart on April 29, 2020

April is School Library Month—a time to recognize school libraries and librarians as information and technology experts in their schools and communities. Schools across the country are closed to slow the spread of COVID-19, but teaching and learning continues. School librarians are meeting the challenge in  innovative ways, keeping their learners and fellow teachers connected and engaged from afar. 

As schools transition to distance learning, librarians have played a key role in making sure the online materials, resources and tools needed by educators and students are readily available. In Dare County, North Carolina, school librarians worked to ensure every student in need of a Chromebook was able to borrow one starting during the first week of school closures. School librarians are also working closely with teachers to help them manage the technological challenges of transitioning to online learning. Dare County Schools librarians have also teamed up with the district’s technology staff to host webinars and offer professional development sessions to support teachers as they got the hang of remote instruction.

School librarians are finding creative ways to keep students excited about reading during these unprecedented times by promoting digital access to online materials like eBooks and audiobooks. Some have also found ways to safely disseminate physical books while maintaining social distancing: Blake Hopper—school librarian at Powell Valley Elementary School, Powell Valley Middle School, TNT Primary School, and Forge Ridge School in Tennessee—left boxes full of donated books outside his school buildings that students could take home.

Many school librarians have also hosted digital book clubs and other online programs to promote a culture of literacy in their communities. Erika Long, school librarian at Thurgood Marshall Middle School in Nashville, Tennessee, has been hosting livestreams on Instagram in which different guests discuss books and the arts. Some school librarians have even hosted digital programs for the whole family: Manteo Middle School in North Carolina organized virtual trivia competitions and an upcoming family lip syncing night.

School libraries have long been an essential part of the learning environment. “School libraries are the heart of the school. Many times students and staff need a safe place. We are that place. We can offer them a place to read, create, study, or a place to just relax and take a moment to reflect,” Blake Hopper told I Love Libraries. “As school libraries evolve, it is becoming more apparent how important we are.”

Jennisen Lucas, District Librarian for Park County School District #6 in Wyoming, adds: “We live in an information economy, and our learners need to be well-versed in how to locate and use information. School librarians are experts at teaching others to engage with the information in an efficient and ethical manner. Information literacy is vital for our students to create our future.”

An easy way to support School Library Month in your community is simply spreading the word about why school libraries are so essential. “Members of the public can offer support by sharing the importance of libraries and librarians with anyone they meet and by advocating for funding for school library programs,” Chelsea Bradley, Media Coordinator at Nags Head Elementary School in North Carolina and AASL School Library Month 2020 Committee member, told I Love Libraries.

Erika Long adds: “Funding for school libraries across the country is an issue of inequity. Access to high-quality, current materials is not a privilege; it’s a right. In order for school libraries to see the gap in equitable funding begin to close, it will take community members helping to speak for this to make it happen.”

To learn more, visit the School Library Month webpage.

An initiative of the American Library Association

Proposed Tennessee Bill Threatens Librarians with Fines or Jail Time

Phil Morehart on March 5, 2020

Libraries have long advocated for everyone’s freedom to read and access information—but a pending bill in the Tennessee legislature would bring widespread censorship to the state’s public libraries.

HB 2721/SB 2896, also known as the Parental Oversight of Public Libraries Act, would establish a five-person review board for every public library in Tennessee. These oversight groups would be separate from library boards and would have the final say over which materials and programs are acceptable for children and teens; libraries would be banned from providing what these boards deem “age-inappropriate sexual material” to minors. Any library defying the oversight group’s restrictions faces the loss of state funding—and its staff could be fined or jailed.

Librarians are trained to build diverse collections that serve the varying needs of their communities. They recognize that different families have different values and beliefs, and that everyone has the right to choose from a wide array of materials and programs. HB 2721/SB 2896 would give small groups of individuals the power to override librarians’ expertise and the library board’s authority, and to impose their personal views on all young people in their communities. 

Sign up for action alerts to support America’s libraries and protect the freedom to read.

Unlike Leslie Knope, Amy Poehler Loves Libraries

Phil Morehart on February 26, 2020

As Parks and Recreation fans know, the usually-upbeat government official Leslie Knope (played by Amy Poehler) has one big sore spot: libraries. As she explains in one episode, library workers are “mean, conniving, rude, and extremely well-read, which makes them very dangerous.” We have to disagree-and apparently, Poehler does too.

“Libraries were a big deal growing up,” Poehler shared in a recent appearance on The Kelly Clarkson Show. “We have to support our libraries.”

During the same interview, Clarkson surprised Poehler with a live video chat with a librarian from Bexley Public Library in Columbus, Ohio. BPL was nominated for a 2018 Leslie Knope Award, which honors exceptional public spaces across the country, including libraries-despite its namesake’s vendetta against librarians.

“We have a big bone to pick with Leslie Knope about her opinion about libraries,” joked Bexley librarian Leann, a Parks and Rec superfan. “But no, for real…thank you so much for all the support for libraries and local government and education.”

We’re so glad to know the star behind Leslie Knope loves libraries after all! Watch the full clip now:

In case you missed it, Poehler’s Parks and Rec costar Nick Offerman recently also shared the library love with this awesome video from the Reaching Across Illinois Library System-check it out now.