Advocate for public policies, laws, organizations, and resources that promote a just information society.

 

5.1 Information Policy: Assess the potential impacts of policy and laws on the ability of libraries and information organizations to fulfill their missions.

 

5.2 Current Trends: Evaluate trends and issues impacting libraries and information organizations (awareness is lowest level, analyze impact, advocate for decisions= create response/plan to address issue/trend).

 

5.3 Advocacy: Advocate for your organization and the Library and Information Science Professions.

 

5.4 Evaluate the roles professional associations play in collective advocacy.

 

5.5 Advocate for equity and access for your community: Particularly for historically marginalized groups to overcome existing power structures (e.g. healthcare, voting rights, technology access, transportation, education).

 

Evidence

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•  LIS 653 Grant Proposal

  • 5.3, 5.5

• LIS 693 Professional Development Lesson

  • 5.1, 5.2, 5.3, 5.4, 5.5

• LIS 600 Research Project Proposal

  • 5.1, 5.2, 5.4

 

As a school librarian, I strive to meet the goals of the AASL standards and uphold the values stated in the ALA Bill of Rights. At the same time, I must adhere to state and local laws and policies regarding management of my library and work to support the strategic plan and academic goals of the faculty at my own school. To borrow the old phrase, “think globally and act locally.” While I strive to stay educated and informed about national, state, and local trends, for me, my advocacy is something that happens within my school. The work I do as a school librarian becomes a part of the community and ultimately, I hope serves to influence wise decisions among the broader population. With that in mind, the evidence I am providing here is focused on my own school and library policies, trends, and the role of other professionals in our school to help achieve equity and access for our students.

 

The LIS 693 Professional Development Lesson was the initial step in an ongoing series of professional development activities I led to educate current staff about resources, policies, circulation, and challenges at our elementary school library. As the school librarian at an elementary school that hasn’t had a librarian for months, one of my first challenges was to understand these issues and provide a “state of the library” report to faculty. This served two purposes: to ensure all faculty were aware of current policies and practices, and to get their feedback on which of these challenges were most pressing and their opinions on a variety of decisions that needed to be made. The workshop involved a summary presentation of major findings of my Follett Destiny analysis and documentation of current issues including some that truly fall under the ALA Library Bill of Rights. For example, we have been limiting circulation to three books per student; is that sufficient to guarantee their access to the materials they need? We have a section dedicated to Spanish language books; not all teachers were aware of this. While this presentation involved a detailed discussion of current circulation and issues facing the library, the presentation adhered to all privacy standards for individual students and staff at our school. Finally, as a new librarian, this enabled me to meet the majority of the current faculty in person and make clear my desire to collaborate with them in the future.

 

The LIS 600 Research Project Proposal is a written proposal that describes an approach to a complex subject: the censorship of books and book bans. The proposal describes a survey that could be administered to middle and high school students anonymously on paper or online. The survey asks them about their knowledge and opinions regarding censorship of books and current policies. Given the seriousness of this topic, a more formal proposal for this project is helpful as students, their parents, other teachers, and the administration may want to know more about what is planned and what might be implemented. This research project is not intended to advocate for any one position, instead, allowing students to respond to statements with their own opinions. The proposal is written in a style of a formal research proposal including the target audience, the survey questions, and the implementation and analysis. It is hoped that by documenting in advance the scope of this research, students, their parents, and other stakeholders will be able to support this effort and ultimately, lead to better informed policies regarding state and local control over library collections.

 

The LIS 653 Grant Proposal is a request for funding via the AASL Innovative Reading Grant for a year-long student reading engagement program designed around the concept of “reading around the world.” Students would get a “passport” and receive a stamp for every country or region they visited as readers. A completed passport earns a globe keychain that can be displayed on their backpack. While it is not explicitly spelled out in our ALA Bill of Rights, it is evident that sustaining the efficacy of current successful library practice will require school librarians to serve not only as champions for literacy, but as fundraisers for programs that serve our students. The “reading around the world” passport introduces opportunities to learn more about historically marginalized groups and diverse cultures.

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References

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Gretes, F. (2013). School library impact studies: A review of findings and guide to sources. https://cdn.ymaws.com/pala.site-ym.com/resource/collection/FAAEA358-CF27-4976-889B-2F95015B1AEC/School_Libraries_at_Risk_-_Library-Impact-Studies.pdf

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Kachel, D. E. (2021). Data speaks: Addressing equity of access to school librarians for students. Teacher Librarian, 48(3), 49–52. https://libslide.org/pubs/Kachel-DataSpeaks-TL%20Feb2021.pdf

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Lance, K. C., & Kachel, D. E. (2018, March 26). Why school librarians matter: What years of research tell us. Kappan. https://kappanonline.org/lance-kachel-school-librarians-matter-years-research/

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Short, K. G. (2009). Critically reading the word and the world: Building intercultural understanding through literature. Bookbird: A Journal of International Children’s Literature, 47(2), 1–10. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/236831125_Critically_Reading_the_Word_and_the_World_Building_Intercultural_Understanding_through_Literature

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