Books for and in schools are commodities. They form a central part of the political economy of publishing. They are also, profoundly, sites of cultural and ideological conflict. While always there, there are periods when these economic and ideological conflicts are even more powerful. This is just such a time. This reality asks us to also examine…

Over the past couple of years, school districts nationwide have seen a wave of challenges to books in libraries and on reading lists, as well as rising demands to know what titles are in schools. These challenges and demands have put public school libraries under significant scrutiny and raised fundamental questions about their purpose and…

Teachers want their students to have access to the books they need to fall in love with reading, which means having classroom and school libraries stocked with a wide variety of books. But as English teachers are well aware, Texas leads the nation in book challenges and bans. This article defines and describes the different forms of censorship and…

This activity guide provides scenarios, questions for further discussion, and sample activities for each of the American Association of School Librarians (AASL) Standards Frameworks--Learner, School Librarian, and School Library--across the four Domains--Think, Create, Share, and Grow. These engaging activities will support school librarians in…

In an era where digital and media literacy is as fundamental as reading, writing, and arithmetic, the role of school librarians transcends traditional boundaries. They are the perfect teachers to nurture digital citizenship among learners, an increasingly vital role. This article delves into how these unsung heroes and digital leaders use their…

Over the past 30 years, the nation has experienced a decline in the number of public school library programs. New York City has been trying to combat this trend by implementing several innovative programs. One of them is the VITAL Libraries program. VITAL stands for Vital, Instructional, Transformative, Accessible, Learning Libraries. It is a…

Before the 2023 AASL National Conference in Tampa, the National Conference committee shares "why" teacher librarians and school library staff working at every grade level should attend, "what" they can expect while attending, and "how" they can make the most of their conference experience.

School librarians, because of their role in their learning community, are uniquely situated to support and facilitate student learning through collaborative partnerships with other educators. This kind of collaborative work is built into the work of school librarians, exemplified in the American Association of School Librarians (AASL) shared…

Digital citizenship should be an embedded component of all curriculum. In order to teach students to be empowered digital citizens, school librarians must use their libraries as safe spaces to explore the layers of digital citizenship. Through classroom discussions, online learning, and unplugged activities, learners can engage with aspects of…

School librarians often find themselves betwixt two different worlds that come with quite varied expectations. They are seen as the arbiters of traditional learning and academia, with library spaces providing books and quiet places for self-enrichment and study. They are also often given the responsibility of being the building's technology…

School librarians--also called school media specialists or teacher librarians--play a powerful and essential role: promoting school-wide cultures of literacy, partnering with teachers to enhance learning, propelling students toward lifelong reading habits, and establishing transformative learning spaces rich with print and digital resources.…

In this article, the author examines how libraries have evolved and argues that they have not fundamentally changed. While the library spaces that students work in have changed, the lessons being learned fundamentally have not. Students still learn to find source materials, research, write, construct projects, create reference lists, and complete…

The Wood River Middle School (WRMS) serves approximately 600 students a year. The school is diverse, with roughly half Latinx students and a large English language learner population. The library collection boasts almost 16,000 books. The most popular section? If you combine the manga and graphic novel sections, they win the top prize, with 38% of…

According to a report by PEN America, 40% of banned and challenged books have BIPOC protagonists, and 41% have LGBTQ protagonists and/or LGBTQ major plots or themes. Librarians know that censorship is bad. Censorship surges in school libraries are not a new or uniquely 2020s problem. In the early 1980s, the American Library Association's (ALA)…

Relationships are all about connection. Teacher librarians are more effective at positively impacting learners when they have established relationships with them. There are a myriad of ways to build these bonds, and even small efforts can yield great results. In this article, the author presents the power of relationships when building bonds with…