As K-12 schools strive to enhance education for their students while enabling educators to focus on core competencies, schools must look toward strategic partnerships with outside groups and organizations. Partnerships with families, libraries, museums, businesses, nonprofit organizations, and subject matter experts hold the promise of a brighter…

In a time where social-emotional learning (SEL) and best-practice initiatives can be found plastered over any and all education-related resources, how can one ensure that school librarians are living up to those expectations? School librarians are tasked with helping students to build a positive relationship with their library spaces and see the…

Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, anti-Asian hate had been on the rise. By making sure all voices are heard, especially those who are underrepresented, librarians can be agents of civic engagement. This article examines how Sarah Sansbury knew then how her elementary students could bring about justice through awareness and, she hoped,…

This piece focuses on creating a safe space for several subsets of the elementary school student population, including Muslim students, children with autism spectrum disorder, and students with social-emotional challenges. These groups do overlap and intersect, and they are united in their reliance on the library as a refuge. However, school…

This article discusses how the author, Kay Waitman, provided a safe and welcome environment in her school's library, by creating an "Our Languages" collection of books in the first languages of all her students, from Espanõl to Hmong to Yup'ik Eskimo. She also partnered with a local furniture store, Scan Home, to create a large, cozy…

This article discusses how the Kindness Initiative at the Dr. Michael Conti School in Jersey City, New Jersey, where the author is the school librarian and a literacy support teacher, promotes a climate where students feel accepted. As they progress from pre-K through middle school, students are exposed to social justice literature designed to get…

This article summarizes the findings of a 2017 qualitative, multiple case study that explored the factors that impact gifted students' recreational reading selections. It offers an overview of the steps school librarians and other educators can take to foster independent reading habits in gifted students.

Nothing is more fulfilling than a school library full of students hungry to learn--especially when they have all the tools and resources they need and, more importantly, a school librarian ready to help them gain the knowledge and understanding they need to apply technology to become fully digitally literate citizens. Therefore, it was very…

Halifax Independent School is a small K-9 school where children learn in multi-age groups and in a setting where all the core subjects are integrated into the study of interesting themes such as Oceans, Nova Scotia, and Living Things. These themes last a whole year, involve the whole elementary school, and are designed to cover traditional subject…

The scenario that the author encountered when she began working in her present position was not unusual for an elementary school library: the students study a culture, and the librarian reads the stories of that culture to them to enrich the study and to make the culture come alive. The fourth-graders studied the Maya in the fall and the ancient…

As an elementary school librarian, Sally Smollar has had access to the latest technologies since document scanners were considered cutting edge. Even then, allowing students to scan images to insert into their stories was a game changer. Since those days, Smollar writes that she has never stopped experimenting with various platforms and…

One of the most memorable achievements of adolescence is the independence gained from obtaining a driver's license. Students are highly motivated to study the rules of the road, hone their skills behind the wheel, and meet all the state requirements to reach their goal. They are invested in the process because they value the outcome. The Driver's…

This article is presented by four librarians who have come together as a creative team at Ethical Culture School in New York City. As elementary school librarians, their goal is to develop and support curriculum where children's developmental needs are given central importance. By putting the thinking, interests, information needs, and the…

For those who are experiencing a lack of creative inspiration within their school library program but are ready to "turn a page" in their career or school library program, they may head to Minneapolis to attend one of the many great preconference workshops. This article presents and describes preconference workshops design to rid…