Ways School Librarians Can Serve Students in Fall 2020

If anything has been consistent about this time of social distancing, it’s the unpredictability of the future. That can be anxiety-inducing, but we’re also living in a time of hope, opportunity, and potential. We know that as school librarians, we will face unique circumstances in terms of our library space and how we engage children this fall. Your district’s and your state’s health guidelines will determine how students will interact with materials, and your exact needs will be dictated by how and where you are able to execute your library program. It can feel like the options are out of your control, but there are things you can do to plan for the future. 

First, know that we see you. 

We see how much you want to serve your students, support your readers, and engage your learners. 

We see you fighting to have a library to return to, to secure funds for more materials or electronic materials, to protect your position and all library personnel positions. 

We see the challenge of distance learning, of giving up your physical space to accommodate social distancing, of being asked to work outside of your held degree as class sizes are reduced.

We see you, and we are grateful for all you are doing, considering, thinking about, planning, and dreaming up in order to best meet the diverse needs of your learners.

Keeping in mind the AASL Standards Framework for Learners, we have curated a list of program considerations and ideas to aid, support, and inspire you. As you adjust to new guidelines, you will undoubtedly find new ways to innovate. The suggestions we’ve gathered below are here to serve you on that journey.

Nurture Lifelong Readers

One of our most important tasks during these uncharted times is making sure that children can connect with stories. Here are some ideas for ensuring access to books and stories while maintaining social distancing guidelines. 

• Implement a holds request system so that only library personnel are handling materials and can ensure that these materials make their way safely to children. If your district is using a hybrid or virtual school model, consider designating dates and times that students and families can come to school to pick up library materials you have pulled for them. Learn the safety guidelines that many public libraries have put into place for curbside pickup in “Checklist for Library Curbside Pickup Services.”
• Return to read alouds. You might be providing the only opportunity a child has to hear a book read to them that day. And what you share with them might help them to better understand themselves or others, process their emotions, or feel the much-needed sense of hope and belonging.
• Promote the use of digital book sites such as Sora and Epic! to provide your students with access to thousands of e-books for free.
• Hold a virtual book club using a title from your state book award list or other award lists.  
• Connect students with authors and the stories behind their books via the session archives of the Everywhere Book Fest and other virtual book festivals.

Innovate and Collaborate

Reduced staff in a hybrid school model may mean special area teachers are no longer able to teach traditionally. But just because some of us won’t have a library to return to just yet, that doesn’t mean we won’t still be librarians!

• Create virtual modules or video mini-lessons that homeroom teachers can share with students without you needing to be in the room. It’s just like Skyping with the author, only the visiting guest is you!
• A hallmark of library instruction is being able to go beyond classroom curricula to envelop what is most relevant to students at the moment. Consider if this is the right moment for your program to lead learners in digital citizenship or racial literacy. 
• School librarians are uniquely positioned to support social-emotional learning (SEL), which is more important than ever, as students’ lives have been turned upside-down by quarantine restrictions. Start with these resources:
  •  
    Open Book Webcast: “Supporting Social-Emotional Learning with Children’s Literature”
  • “Activities to Support Social-Emotional Learning in the Library”
  • Learn how School Librarian Anita Cellucci incorporates SEL into her work.
  • Read “Two Key Ways School Libraries Can Impact Social-Emotional Learning.”
  • Explore resources to support SEL in the library. 
  • Read Teaching Tolerance’s article on “A Trauma-Informed Approach to Teaching Through Coronavirus“ for a thoughtful approach for how all educators can support students and one another during this time of social distancing. 
  • Consider the Trauma-Informed SEL Toolkit from Transforming Education as an invaluable resource for the entire school staff.
• Host a weekly storytime for your school community over a video conferencing tool, such as Zoom. Share two or three read alouds centered around a theme. Invite other faculty to participate, and make it a time for your school to be reminded that you are a community. Pair classroom activities with your themes; get ideas in “10 Take-Home Kits for Your Summer Reading Program” and “At-Home Activities for Virtual Summer School.”
• Offer to lead teacher professional development on virtual learning tools. Most teachers had to quickly get up to speed on video conferencing tools such as Zoom, but you can offer additional tips and tricks. You can also point educators to programs such as Canva, which offers free digital and printable signs, posters, and lesson plan templates; Kahoot, which allows teachers to create engaging online games in minutes; Flipgrid, where students can upload videos into a class gallery; or Seesaw, where students can create online portfolios and connect parents with their learning. Create video tutorials and cheat sheets to help your colleagues harness the power of these online resources.  
• Provide support to teachers on incorporating copyright-compliant video read alouds into their instruction. The COVID-19 Resources list from We Need Diverse Books and Publishers Weekly’s “How Kids’ Lit Is Responding to the Coronavirus“ article are helpful resources that are regularly updated to connect you and your students to authors and great books.
• Collaborate with classroom teachers as much as possible by offering to co-teach lessons on research or technology and pull resources to support their lessons.