Academic Column: Helping administrators learn the role of school libraries

Deeth Ellis is the Head Librarian at Boston Latin School in Boston, MA, and a Doctoral Student, School of Library Science, Simmons University

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Early indications from the data collected during my study, Principals’ Perceptions of the Role of School Librarians, suggest principals rely heavily on their own school librarian to learn about school librarianship. While not a surprise to many school librarians, this over-reliance on school librarians may be one of the factors that impact staffing in schools and districts. According to Gordon & Cicchetti (2018), Massachusetts’ “​​school administrators were reported by participants [librarians] as the primary enablers of equitable access to the school library program (instruction, resources, access to the library)” (p.106). Without the principal's understanding, attention, and care, the role of the school librarian can diminish, become obsolete, and even be eliminated.

Previous research demonstrates principals have differing perceptions of the role of the librarian, and this informs decisions about school librarians and their roles in schools (Church, 2015; Croft, 2022; Lee & Klinger, 2011; Lewis, 2019; Loh et al., 2021). Often it is not until they see a certified, trained librarian in action that they understand that the role of the school librarian is to lead, support school wide initiatives, and partner to deliver curriculum and instruction.

Of those who responded to my survey (n=95), 47% (n=45) have a certified librarian and 25% (n=24) do not, and 27% (n=26) chose not to answer the question. This highlights a potential risk factor: that principals’ knowledge of the role of the school librarian may be diminishing with diminishing access to school librarians to teach them. Principals who do not know the benefits and do not have a librarian on staff to show them will not have any opportunity to learn. Two specific data points from the survey data collected confirms this and identifies the gap in pre-professional education and professional development. From those principals who responded (n=71) to the question about learning opportunities related to school librarianship, only 12% (n=9) indicated they were taught about the role of the school librarian during pre-professional learning experiences and 25% (n=18) received in-district professional development. More principals (44%, n=31) indicated they read professional journals to learn about the roles of school librarians. The latter point suggests principals must take steps on their own to try and fill a gap of knowledge. Fewer even or 11% (n=8) reported formal instruction on how to evaluate a school librarian. 
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Figure 1.

How principals learn about the role of the school librarian (n=71)

Figure 2.

Principals who receive training on evaluating the school librarian (n=70)

With an over-reliance on school librarians to clarify their role, the program outcomes can remain murky or even invisible (Centerwall & Nolin, 2019). During some interviews, principals were able to describe the role of the certified school librarian and why this staffing was an important component in their school. Many were able to articulate how the librarian helped meet their goals as the school leader. At the same time, each of these principals had learned from experience with and cited evidence from their school librarians’ practices. For principals who want a school librarian and who are in districts with leadership that does not get it, getting a position reinstated is hard if not impossible. As one participant who works in a district without librarians shared in an interview, she knows what a good librarian can do and is making the case to her district to reinstate them. But as a new principal she will need help to onboard a new librarian and implement a program successfully.

The need to develop a more consistent means for teaching administrators about the role of school librarians is examined by Croft (2022), who describes her findings during dissertation research that “most administrators had little knowledge of the school librarian and/or how to help them” (p.58) and overemphasized their role as resource manager. To begin to shift responsibilities toward instructional leadership, she states that “Administrators are more likely to respond positively to requests when they are aligned to district and school site improvement plans and make a clear connection to improving student achievement” (p. 59). A clear purpose and goals for the librarian and library program can be put into practice and connected to student learning outcomes through professional education of librarians and district and school leaders (Croft, 2022; Lewis, 2019; Loh et al, 2021; Torres, 2022).

Best practices: Evidence-based practice and guided inquiry

Research on evidence-based practice and school librarians demonstrates that sharing evidence demonstrating the connection between the actions of school librarians and student learning is effective (Boulden et al., 2019; Church, 2015; Merga et al., 2021; Moore & Cahill, 2022; Pasquini & Schultz-Jones, 2019; Todd, 2009 & 2015). Using evidence-based practice (EBP) librarians can showcase their work inside and outside of their school and district. As outlined by Todd (2009) EBP is a research-based approach in which school librarians “build a compelling and diverse portfolio of local evidence deeply linked to the learning agenda of the school” (p. 10). Lance & Maniotes (2020) describe linking the librarian’s role as instructor of information literacy through guided inquiry. During the designing of guided inquiry the roles of the teacher and librarian are clarified and learning objectives agreed upon. As Lance & Mantiotes (2020) say “many teachers are…unsure how to help students locate credible information that will allow them to answer the questions they want to pursue” (p. 50) and turn to the school librarian for help. The evidence that is created in the form of student work demonstrates how students met the learning objectives, both from teacher-led and librarian-led instruction.

Recommendations

Below are a few ideas for working with education leaders and learning together how to provide more equitable access to school librarians in Massachusetts. Some of these ideas are my own, others are taken from existing research and current initiatives.

For School Librarians:

• Stay current with research and information. Principals indicate they value the school librarian as a resource for current practices, information, and technology.
  
• Meet with your principal regularly and ask what their goals are for the school year. Align your goals with their goals.
  
• Share with your principal the AASL Position Statements on the school librarian’s role in reading, instructional role, and the strategic leadership role.
  
• Align your work with the Massachusetts Curriculum Frameworks and AASL Standards.
  
• Consider presenting your practice at a school administrators’ conference or writing an article for an educational leadership journal.

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For District/School Leadership:

• Design professional development for school librarians that is instructionally focused and that influences student learning outcomes (Croft, 2022, p. 58).
  
• Learn about the role of the school librarian and how to evaluate the position.
  
• Review and update job descriptions for school librarians (Croft, 2022, p. 59).
  
• Professional collaborations - Evaluate the outcomes of teacher/librarian collaborations on student learning (Merga, 2021).

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For State Agencies:

• The Department of Elementary & Secondary Education can work to make school librarians and their work visible on the DESE website.
  
  • Conduct a census and collect data on all school library positions in Massachusetts (MSLA, 2021);
    
  • Provide a clear job description for the certified librarian and align it with the AASL position statements;
    
  • As with the classroom teacher rubric, offer research opportunities to test, use, and improve the school librarian rubric to increase its validity as an evaluation tool;
    
  • Create a document that clearly articulates the instructional role of the school librarian to meet the standards laid out in the Massachusetts curriculum frameworks;
    
  • Provide examples of how to use a school librarian for new principals who are using the Principal Induction and Mentoring Handbook.
• Increase research on the role of school librarians and school libraries in Massachusetts.
  
  • ​​Increase research opportunities through professional development and collaboration among higher education institutions (Simmons University, Salem State), school districts, and professional library associations (Massachusetts Library Association and Massachusetts School Library Association).
    
  • Make connections with school library researchers nationally (AASL) and internationally (International School Library Association). Bring their knowledge and experiences into Massachusetts. ​
    

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References 

Ahlfeld, K. (2019a). Holding the center: Teaching, collaborating and leading in school libraries. I'd rather be reading: Creating lifelong readers in the school library. Journal of Library Administration, 60(2), 187-196. https://doi.org/10.1080/01930826.2019.1695472

Ahlfeld, K. (2019b). Holding the center: Teaching, Collaborating and leading in school libraries. They paved paradise: school librarians and school libraries are disappearing and we won't know what we've lost until it's gone. Journal of Library Administration, 59, 927-938. DOI: 10.1080/01930826.2019.1661747

Boulden, D.C., Pellegrino, L., & Gerakios, J. (2019). Career growth through action research: Outcomes from a structured professional development approach for in-service school librarians. School Library Research, 22, 1-28.

Church, A.P. (2015). Performance-based evaluation and school librarians. School Library Research, 18, 1-37.www.ala.org/aasl/slr

College of Information & Communications (2022). EQuIP- Educational Quality Through Instructional Partnerships. University of South Carolina.

Croft, M.L. (2022). How school librarians can partner with K-12 school district leadership to support school libraries. Knowledge Quest 50(4), 58-60.

Gordon, C. A., & Cicchetti, R. (2018). The Massachusetts school library study: Equity and access for students in the Commonwealth. Massachusetts Libraries: Board of Library Commissioners.

Kachel, D. & Lance, K.C. (2022). State profile for Massachusetts. Project SLIDE: Evolving or Declining? Findings from an IMLS Grant Project.https://libslide.org/data-tools/state-profile/

Lance, K.C., & Maniotes, L.K. (2020, April). Linking librarians, inquiry learning, and information literacy. Phi Delta Kappan, 101(N7), 47-51.

Lance, K. C., Rodney, M. J., & Schwarz, B. (2010). The Idaho school library impact study-2009: How Idaho librarians, teachers, and administrators collaborate for student success (Research Brief Spring 2010). Idaho Commission for Libraries.

Lance, K. C., & Schwarz, B. (2012, October). How Pennsylvania school libraries pay off: Investments in student achievement and academic standards. RSL Research Group.

Lewis, M.A. (2019). Administrators’ instructional leadership perspective of the role of instructional coaches and teacher librarians: A comparative examination. School Libraries Worldwide, 25(2), 16-33.

Loh, E.L., Sundaray, S., Merga, M., & Gao, J. (2021). Principals and teachers perspectives of their school libraries and implications for school library policy. Journal of Library Administration, 61(5), 550-571. DOI: 10.1080/01930826.2021.1924532

Merga, M.K., Roni, S.M., Loh, C.E., & Malpique, A. (2021). Revisiting collaboration within and beyond the school library: New ways of measuring effectiveness. Journal of Library Administration, 61(3), 332-346. https://doi.org/10.1080/01930826.2021.1883370

Moore, J.E. & Cahill, M. (2022, July 29-30). Learning to take the lead with evidence-based practice: A study of school librarians. IFLA WLIC, Satellite meeting: Towards a curriculum for social and digital inclusion, UCD School of Information and Communication Studies, Dublin, Ireland.

Pasquini, L. & Schultz-Jones, B. (2019). Causality of school libraries and student success: Literature review using a mixed research synthesis method. Qualitative and Quantitative Methods in Libraries, 8(3), 411-423.

Todd, R.J. (2009). School librarianship and evidence based practice: Progress, perspectives, and challenges. Evidence Based Library and Information Practice, 4(2), pp. 78-96.

Todd, R.J. (2015). Evidence-based practice and school libraries: Interconnections of evidence, advocacy, and actions. Knowledge Quest, 43(3), pp. 9-15.

Torres, J. (2022, April/May/June). Powerful partnerships: On the critical role of libraries and librarians, and how they can work with literacy educators to nurture students' reading lives. Literacy Today, 27-29.