Future Ready Librarians

Reba Tierney is the librarian at the Jeremiah E. Burke High School in Dorchester, MA ​

Attending ALA is always intense, but attending ALA as an AASL Affiliate Assembly representative for the New England region brought that intensity to another level! Yet, it was a good intensity, as it gave me the invaluable opportunity to work with school librarians from around the country. During one of the AASL Affiliate Assembly sessions, the Future Ready movement was brought up and discussed. At the time, I had not even heard of Future Ready, but it quickly became evident that this was something for school librarians to be excited about. According to the Twitter account for Future Ready, it is defined as developing the capacity to transform teaching & personalize learning using digital tools. The Future Ready Schools website states that the plan helps district leaders plan and implement personalized, research-based digital learning strategies so all students can achieve their full potential. But what does all this mean? And even more importantly, what does it mean for school librarians?

From AASL Affiliate Assembly Chair Report of Lori Donovan, “Affiliate Assembly I provided another opportunity for leadership development with a special presentation from Sara Trettin of the US Department of Education, Office of Educational Technology. Trettin spoke to us about Future Ready Libraries in collaboration with the Future Ready Schools Initiative.” The Future Ready movement has the support and backing of the U.S. Department of Education, as well as partnerships with several prominent educational organizations; and it has recognized school librarians as having an essential role in developing Future Ready students. 

The key here is that school librarians will be leaders. They will not only continue to support teachers, the curriculum, and students, but they will become leaders in embracing digital technologies and incorporating those technologies and strategies into learning. School librarians will lead their district in professional practice and development. Many of us already do this, and many more are poised to embrace this role.

Future Ready Librarians have created a graphic to illustrate what a Future Ready Librarian will look like:

With personalized student learning at the hub, there are eight pie pieces that fan out to complete the circle, each pie piece designating a component of the school librarian role. Again, many of us already fulfill several of these roles and while we may not be experts in all areas, this graphic can serve as a guide and a target when setting goals.

In his TED talk, Changing the Conversation About Librarians, Mark Ray explores a theory and asks a question, “the theory is that we are very good at associating librarians with our past, the question is, do you see them as part of the future?” Ray goes on to say that “librarians should be technology leaders in their buildings and their value will be seen beyond the library.” If you have time to watch this TED talk, it is enlightening, hopeful, and speaks to the Future Ready movement.

 (So the primary question here is, you already have most of the skills and tools, are you ready to take that next step and embrace present and future technologies and the shift in what we, as school librarians have to offer?   

To learn more about the Future Ready Librarians initiative, check out these links:

Future Ready Librarians

Are you a Future Ready Librarian?

Future Ready Schools Announces New Project to Recognize School Librarians as Leaders in School Transformation (Alliance for Excellent Education)

Future Ready Schools Announces Project To Recognize School Librarians as Leaders in Learning Transformation (SLJ)

Future Ready Librarians Fact Sheet​