Access. Knowledge. Environment. Motivation.

As I read this thread in the Atlas, I tried to apply the concepts to my desired future role as a school librarian (I've given up typing "school library media specialist" every time, and I'm not even sure that is still an appropriate term...note to self, look that up!).  If "access" includes building a bridge between conversants, then who are these conversants?  

• student - teacher - artifacts - materials - tools?
• student - teacher?
• teacher - librarian?
• student - student?
• teacher - teacher?
• school - community?
• student- community - mentors?
• student - author - illustrator -experts?

Using knowledge to empower.  Knowledge provides the structure of the bridge between the people having the conversation.  A student wants to converse with other kids in a blog format around a curriculum-related topic, well first they need to know how a blog works.  A teacher wants to connect her fourth grade classroom in Oneonta, NY to a classroom somewhere on the other side of the Atlantic ocean, then the school librarian gives her the knowledge to Skype or video chat in order to bridge, facilitate, empower that conversation.  A student wants to research an explorer, teach them and give them the power to search OPAC (Online Public Access Catalog) and the web to find appropriate sources.

Facilitating knowledge creation in a safe environment.  I think of this in a school setting in a couple of different ways.  As students get older, sometimes as early as the fourth grade, in my experience (admittedly limited), you see students transition, from a place where their biggest influences are their parents, guardians, teachers, etc., to a place where their peers and their peers' opinions are central.  It gets harder and harder to make learning and inquiry "appear cool."  Fostering a culture in the library where there are no "dumb" questions, curiosity is key, and creativity is rewarded are just some of ways to begin to build a safe environment where students can take intellectual risks.  The other way of thinking of a safe environment, in my opinion, is educating students on how they can use the internet safely and responsibly.  Internet safety, cyberbullying, and digital footprints are all huge topics in public schools today, and school librarians should be at the core of these conversations with students.

Motivation...do they care?  How do we motivate students to engage?  In a public school, the advantage we have potentially, is that students don't have a choice about using the library.  We have a captive audience that we try to inspire and engage in a conversation with, but let's face it, without the requirement of having to be there, many of our members would choose to be out on the playground!  As students get older, we see things like reading for pleasure fall off dramatically and their draw to the conversation weakens.  Librarians need to expand their programs, meet students where they are, capitalize on their social nature, and use their current interests to invite them to the conversation.  For example, if you knew "Justin Beiber" was someone that your intermediate students were interested in, you can use him as a focal point to study biographies or to introduce how social media tools are often built around shared interests by highlighting blogs, interactive fan pages, etc.  My point is that you find those intrinsic and extrinsic motivators, and you use them to apply knowledge as means of kick-starting conversations.

Lankes R.D. (2011). The Atlas of New Librarianship.  Cambridge, MA:  The MIT Press.