Guest Blogger – Rona Gofstein

When you hear the word standards, what comes to mind? A document you need to review? Boxes you need to check? Something you pull out when it’s time to write curriculum, set goals, or prepare for an evaluation?  Standards can certainly help us do all those things. But if that’s all we’re using them for, we’re missing much of their value.

Standards are a tool.

Recently, AASL announced the relaunch of its AASL Standards web portal, designed to make the second edition of the National School Library Standards for Learners, School Librarians, and School Libraries easier to explore, understand, implement, and advocate for. The new portal includes streamlined navigation, curated collections, improved search features, a “Get Started” guide, and an expanding collection of resources aligned with the second edition of the Standards.

And while all these new features are great, it only works if the Standards shouldn’t sit on a shelf—or live untouched in a folder on your computer. They can and should help you think about what you are doing, why you are doing it, and where you want your library program to go. In other words, they support your mission.

How? Start with your students.

What should students be able to do because your library program exists? The Standards focus on competencies such as inquiry, collaboration, curation, exploration, and engagement. Look at what is happening in your library. Where are you already helping learners develop these abilities? Where are there gaps? What is one area you might strengthen?

Then look at your program.

How does your library support your school’s Mission and Vision? You know I believe strongly in having a Vision (where you hope to grow to) and a Mission Statement (what you stand for). They keep you focused on where you are going and why. The Standards can help you connect that larger purpose to what you do every day. They can also help you look beyond what you are already doing. Is there a competency you haven’t considered recently? An opportunity for collaboration you’ve overlooked? A way your library program could better meet the changing needs of your learners?

Finally, use the Standards to advocate.

How do you communicate your importance to your audience? AASL President April Dawkins notes in the announcement that the Standards are an important advocacy tool. The new portal includes resources specifically designed to help school librarians communicate the value of their work to administrators, colleagues, families, and other stakeholders. A few weeks ago, I asked, “Do they know what you do?” The Standards can help you show them.

Rather than simply telling your administrator that the library is important, connect what happens there to recognized professional standards and your school’s priorities. Show how a collaboration helped students become stronger researchers. Demonstrate how your instruction develops critical thinking, digital citizenship, or ethical use of information. Explain how your program supports learning across the curriculum.

The new portal gives you an opportunity to take a fresh look at the Standards. Don’t try to read everything or change everything at once. Pick one area. Explore the resources. Ask yourself where your program is now and where you would like it to be. Then Identify one action you can take.

Standards aren’t there to tell you whether you’re doing your job correctly. You don’t need something/someone else telling you that. But when they are used well, they can help you do it better. And they can help others experience and appreciate why your work matters.