NAIS Principles of Good Practice for Independent School Libraries

[Demetri Orlando]

At Patt's request, I moved this discussion here...

Patt Moser:
NAIS has a series of "Principles of Good Practice" for all sorts of sub groups of independent schools. Click on this link to see the complete list. As you will see there is no "PGP" for Libraries. One was created last year for technology and now there are many of us librarians who would like to create our own "PGP." What would those principles look like for our school libraries?

Replies:

Dorcas Hand:
Thanks, Patt, for doing this. I'll look forward to posts - and hope to have comments after I review the model.


Alison Ernst:
This will definitely be an agenda item at midwinter ALA....but through the magic of technology a wider group of independent school librarian will be able to weigh in.

Pat, this is a great idea….coming up with the library PGP, then doing a NAIS program on it for school demonstrators, etc. Thanks for your (continued) leadership!

Alice Bryant:
As I read the PGP I wonder if librarians were considered part of the teacher component in the original model. The word librarian is not listed, therefore my hope is that those designing the model included librarians with teachers. The educator models were added in 2003, the technology model added in 2006. As our world of librarianship has changed and evolved I think adding a library component focusing on reading and research would be most appropriate.

Patt Moser:
Perhaps we could start with the brochure ISS did for ALA sale that tells parents what to look for in a good independent school library. We could also gleen from the new AASL standards.

Dorcas Hand
This sounds like a great way to begin, especially since the document already exists. I know I buy copies every year for my admissions department to pass out. I also wonder about a bibliography of articles and books demonstrating collaboration, like Toni Buzzeo's Teacher/Librarian Collaboration titles (K-6, 7-12) from Linworth. She was kind enough to include a chapter about a project here at AOS that I have spearheaded for years which shows very well how librarians teach. I know many others of us have similar projects - maybe this would be a great ISS book??? or maybe even NAIS???

Debbie Abilock:
Charlotte Danielson has developed a framework of professional practice for teachers which we might look at to develop PGP. She identifies 4 domains and describes components of each:

- Planning and preparation
- Classroom environment
- Instruction
- Professional responsibilities

FYI, her book Enhancing Professional Practice has a section about library media specialists and, while it's a good beginning, it's been enriched by other school librarians' work. Here's an example Charlie Makela, the supervisor of library services, shared with me from the work they did at Arlington Public Schools


Patt Moser:
Karen Douse wrote on the NAIS Conference ning ("This site is for NAIS Annual Conference registrants for purposes of discussion. ") the following on this topic:
"I've been in contact with Susan Booth who in turn put me in contact with Crystal Gay, the Director of Information Resources for NAIS. She has referred us to AISL and ISS/AASL for standards, saying that NAIS's "mission is not specific to the role of the school librarian." I'm not quite sure what that means, but I am assuming that she misunderstood me and thought I was looking for a set of national standards. I was on the tech task force that worked on the PGPs for technology for NAIS and certainly hope that NAIS will be receptive to the idea of PGPs for libraries. I feel pretty sure that NAIS would not want us to rely on an outside group to set standards for independent schools - after all, we have a set of standards for technology that are independent of ISTE's standards - so I've asked her to continue this dialog with us. Any reactions?"

Dorcas Hand:
Well this certainly points up something we've struggled with for years: we need to continue to work to demonstrate to NAIS how important libraries and librarians are to the success of the independent schools in which we work. They have, to date, not been terribly interested in our efforts - but this ning may be the piece that tips the balance. I think we must be very organized in our efforts to pull a PGP together, and then to publicize it through Independent School.

But not today! I'm headed out to enjoy the Christmas season. All best to everyone.
Delete Reply



Karen Douse:
I received another email on this topic today from Crystal - they do seem interested but want to check to see if there are other standards for independent school libraries already in place before tackling the idea. I think with Alison involved as ISS President and Liz Gray as an AISL representative (I contacted her today too and asked her to join our conversation here), we may be able to get some attention.

I'm on my way home now and looking forward to a nice long break - Crystal has invited us to continue the conversation in January so more then!

Happy holidays to all!

[Dorcas Hand]

Hi, all

I have been asked by Harriet Selverstone and Libraries Unlimited to consider editing a book about independent schools. The last really strong one was Pauline Anderson's in 1990, so I have a tough standard to meet. This group, however, will be a really good source of both ideas and chapter authors. I'll be working on a concrete proposal in April, but I thought I would request from you all some suggestions: what would you like to read in such a book? What would you like your administrators and NAIS to know about what we do and how we do it? Would you specifically be interested in writing a chapter?

Please contact me directly at "dorcas dot hand at gmail" translated into a real address. Thanks.
Dorcas

[Barbara Jansen]

Hi, Everyone!
I have lost the URL for the wiki that was set up for us to develop the PGPs for library media programs. Can someone please post it? Thanks, Barb Jansen

[Dorcas Hand]

Librarypgp.pbwiki.com/NAIS PGPs

[Susan Carter Morgan]

The wiki appears to be password protected. Is it possible to join?

[Stewart Crais]

I think the the PGP for lirbaries should be closely related, or even part of the technology PGP -- and maybe the name change to "Info. Literacy PGP". I'll be glad to help out with any of this if needed. I have requested access to the pbwiki.

[Mary Jean Conlon]

Hi. I'm not sure where we are with the planning for a library PGP, but I think one of the statements in the tech. document would be spot on for us:

"The school recognizes that advancing technology integration often requires significant support for risk taking, time for faculty planning, and adjustment in the allocation of instructional time."

substituting "information literacy" or "information skills" (the phrase I'm mostly using now instead of info. lit.) for "technology integration." Support from above, below, and in between is key to implementing truly systematic research instruction.

[Emily Auerswald]

Mary Jean,

I couldn't agree with you more. The most common response I hear from faculty is that they don't have time to plan and integrate into the curriculum the types of projects that would promote info. lit/skills.