Module 1: Library Association Resources

Annotated Bibliography

Contribute your professional library association resource and annotation

to this Google Doc.
Please ensure that the resource you are sharing is from a library association.
Add your choice of annotated information to your Handbook.
Example:

Advice to New Librarians by Becca Munson.

http://knowledgequest.aasl.org/advice-new-librarians/ (AASL)
Submitted by: Simon Lum

This is a list of tips to help new TLs answer the question “Where do I begin?”. From covering
building relationships to getting to know the collection, Munson offers some great tips for
starting your new career. (You might want to also check out Part II.)

The Learning Commons in Action.

https://www.canadianschoollibraries.ca/learning-commons-in-action/ (Canadian School
Libraries)
Submitted by: Clea King

Learning Commons in BC - VIdeo: This is a great little practical video that explains what a
Learning/Library Commons is. It talks to Teacher Librarians and principals. It shows the different
possible aspects you can find in a Library Commons. It also shows the more social/emotional
aspect of being a Teacher Librarian and how the Library Commons can become a hub of the
school and directly benefits the development of critical thinking in students. It also begins to
spell out how the Library Commons can help with student lead learning.

For Administrators: Learning for the Future

https://www.canadianschoollibraries.ca/for-administrators/ (Canadian School Libraries)
Submitted by: Devon Allen

This offers a really quick but interesting read that provides school administrators a snap shot
view of what Learning Commons can/should look like and function. Important to see what
Principals and VPs are being “taught” about school libraries. Some good graphics/flow chart
and links to explore topics in greater detail.
Points of Inquiry: A Framework for Information Literacy and the 21st Century Learner
https://bctla.ca/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/the-points-of-inquiry.pdf (BCTLA)
Submitted by: Laura Syms

This article effectively breaks down the concept of inquiry and where teachers and TLs can
collaboratively help students use the inquiry approach to help students achieve an enriched
understanding in reading and research. There are great charts and models that show how this is
done and at which grade level.

The Learning Commons in Action.

https://www.canadianschoollibraries.ca/learning-commons-in-action (Canadian School
Libraries)
Submitted by: Raman Badesha

Imagine the Possibilities Video: This video is great for breaking down and explaining what the
learning commons is and what it can do for the school. This video describes the Learning
Commons as a “place where books and technology meet.” There is also lots of specific
information on what the role of the Teacher Librarian is and where their focus should be in the
learning commons. Furthermore, this video also poses some interesting questions such as:
“what will come next? And for who?” and “what will the learning commons look like in ten
years?” The visuals in this video do a great job at conveying the points being made.

Help! My Principal Says I Need to Start a Makerspace in My Elementary Library

Fontichiaro, K. (2016, 10). Help! my principal says I need to start a makerspace in my elementary
library! Teacher Librarian, 44, 49-51,63. Retrieved from https://proxy.queensu.ca/login?qurl=https
%3A%2F%2Fwww.proquest.com%2Fmagazines%2Fhelp-my-principal-says-i-need-start-makerspace
%2Fdocview%2F1830247908%2Fse-2%3Faccountid%3D6180

Submitted by: Rupert Gadd

This is a practical, How To, article about starting a Makerspace in the library. Forntichiaro lays
out the planning process from collaborating with admin, to evaluating student needs, to
budgeting. She also gives starter ideas, with budgets, for six kinds of MakerSpace: Craft,
Engineering, Code, Circuits, Digital Design, and Needle and Thread. This fits well with BC’s
ADST curriculum. It seems that many TLs are collaborating on this subject in particular.

The Points of Inquiry (Resource Page)

https://bctla.ca/resources/point-of-inquiry/ (BCTLA)
Submitted by: Angela Stevens
This is an entire page of resources for ‘The Points of Inquiry’. You will find inquiry-based
planning, information literacy planning sheets, and collaborative planning sheets, broken down
by elementary, intermediate/middle and secondary. The page also includes the benchmarks
and learning outcomes for each of the ‘The Points of Inquiry’ by grade as well as printable
posters.

What can collaboration with a Teacher-Librarian look like?

https://bctla.ca/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/teacher-librarian-infographic-final.pdf (BCTLA)
Submitted by: Brynn Hendrix

This is an infographic that details various ways a Teacher-Librarian can collaborate. The
Infographic was created by the Surrey chapter of the BCTLA and the Surrey Teachers’
Association. It includes the infographic with 3 different collaboration categories: collaboration in
preparation, collaboration in action and collaboration in reflection. Further examples are shared
within each category. Also Included is a detailed page description of collaborative activities that
are listed in the infographic.

Renaissance Delayed: Supporting Early Career Teacher-Librarians in British Columbia

https://bctf.ca/uploadedFiles/Public/Publications/ResearchReports/RenaissanceDelayed/2018%
20Renaissance%20Delayed-Research%20Report.pdf (BCTLA, 2018)
Submitted by: Maranda Turner

This research report by the BCTF illustrates a study to gather early-career Teacher Librarian’s
working and learning experiences. It elucidates both favourable practices and cautions for
approaching the professional role, its objectives and the desires of new teacher librarians. This
study was directed by the question: “What opportunities and barriers do beginning Teacher
Librarians encounter regarding continuing education, professional development, and teacher-led
mentorship related to their specialist educator role?” This study found that most early career
teacher librarians possessed little formal preparation or training for the role they are in, which
causes uncertainty about the role, thus causing these teacher librarians to feel overwhelmed by
their new responsibilities. Also, outlined in this report are the top five barriers new teacher
librarians encounter, as well as the supports that are out there for teacher librarians. This report
offers the reality of the role of a teacher librarian in the early years. It is helpful moving forward
in this teacher librarian program to be aware of others’ experiences in the role we hope to one
day step into.

Facing the Challenge of Being a New(ish) Teacher Librarian:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1LP_T18NuXRkFu0sYovcTGWz4GPojmUXY/view (BCTLA,
2018)

Submitted by: Kathryn Boyd

This is a great PowerPoint presentation that gives you clear guidelines of things to consider
when setting up your library. It discusses the role of the TL, a variety of options to layout your
library, how to organize the jobs/duty in the libraries, examples of technology that can be used,
and the importance of familiarizing yourself with the resources in your library. There are some
great tips for TL’s who may be feeling overwhelmed and not know where to start.

Canadian Federation of Library Associations: Indigenous Resources

http://cfla-fcab.ca/en/indigenous/indigenous_moocs/activation-ideas/
Submitted by: Kathleen Grainger

This resource may be more useful in the high school and/or public library domain. Or could be
something that a staff decides to do together, with the TL facilitating. It is an Indigenous Canada open
source course. It is something that a library could host as a way/place for like-minded people to gather
and learn (post Covid restrictions). This resource shares ideas of how to set up and provides supports for
the course (learning circles).

How to Keep Reading Social During Hybrid Learning

https://www.abc-clio.com/how-to-keep-reading-social-during-hybrid-learning/
Submitted by: Andra Lincke

This free webinar is sponsored by ABC-CLIO. While this is not a library association directly, they
share many resources and articles from various library associations. I wanted to share this
because the material here is very current and useful and much is available free, such as this
webinar.

This webinar explores using technology and various strategies to help keep reading and
connections at the heart of learning doing the pandemic and our hybrid models of education.
Four different TL’s share their insights and strategies to embracing the hybrid model and using it
to our advantage.

Addressing Plagiarism Through Improved Notetaking

https://iasl-online.org/resources/Pictures/Adressing%20Plagiarism.pdf
Submitted by: Andra Lincke
This article from the International Association of School Librarianship addresses strategies to
help reduce plagiarism, especially in the expanse of digital resources. It explores not just
strategies but also addresses the problems that cause plagiarism in the first place. This could
be a very meaningful article to help support teachers and teach students how to avoid
plagiarism and more importantly, want to.

“Frontline Advocacy for School Libraries Toolkit”

http://www.ala.org/advocacy/frontline-advocacy-school-libraries-toolkit (ALA)
Submitted by: Jazmine Ghuman
This resource shares some great information about how to advocate for your own school library.
This particular toolkit also lists many other resources at the end of the page to get more into the
specifics of advocating for yourself and your library! Furthermore, this resource helps to break
down why you are important when it comes to advocacy, examples of what an effective
advocate for schools libraries would do, and how to recruit others who may have a strong
interest. There are also some great worksheets and planner templates that you can use to
gather your thoughts and possibly write articles for your own school community letter.

Manifesto for the 21st Century Teacher Librarian

http://teacherlibrarian.com/2011/05/01/manifesto-for-21st-century-teacher-librarians/
Submitted by: Guilaume Robidoux
This resource exemplifies many of the new challenges and changes that Teacher
Librarians must confront and adapt to in order to stay up-to-date. Throughout the post it
gives many examples of new sites, tools, strategies, and mindsets that we may want to
keep in mind and integrate in our own libraries one day. Within the article there are also
many links embedded. The post reads almost as a check-list, but also offers insight into
what we should avoid in the library in order to keep the space relevant.

Looking to Get Colleagues on Board? (CANADIAN SCHOOL LIBRARIES JOURNAL)

https://journal.canadianschoollibraries.ca/looking-to-get-colleagues-on-board/
Submitted by : Leigh Richardson
This resource outlines the different levels of collaboration between Teacher Librarians
and their colleagues by using the analogy of train cars. Those in the front car are your
trusted, like minded colleagues who are ready to collaborate with you right off the bat.
The middle car has your colleagues who show interest in collaboration but need a
nudge, support, and some examples of what is possible. The end car has the colleagues
who are resistant to collaboration and require a gentle entry into collaboration through
easy activities or simple co-taught lessons. This resource includes an infographic of a
train with suggestions and ideas for how to collaborate with each “train car” and the
types of collaboration they may be open to.

A Media Specialist’s Guide to the Internet

https://mediaspecialistsguide.blogspot.com/p/media-specialists-and-teacher.html
Submitted by: Marhielle Gelera

This website has a vast amount of resources for teacher-librarians, classroom teachers
for any grade level, EAL, technology use, and book recommendations for specific grades. Since
teacher-librarians are typically the media specialists as well, I appreciate that there is also a
page of resources for how to create infographics and graphics, and a page of resources for
digital tools, such as online test makers.

More Research
https://researcharchive.canadianschoollibraries.ca/more-research/
Submitted by Lisa Jensen

This section of the Canadian School Libraries Research Archive contains many useful links to
scholarly articles that study the positive impact of libraries on student learning. The first quoted
article, “Why school librarians matter: What years of research tell us” contains an infographic I
found quite useful. Compiled by the AASL through feedback from more than 1,300 school
libraries, it contains six core beliefs that are thought to produce well-prepared learners, effective
school librarians and dynamic schools libraries. (The infographic can be found in the complete
article version.) In the collection of resources, there is a mix of both Canadian and international
research.

BCTLA Official YouTube Channel - Robin Stevenson

Robin Stevenson
Submitted by Katrina Crawshaw

From the BCTLA’s YouTube Channel is a brief introduction to Robin Stevenson, a prominent
Vancouver Island author championing LGBTQ+ topics and rights. Robin speaks about herself,
her most recent books and why they are relevant and important to any inclusive library, and
gives some writing tips from her own experience towards the end. Watch this if you’re feeling
uncomfortable with how to start curating for SOGI topics, if you’re looking to learn about
Stevenson’s most recent works, and if you (like me) are big Robin Stevenson fans and just want
to hear her speak!

5 Tips for New School Librarians - Nikki Robertson

http://www.nikkidrobertson.com/2017/06/5-tips-for-new-school-librarians-and.html
Submitted by Shelby Steeves

This blog lists 5 important things for new teacher librarians. The key things are; connect
with other teacher librarians and make connections in the school, be who you are, listen
to your students and find out what they want the library to look like, promote the library,
and don't be afraid to fail.

Union-Active School Librarians and School Library Advocacy: A Modified Case Study of
the British Columbia Teacher-Librarians’ Association and the British Columbia Teachers’
Federation
http://www.ala.org/aasl/sites/ala.org.aasl/files/content/aaslpubsandjournals/slr/vol18/SLR_Un
ionActiveSchoolLib_V18.pdf (School Library Research: Research Journal of the American
Association of School Librarians).
Submitted by Craig Newson
This article gives a little bit of everything: history of the labour dispute we have learned about,
the reduction on teacher librarian ratios in our province, the gradual increase we have seen and
the reasons for that, the power of collective action, benefits of membership in professional
organizations, the leadership that is essential to teacher-librarian success, and impacts school
librarians can have on student achievement.

What Is a Library Learning Commons?

(Canadian School Libraries)
https://llsop.canadianschoollibraries.ca/library-learning-commons/
Submitted by Nina Ruck

This website link explains and reiterates what my hope is for my school library. It
showcases a library as a hub and ideas as to how it can be used and set up to optimize
learning. It explains the importance of this space as a hub of the school, collaborative
space, a place for exploration and learning. The articles are great resources for that
show the importance of the space being for collaboration, learning, and innovation.