Interview with a School Librarian: Part 4 of 4

To wrap up this series, I interview Nan Davis, school librarian at Lake Murray Elementary School in Lexington, SC.  We chat about the shared foundation of "Curate."

Mrs. Davis begins by stressing the importance of knowing the curriculum your school or district uses. Regularly have conversations with teachers and staff to keep open communication so they will be willing to collaborate with you. She states that the resources she uses most frequently are SC DISCUS, Epic, Study SC (part of DISCUS), and Common Sense Media lessons. With my background as a veteran classroom teacher, I know how to find the district curriculum and state standards so I will be able to curate a collection that supports this curriculum by accessing this and keeping in contact with teachers to see what gaps exists.

She collaborates with mostly 4th and 5th grade teachers on appropriate ways to use Google. This includes how to evaluate sites, copyright and plagiarism, and how to credit sources. She collaborates with staff to educate them on fair use in the resources they create and how to teach students to do the same. This is a reminder that even staff need support in responsibly creating content. 

Mrs. Davis states that the greatest challenge with this shared foundation is the large amount of resources and information out there that it is hard to sift through it and find the best, most relevant sources to pass along to students and staff. It's also difficult to share materials when an entire grade level is working on the same topic or project. Finding good digital resources outside of DISCUS can be difficult for elementary level students due to the expense of subscriptions. This is a reminder to use curriculum mapping carefully and make sure the library budget considers these factors.

Finally, Mrs. Davis says that she feels the current standards are realistic, achievable, and meaningful. This makes me feel better as a future school librarian. Incorporating the AASL standards does not have to be an overwhelming, difficult task.

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