A conversation with graduate students at the School of Communication and Information - Rutgers University

1. THE HIDDEN FIGURE:
YOUR SCHOOL
LIBRARIAN
K.C. Boyd, M.A., M.Ed. & M.L.I.S.
http://www.kcboyd.com/

2. HELLO!
My Name Is K.C. Boyd
I’m A Library Media Specialist
& It’s The BEST Job On The Planet!
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3. Jefferson Academy Library Media Specialist
District of Columbia Public Schools
2020 Newbery Selection Committee
2015 Library Journal ‘Mover and Shaker’
Executive Board Member for the Black Caucus of the
American Library Association
Advocacy Director, Washington DC Library
Association
Library Corps District of Columbia Public Schools
@Boss_Librarian
● Facebook
● Instagram
● Twitter
● YouTube
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4. 4
The Four Career Paths
of Librarians…
❏ Academic
❏ Public
❏ School
❏ Special Libraries

5. 5
❏ Dr. Keith Curry Lane
❏ Dr. Ken Haycock
❏ Dr. Kafi Kumasi
❏ Dr. Stephen Krashen
❏ Dr. Joyce Valenza
❏ Deborah Kachel
Top School Library Information Science Researchers

6. Today’s School Librarian...
1. Literacy Expert
2. Technology Guru
3. Curriculum Maven
4. Digital Citizenship Fellow
5. L-E-A-D-E-R
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7. School Librarians Are the ‘Hidden Figure’ in your School
1. Establish a deep relationships
with students.
2. We work quietly.
3. Our ‘reach’ is wide and long.
4. We ‘Just Do’
5. We tolerate the stereotypes
7
Washington Teacher’s Union:
Learning Doesn’t Stop: Lessons From Home

8. School librarians are very
‘passionate’ and
sometimes very vocal
about trends in K-12
education.

9. 1. Uninformed view of the role of the librarian and impact of the
school library program.
2. Ignoring the multiple skills of the librarian.
3. Leaving the librarian off of leadership/curriculum teams.
4. Lack of financial support for the program.
5. Leadership that will not acknowledge that they need guidance
around ‘how’ the librarian/library program can impact student
achievement.

10. “School Librarians are the
EQUALIZER
in K-12 Education”
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11. My Story...
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12. Chicago Public Schools
District Administration Office
Wendell Phillips Academy High School

13. 13
Behind the Paws Crew Members with Education
Secretary, Arne Duncan

14. Street Literature
….can be defined as a literary genre
"where the stories, be they fiction or
nonfiction, are consistently set in urban,
inner-city enclaves. Street Literature of
yesteryear and today, by and large, depicts
tales about the daily lives of people living in
lower income city neighborhoods.
This characteristic spans historical
timelines, varying cultural identifications,
linguistic associations, and various format
designations."
The Readers' Advisory Guide to Street Literature, 2011, p. 2.
Dr. Vanessa Irvin Morris

15. East St. Louis School District
East St. Louis, IL
District Administration Office

16. East St. Louis
School District - 189
- Retrospective
Conversion Project for 10
campus sites
- 8 months
- First time students
checked out books.
- As of June 1, 2017: 15,757
books were checked out
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17. District of Columbia
Public Schools
Jefferson Academy

18. Jefferson Academy
Washington D.C.
Southwest
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19. 19
A commitment to providing SERVICE

20. Virtual Learning and the
Fight to Serve Students
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21. 21
Keeping kids reading and connected
in the virtual world

22. What The Last Couple of Months
Have Taught Us…
1. In some school districts, some
librarians are under utilized.
2. Some educators have adopted the
view that librarians are only
needed in a ‘brick and mortar
environment.
3. There’s confusion about how
school librarians can be utilized in
the virtual world.

23. 23

24. 24

25. Advocate 25
Activist
#GoodTrouble
2016 School Library Journal Leadership Summit
Washington D.C.

26. #BCALASchoolLibrarians

27. National and Local Support...

28. National and Local Support...

29. This Fight Is Not Easy...
Pushing Through Adversity
1. Be mentally prepared
2. Take stock of what you’ve
experienced already
3. Adversity provides
valuable insight.
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4. Embrace adversity as a
chance for opportunity
5. Refuse to give up
6. Keep a positive mindset

30. - Get to know your school librarian
- Advocate for librarians
- Share stories of collaboration
EveryLibrary Petition
https://www.saveschoollibrarians.org/
How Can You Help...

31. Place your screenshot here
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THANKS!