Keynote: Is it in your DNA to make a difference?

President's Welcome: Sandy Kelly
The energy and enthusiasm of school library teachers build the culture of who we are. Humor and fun break stereotypes and this needs to brought back to our schools. Libraries belong to everyone, but the culture belongs to us. Students are our friends, their parents are our employers and will advocate for us. MSLA membership is quite close to 900, and there is power in numbers.

Summarizing previous speakers, the elephant in the room is the people who are not working with students, not welcoming people, and developing a negative culture. We all need to be ambassadors of best practice, and positive energy. Everyone should work at promoting MSLA and recruiting colleagues to join, and participate in the positive culture promoted by MSLA. It is a library, not a museum. If you love books more than children, you should re-think your profession. Be nice to children, and smile if it kills you.

Evaluation forms in binder should be filled out. They are read carefully and taken into consideration when planning the next conference. The MSLA conference is a great way to earn content PDP's as well.

Recognition for the conference committee, executive board, area directors. Mass. Board of Library Commissioner's - two members thanked for their attendance. Staff from Metrowest, Central, Boston, Northeast Regionals, along with New England Carolyn Markuson. Guest from Connecticut Association also recognized. Past-President Ann Perham noted for membership on ALA board.

School Libraries Work! has been revised three times by Scholastic, written by Terry Young, a former science teacher and school librarian.

Keynote: Terry Young, M. Ed., MLS
An educator for 32 years (New Orleans, LA) who advocates that we are the ones who can make a difference in the lives f every student. MSLA is one of the top 5 pro-active associations in the country. In 2003 the MSLA conference theme was Don't Whine - Shout! Whine amongst yourselves, but not publicly.

First edition of School Libraries Work! was first published in 2004 in response to a Scholastic publication promoting classroom library collections. What began as a simple marketing tool took on a life of its own.

Today's "millenial" students have different learning styles, taught by teachers with the same old teaching style. These new students have been influenced by contemporary events, are racially and ethnically diverse. They have been sheltered and protected (allergies in schools)in ways children have not been before, perceived as unique since birth, subjected to more stress, like to work collaboratively, more confident, love a challenge. Like to figure out projects on their won, and want to do it their own way. Feel they can figure out/do things without seeking permission or authority.

How do they learn? Through technology. Strong group identity that relies on each others strengths.

How do we teach them? Move to active teaching environment. Transition from a teacher-driven/passive-learning environment to a student-driven, active learning model. They love visual stimulation, graphics, group projects and authentic learning. Problem solving goes back to technology. Combine technology and communication and this is how they should be taught, not ban the tools. Students today think and do things differently because of the central role of technology to their lives. They want immediate feedback or they lose their interest.

What works for these students? Communities and social networking, first-person learning, interaction, immediacy, multiple media literacy. Scaffolding students for success when they come to the library, getting them to trust and believe the library is on their side and working for their success is key. These students get bored quickly, and the pace of service and instruction must be equally fast.

Knowing your students - names, sports, events, what motivates them to learn. Make personal connections.

Hurricane Katrina hit. Mold and destruction hit Terry's school, and destroyed the library. Only school system slated to open in September. Superintendent realized that unless the schools opened, the community would leave, businesses would close, no teacher salaries. Homes gone, teachers gone. As a former science teacher, Terry was initially slated to go back to the classroom. Instead he was deemed too important as a librarian to spare for the classroom. Linworth Publishing replaced his professional collection for free.

Partnering with author Sharon Flake and past partnering with teachers to read her books built a strong foundation. By seeking Title 1 funding they were able to purchase books and a week as an author in residence. Cost $32,000 was funded. Reduced hotel rates, support from Hyperion in the form of Flake's books for students. First visit - students made personal connections to Sharon, reading her books got huge buy-in and students were enthusiastically reading and swapping titles. Return week-long visit for writing workshop was incredibly successful. Contests for having cake with author based on written prompt "What did you learn from reading a book by Sharon Flake". Time consuming but kept reading and writing alive. Reading for enjoyment.

Library successfully renovated, shelves being filled again. Lost of visual displays, contests. Three rules in the library - Be responsible, be respectful, be ready.

Name of the Game - Public Relations

• Spread the word

• Display

• Think outside the library and outside the box

• Involve everyone

Get involved in professional associations: MSLA, ALA (AASL, YALSA, ALSC)
Be ready when opportunity knocks. If it doesn't knock, find a way to open the doors. Spend money in the community. Librarians need to be passionate. If that person is not passionate, a generation of students is lost. It always for and about the students. Every student (or teacher) should find what they want and have a pleasant experience.

Read professional publications, and read the books. Find something to motivate yourself every day. Display student work in the library. Go to the departments and find it if you need to. Seek things other than school that give you energy. Support teachers, make them look good.

The New AASL National Standards

Am I ready for the 21st century? Librarians are an ardent, diligent lot of folks. We take our missions seriously. We are resource people, we are teachers and we are leaders. Our profession has debated the implications of these several roles for years, and in a way it feels to me as if they have truly come together in the new national standards, particularly when set beside our MSLA document. As I drove to Sturbridge this morning I was listening to the Beatles on my iPod, singing along with "Help, I Need Somebody; Help Not Just Anybody" and for a moment my thoughts flashed to our school library where this refrain is frequent. Add "Come Together Right Now" and we have a recipe for collaboration!

Cassandra Barnett, the speaker today, November 2nd in Sturbridge, helped write the new national standards: Standards for the 21st Century Learners, available for download at http://www.ala.org/aasl.standards. Cassandra made numerous connections between our acting libraries, the standards, the MSLA documents and our future. This exercise was very exciting and can definitely be the foundation for learning expectations and curricular links in our own districts.

Information Power was a valuable document and presented good standards but the forms of literacy we need to connect to today, with the explosion of literacy possibilities and the need to work collaboratively with other educators at every point necessitate a new articulation of standards. This global perspective, this collaborative approach:

Covers what we do
Reflects the future
Focuses on a global approach
Provides guiding principals for teaching & learning (no longer just teaching, no longer a simple "Here's how....")
Strives for the ideal

No one can teach everything to a student; creating a framework for learning is the most valuable task.

The nine common beliefs are not the national guidelines (which are themselves forthcoming in the next few months) but they set the context for learning.
1. Reading is the window to the world (a fundamental skill for any kind of literacy)
2. Inquiry provides a framework for learning (moving away from speaking what we know to helping students learn how to learn, for example inquiry-based learning starting with what the student wants to learn)
3. Ethical behavior in the use of information must be taught (it isn't natural for students)
4. Technology skills are crucial for future employment needs (social networking as well as others)
5. Equitable access is a key component of education (and the school library is one of the places that can ensure this access)
6. The definition of information literacy has become more complex as resources and technologies have changed.
7. The continuing expansion of information demands that all individuals acquire the thinking skills that will enable them to learn on their own.
8. Learning has a social context (working together in school, working together in employment situation, collaborative problem-solving)
9. School libraries are essential in the development of learning skills.

Standards, strands, indicators and benchmarks works as elements in a ladder of learning. Our MSLA standards fit nicely within the standards of skills indicators in the national document. For example: Standard 2: MSLA 4b, 4c, 5, 7; Standard 3: MSLA 4c, 5, 6, 7; Standard 4: MSLA 4a, 4b, 4c, 6, 7, 8.... etc. How important to transfer the information learned in the library to real life!

The Strands represents skills, disposition in action, responsibilities, and self-assessment strategies. No more work sheets, no more multiple choices.... Here comes brainstorming key words ("We may not have a spiritual aspects of mountain climbing. Let's see what else we can find that may help...")! Modeling strategies, analytical processes (exit passes indicating awareness of a resource were an example of student learning), and self-assessment are skills that are key.

The Skills are key abilities needed for understanding, learning, thinking and mastering subjects. Connecting with what is happening in the classroom is essential; content drives the library experience. Our MSLA skills are built-in to the standards upon reflection!

Dispositions in Action refers to habits of mind, ongoing beliefs and attitudes that guide thinking and intellectual behavior. These can be measured through action taken. See: 2.21, 5.9 for examples of performance indicators of habits of mind.

Responsibilities are common beliefs used by independent learners in researching, investigating and problem solving. How many of us really do convey the idea of copyright to young student, the foundation of respect for others' work?

Self-assessment strategies can enable a sea change in approach to grading, as librarians and teachers ask students to explain the validity of web sites through a cogent self-assessment tool. Her handout provides some suggestions for assessment resources.

As librarians design library experiences, different standards can be mixed and matched for effective use!

Example of library learning #1:
Cassandra asked us read two paragraphs from Jon Krakauer's Into Thin Air and use the Making Inferences worksheet in our binder. As we worked on this, it was clear that we as teacher librarians need to THINK as we support students in truly thinking. This could be done at many grade levels: with the information on a page noting 1) It says, turning to 2) I know, and resulting in 3) So.......Then sharing conclusions cements one's learning or provides insights not reachable on one's own. We all learn better! This exercise can be done in a 30 or 40 minute period! It really can. If the text relates to their classroom learning, you have enhanced their literacy for sure! Ideally, this would be connected to a longer range process.

Example of library learning #2:
Using Allan Say's Grandfather's Journey, explore Responses to Reading in one of three possible ways: Visual Images, Responses to Questions, and Simulated Blog (wow--no computer lab needed for this paper-based exercise!). Group skills are enhanced, learning takes place! Self-assessment could include questions such as: What was the main idea I contributed? What two ideas from others caused me to rethink my own ideas? How did I help the group reach consensus? What did I do to make sure that the group discussion included all members of the group and respected differing speaking styles and opinions?

These strategies mean we can't be territorial. Activities may or may not all take place in the library. For example, a simulated blog could travel from library to classroom and back again! This is very exciting to me, as so often links to social studies or science or language arts need cultivating due to the "not enough time" phenomenon within a school day.

How would this look in my library? We can't memorize the standards; we need to keep referring to them. We are moving from teaching to learning in our emphasis -- Understanding By Design is the watchword. Learning how to learn. It's very exciting.

Implementation:
Understand Beliefs
Standards Components
Wipe the Slate Clean
Integrate the Curriculum Through Collaboration
Re-think Instruction (What do you think? How can you back it up with evidence?)
Assess

An audience member asked how we can place this all within the context of MCAS and standardized testing. Cassandra's answer was "I can't, and I don't care." Wow. These skills are foundational, and will over time result in success. No Child Left Behind is coming up for some significant changes. Perhaps we'll back off a little from standardized tests and figure out more meaningful measures of students' strengths.

It may be necessary to start small. Try starting with the new teachers. Small pieces all along the way can help kids develop critical thinking skills: What do I think? Can I back it up with evidence?

Cassandra exhorted us to pick one action we will take upon our return to school. She asked that we create a timeline, describe the action, explain why this action would implement just one standard, and predict what will make it successful. This exercise, when shared with Cassandra's principal, caused him to say: "These people are teachers!" and created the basis for greater understanding of the library program. Using the terminology in curriculum settings can do a lot for progress along the lines we need. Thinking school-wide, using Lesson Planning Templates with teachers.... So many strategies can begin the process!

Rusty True Browder, Lawrence School Library, Brookline MA

The New AASL National Standards: Am I ready for the New 21st Century?

Presented by Cassandra Barnett

She is president-elect of AASL
She sat on the committee that developed these new standards

Purpose of the session:
To help teacher-librarians understand the standards
To show how we can implement these standards in our buildings?

Why new standards?
Explosion of literacies
Students mastery of multiple literacies
Complex societal communications structures

These new standards cover what we do as teacher-librarians. We do not know what kind of jobs our students will eventually do. Yet, we still need to prepare them for these future jobs.

There is a shift away from simply teaching our knowledge to our students. Instead we have to teach students how to direct their own learning and meet information needs.

21st Century Standards are made up of common beliefs, standards, strands, and indicators (benchmarks are currently being developed).

Everyone received the booklet with these standards in the MSLA bags. This is the key to understanding the standards. These are not national standards but guidelines for educators to ensure that students become information literate.

During the session, Ms Barnett went through the components of the standards. She explained the reasons for inclusion and compared them to the MSLA Standards.

Skills
Straight forward abilities that can be assessed when looking at students' actions and assignments.

Dispositions in Action
While you can teach an attitude about learning you can plan lesson and offer suggestions to help students truly think about their assignments.

Responsibilities
This may start in elementary school with book care. But it will grow into ethical behaviors, intellectual freedom, and safety procedures online.

Self-assessment strategies
With the abundance of information that students must deal with, the quality of student work has declined. Teachers must hold students accountable.

Ms. Barnett provided examples of implementing the standards in a classroom situation. These can also be located in you binder on pages 53-65.

Advice on collaboration
When you sit with a teacher to collaborate...have the teachers' frameworks and standards in front of you...and explain how you can help the teachers meet their goals for the students. Start small (one teacher at a time)...approach brand new teachers who may need suggestions and support.

Food for thought: What is one thing you can do in your library that will help you utilize these standards? (see implementation chart on page 59 and lesson planning template on page 61)