1.1

//Reflection – AASL Standard 1.1: Efficient and ethical information-seeking behavior //
The core responsibility of the school librarian is to instill in our students a lifelong love of reading and learning. It is a love of reading that frequently draws the school librarian initially to the field; enthusiasm and excitement for books provides a valuable adult model for students. As professionals, our responsibilities far exceed sharing a love of literature; we must develop methodical approaches that engage all learners, at each of their individual stages of development. The school librarian is uniquely positioned to provide information literacy education to students. A combination of text and electronically based research skills, presented in a methodical manner are essential. My work every day is focused on this skill development. First through third grade students are primarily focused on text-based learning, an example of this work is a third grade project to learn about Greek and Roman mythology. In fourth and fifth grade, we spend the bulk of our time in the computer lab working on digital resources. By becoming Anne Arundel County certified in BlackBoard, I can offer courses in this platform to my students. So far, I have developed two courses for my students to both meet current learning needs and become familiar with this particular online learning environment. As one looks closely at the collection with a learner centered focus, one must also address the issue of censorship. My student population contains a high proportion of students whose parents engage in recreational hunting. While this is not an activity of my choosing, I would be remiss if I did not satisfy my students information needs in this area. This may perhaps seem innocuous, but the key point of providing free access of information to students, at their development level, must be closely adhered to. The Laurie Halse Anderson novel, Wintergirls, is not permitted in some high schools because of its coarse language. I found it to be a powerful statement about anorexia and return from a self-destructive self that many adolescents would find beneficial. As librarians, we must always be alert to materials that will assist our students and press to ensure their availability. Each of our interactions with our staff and students should demonstrate and instruct an ethical approach to information. We must use correct citation formats in our own works, and clearly instruct other in their use. The school librarian is the locus for information research and its efficient ethical use in an information dependent society.



 