School Library

Suggested Reflection Questions

1. Your role at Burke's

2. When did this opportunity take place?

3. Summary of workshop/ opportunity

4. Goals & Collaborations:

   - What were your big takeaways from your workshop or project?

I attended the Howard Zinn Book Fair– “an annual celebration of The People’s History, past present and future.” This year’s theme was “Fight Supremacy: Actions Against Authoritarianism,” and there were many engaging panels, workshops, and tables. I found the session “Empowering Kids: Social Justice Picture Books” to be most relevant to the work that I do as assistant to the school library. In particular, I can apply what I learned to my goal of incorporating DEIB practices into library displays/read-alouds/collection management. I would definitely recommend the book fair to any and all educators, as it provides bountiful opportunities to reflect on DEIB themes and how they can apply to our work with students. 

Four authors shared picture books that they wrote with various social justice themes (see list below), then went on to discuss why they focus on social justice, how to navigate the “age appropriate” parameters, ways to empower…

As the new Assistant for Library Operations at Burke’s, I am grateful to have attended this year’s Annual Fall Meeting for BAISL - an organization of Bay Area Independent School Librarians. I would highly recommend this networking and learning opportunity, which connects independent school librarians with other members of the local community. The meeting provided countless moments for conversation and collaboration through sessions ranging from PD grant presentations to book talks and more focused topics.

I found A Look at AI Literacy Frameworks to be the most fruitful session with implications for my work at Burke’s. This session examined how developing a framework can serve as a foundation/starting point for AI usage policies in schools. We built our own frameworks in small groups, referenced published AI literacy frameworks, and then came back together to discuss common elements. This is relevant for librarians who teach students digital citizenship skills to navigate the…

American Association of School Librarians (AASL) Conference

St. Louis, November 16–18

Attendee: Michelle Loomis, Upper School Librarian

The American Association of School Librarians (AASL) Conference is a national gathering for school librarians, offering sessions on research, best practices, innovation, author presentations, and a large exhibition hall featuring vendors and publishers.

Big Takeaways

A central takeaway from this year’s conference was that there remain significant gaps in services and products designed specifically for school librarians. While there is exciting innovation in some areas, there are still a number of underdeveloped resources.