BFTP: Do school librarians have "enduring values"?

From the introduction to The Indispensable Librarian

Do school librarians have "enduring values?"

Before you continue reading this book on managing an effective school library program, it's only fair to ask if libraries, library programs, and librarians will around long enough to make such a reading worth your time. Quite frankly, it's a difficult but extremely important question. And my answer is definitely yes…

If.

We already know we need to adapt to changes in technology. We already know we need to be more accountable about the impact of our programs. We already know that we will need to spend time on effective advocacy and developing broad ownership of the library program. We know that our physical facilities will evolve, our areas of expertise will change, the format of our collections will become more diverse, and our libraries’ services will be different each year.

So a second question then comes up: Will our libraries be so changed from what we now consider libraries will they still continue to be called libraries. And my answer is definitely yes…

If, we maintain the core values that will transcend the specifics of library programming.

Just as technology was starting to have a major impact on libraries, long-time academic librarian and past ALA president Michael Gorman identified these as enduring central or "core" values of librarianship (Gorman, 2000):

1. Stewardship
2. Service
3. Intellectual Freedom
4. Rationalism
5. Literacy and learning
6. Equity of access to recorded knowledge and information
7. Privacy
8. Democracy

Are these core values still held by practicing school librarians? Are there other common central beliefs that define us as librarians? When I describe my own professional core values as a librarian, I include:

1. Every child should have access to as diverse number of opinions as possible and be allowed to drawn his or her own personal conclusions about the world. The library program’s primary educational role is teaching children to think, not simply to memorize or believe.
2. Every child's interests, learning style and abilities should be respected. Skills are best taught in a personal context.
3. Every child’s preference in information format should be respect, both as an information consumer and producer. Information in all formats should be treated equally.
4. Every child’s privacy must be honored and protected. It is our role to help children protect their own privacy.
5. The ability to find, evaluate, organize, synthesize and communicate information is a basic skill for every child.
6. Reading skills are best developed through voluntary free reading on topics of personal interest to students. Students must be intrinsically motivated to read and to learn.
7. Every child should have access to a place in a school where he or she is comfortable, valued, safe and can learn with other students.
8. Every child is must be taught the skills and sensibilities of digital citizenship.
9. The library’s primary function is to be of service to children – directly and through other educational programs. Our success is a reflection of how successful we make others.
10. The skills taught and resources provided by the library program are critical to a free society. 

As some schools replace librarians with clerks or "technology integration specialists" - or no one at all, my greatest concern is that these values will be lost. Who will fight for information access for all students? Who will fight for intellectual freedom? Who will be concerned about the privacy rights of students and faculty? Who will insist that information literacy is right of every child? Yes, there are teachers who value these things, but for how many teachers, unlike librarians, are they their primary mission?

Now and in the future, the physical room, the title of the person running it, or the kinds of resources provided will not matter. I will know I am in a library when it is run by a librarian.

Gorman, Michael Our Enduring Values: Librarianship in the 21st Century, Chicago: American Library Association, 2000. Gorman

So readers, what values have I missed?

Original post January 7, 2012.

Comments

[Len]

Hi Dog,
I would add that we model and teach growth mindset. I have embraced that as one of the core principles of the work I do. Another principle that goes hand in hand with growth mindset is a fundamental drive or desire to innovate education for all of our children, both within our practice and by leading our campuses and districts to think differently about teaching and learning..

[Doug Johnson]

Woof.

Thanks for the great additions.

I've thought a lot about innovation in education and when it is and isn't appropriate. Should we innovate or should we follow "best practices"?​

I've decided that when traditional methods or best practices don't work, then it is our obligation to innovate.

For what it's worth and thank you for the response,

Doug