Student Voice in the Library
Course
Success Stories [10:48]
If you create an authentic leadership program through the library, the students will be your advocates. They will be genuine voices that have impact.
You spend a lot of time thinking about ways to promote that and to let people know how valuable a school library is in a school or in an entire community. Sometimes, you have to be thinking, "I don't have time to just advocate for what I'm doing because I'm too busy doing it." So, ideally, you will have people that will do your advocacy for you. That will only happen if those advocates or those potential advocates actually feel motivated, or connected, or inspired enough to speak for you without being told to do so.
I'm sure I could have teachers and partners that I've worked with and parents and students who on demand would likely say something good about the value of the library. I'm sure each of you will have that as well. But in a better, more sustainable model, there are so many amazing things going on in the school library that you don't have to ask, because people are talking about it. The more success you have in the library, the more people are going to talk about it.
Students are going to tell their parents. Parents are going to share with administrators. Teachers are going to exchange conversations with administrators during observations about positive experiences they've had. Developing a student leadership program in the library is one amazing way to create grassroots advocates. They become part of the team and then they're going to stick up and advocate for the library because it's where they work. It's where they are a part of. It's where they are valued. It's where they lead.
So, the more you can incorporate authentic student leadership in the library, the more you are empowering students to be library advocates. Whether it's just for the school, whether it's for all libraries, whether it's for their leadership that they've been able to demonstrate, all of those things are going to connect with them in a way that allows them to tell their story to somebody.
The more people we have telling our story, the less work we're spending on sending our message because it's getting out there. Over the years that I've had a student leadership program, we've called our iStaff which started as a small couple kids here and there. Most of those kids were students who, I'll say this nicely, needed a place to be. A lot of times, those students would come in and I would find jobs for them to do. I found I was finding lots of jobs and creating lots of jobs.
In essence, I was insulting student's abilities. I was watering down their voice, their worth, and in essence, their engagement. It wasn't sustainable initially. When I did have my "a-ha" moment about, "Wait a minute. These are students who can do a lot more than what I'm giving them credit for." Things started to shift. So, I started at an elementary school and I had a program called the Library Ambassadors.
I had students who were signed up to work. I mean sometimes, for a five-minute shift, a four-minute shift, sometimes between classes, these weren't exactly extensive work periods, but students were so committed and so excited about their role, because we really upped the ante and we really empowered them to not only feel important, but to be important.
They had nametags. They had passes. They had a schedule and a badge. There was a contract on file and students were excited. So, they told their parents to the point where I had parents who were calling in if their student had a doctor's appointment saying they wouldn't be able to make their shift today, and I laughed because some of the kids we're working for from 8:00 to 8:05. But it meant so much to them that then they told their parents and then their parents saw it as a serious enough commitment that they let me know when they couldn't work.
Teachers would tell me that students would really respond quite nicely if the library ambassador job was a carrot for them getting their work done or to doing the right thing in class. It was valued. That didn't just happen. We created an atmosphere where this was a valuable position and a valuable team and kids wanted to be a part of it.
When I moved to the middle school in the same district, I had a lot of overlap of those same kids. Not necessarily every kid who was an ambassador wanted to join our student program at the middle school, but there were stories, and they remembered things, and they talked about those things. I think in essence, they trusted me as the librarian to be a place they could go if they had an idea or something they wanted to try.
Again, often I had students come my way who were struggling or who really weren't being successful in different ways. I had a student named Griffin who came my way in sixth grade, who was anxious and worried, but very smart, and very able, and very capable, and amazing with technology.
So, I started putting him to work; a little here and a little there and we connected, and he connected. He started to feel more important, and more valued, and just generally, more confident. He was part of our library team. As he was part of that team, he was empowered to try some things and be him.
Fast forward, Griffin is now a senior. I am an integral part of their family. I've had all the siblings, the parent support, every event we do-- this wasn't just one student. This is a family now that has become not only an advocate for me, personally, but a library advocate. Each of their kids is different, but the fact that I made that personal connection six years ago, seven years ago, and we're still connected, they really have become built-in advocates for the library program.
I've taken students to legislative day events where they have the opportunity to meet with legislators and talk about how they view libraries. Even if not prompted to do so, they will talk about their experience as an iStaff member. The more you can provide these authentic experiences to kids, the more they're going to tell these stories to somebody. Whether they're high school kids applying for scholarships, or jobs, or elementary kids who are just talking to grandmas or the lady next door, they're going to tell their stories. They're going to talk about their role in this, just like they would if they were in the Girl Scouts, or on a sports team, or are part of anything, a cheer squad, they're excited about what they're a part of and why not make the library one of those that is on equal value with the other activities.
I had students one year who were so empowered to know that they were a well-respected leadership team in the building. We were actually in an event, a school related event, where there was a Blackhawk helicopter that was landing on our property as part of a celebration of our partnership with the platoons. One of the advisors who was in charge of this said, "Who is the group that's going to host this?" and one kid said, "Well, why doesn't the iStaff do it?" Next thing you know, on a self-directed thing, 20 iStaff kids were up there as part of the greeting committee for the Blackhawk platoon. It was unbelievable. They were appropriate and they were confident. They just assumed the leadership role because I think they felt like they added value. Again, that didn't just happen. That was a culture that we created over time.
When parents come to open houses, I hear a lot of librarians say, "Well, you know, we don't get a lot of traffic in the library to open houses, or parent nights, or community nights, or whatever you call it." But often, the guests that will come in will tell me about their student experience with iStaff, or they're interested, or they want to be more a part of that or how do they get involved and so on.
Students brag about their projects, their roles. They'll show things that they've done. It's not the—like when I was in school, like the, "Oh, he's in the AV club because he's not in anything else," or she's in that…It's a source of pride and we up the ante, and really add credibility to the program. So, that is something they're justifiably proud of.
When we have our yearbook picture, there are kids that-- there's no begging people to come for the yearbook picture for the iStaff and even students who maybe have worked two weeks and then had to change their schedule, they'll come down and say, ''Well I worked for two weeks, can I still get in the picture?'' They want to be part of that team.
Some kids start out with us and then find their wings in other things. They move along. They try new things. They've gotten some experience. Sometimes it doesn't work with their schedule. Sometimes, they're interested in other things, and that's amazing when kids have said, ''Oh, remember when I started here? And now I've got these other things going on.''
There's always a new batch coming in who needs an experience, who needs a valuable leadership time. But they will. They'll tell their parents, their teachers, their counselors. I have counselors come to me all the time and say, ''You know, so and so is going through a tough time, but she said her highlight every day is working in the library.'' or, ''She doesn't mind coming to school on these days because she knows she's coming to the library.''
That's unprompted advocacy. That's not just about me or not just about the library, but the fact that kids see a value-added experience is amazing. Keep in mind, if you create an authentic leadership program through the library, these students will be your advocates. They will be genuine voices that have impact.
So start one. Get some kids involved and let them be your voice, your eyes and ears. I know you too will experience some amazing success stories. If you ever want to talk to some of the students who've been involved in our program, just let me know and we can connect you with some of those amazing student leaders that have been part of our student leadership program over the last few years. So, good luck as you start your program and I hope this training has been helpful.
Success stories of student voice in the school library program are sources of advocacy. As Kowalski explains, "the more success you have in the library, the more people are going to talk about it." This is a simple but powerful truth! For Kowalski, success came in moving away from "finding" things for kids to do, or even creating jobs for them, and instead giving students the authority and opportunity to serve in ways that were meaningful for them. The potential for students' growth in community, confidence, and leadership creates a strong and convincing rationale for trying the strategies offered in this workshop.
For additional ideas on how to include student leaders in the library program, read the article, "Beyond Junior Shelvers: Involving Students in Creative Library Work" by Melissa Techman. Reflect: What ideas appeal to you? In what ways might you add student voice through a helpers program?
Techman, Melissa. "Beyond Junior Shelvers: Involving Students in Creative Library Work." School Library Connection, February 2016.
MLA Citation
Morris, Rebecca J. "Student Voice in the Library: Creative Ways to Add Student Voice." School Library Connection, October 2024, schoollibraryconnection.com/Content/Course/2078601?learningModuleId=2078594&topicCenterId=2252405.
Entry ID: 2142767
Additional Resources
About the Author
MLA Citation
Kowalski, Susan. "Student Voice in the Library. Success Stories [10:48]." School Library Connection, ABC-CLIO, December 2017, schoollibraryconnection.com/Content/Course/2078601?learningModuleId=2078594&topicCenterId=2252405.
https://schoollibraryconnection.com/Content/Course/2078601?learningModuleId=2078594&topicCenterId=2252405
Entry ID: 2078601