Managing the Elementary Library

Course

Parents & Community [2:30]

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Transcript

Make sure that parents and community members understand what is happening in your library. You want students going home and talking about what's happening in the library.

Other groups that we might consider in those spheres of influence that impact the school library; well, the next one might be a parents. Making sure that parents really have a clear vision of what's happening in the school library. Because part of advocacy is building others to talk about your program, and telling the good things that are happening. It's much stronger if it comes from a parent, or a teacher, or a student than if it comes from you. Making sure that parents really understand what is happening in your library, that kids are going home, and talking about what's happening in the library.

When you have volunteers in the library, having conversations with them, sharing the things that your students are doing. Making those connections so that when they go out and interact with other parents. They're saying, "Hey, I heard this was happening in the library. This is really kind of cool." Making sure to have lots of parent events so that you make those connections, where you're bringing parents into your library, so they can see the resources that you have. Maybe even looking for opportunities, where you can work with the PTO and the PTA committee.

One of my most successful opportunities actually fell on my lap, I tend to typically tried to go to as many PTO meetings as I possibly could. I missed one and when I missed one, I got put in charged of something, which is sometimes happens to folks. I was put in charge of the enrichment programs. But what they had allowed me to do was one had a funding stores to bring in lots of great speakers and authors on special events for our students. It allowed me to build a close relationship with our PTO when I needed other things beyond the programming that I was in charge of.

Making those connections and building that support within the PTO is always great because I always knew they had our back as far as our school library program was. Also thinking in terms of another group, is the community at large. How can you interact, or bring them into your school library program and as part of that? In elementary school, we do all sorts of types of career days or learning about the community. I was offered our library as a space where you could come, and have those special speakers in presentations. We had a story step area, as well as an instructional area, so I could sub in teaching classes, and somebody else could be using my storage space.

It's just a great way to bring in those guest speakers into our library, and make those connections for our teachers. Building that bridge or that connection was a great way, and then, using our space so that our community members were seeing our library and resources that we had, and how we could make those connections. Any ways that you can make those connections with parents and community members is great.

Additional Resources

About the Author

Carl A. Harvey II, MLS, MS, is associate professor of school librarianship at Longwood University in Farmville, Virginia. Harvey received his master's degree from Indiana University and is the author of six books, most recently The 21st-Century Elementary School Library Program: Managing For Results, 2nd Edition. He is a past-president of the American Association of School Librarians, and his school has been the recipient of the National School Library Program of the Year.

E-mail: charvey@schoollibraryconnection.com

Twitter: @caharvey2

MLA Citation

Harvey, Carl A., II. "Managing the Elementary Library. Parents & Community [2:30]." School Library Connection, ABC-CLIO, January 2018, schoollibraryconnection.com/Content/Course/2135530?learningModuleId=2135578&topicCenterId=2247903.

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https://schoollibraryconnection.com/Content/Course/2135530?learningModuleId=2135578&topicCenterId=2247903

Entry ID: 2135530