Soft Skills for School Librarians

Course

Teamwork [3:12]

Learn how to foster effective teamwork in your library and school.

As a librarian, you are often the center of a team. Your role reaches into all corners of the school, which—in the best case scenarios—provides ample space for collaboration to benefit students. But working together with various stakeholders is not always easy. So what skills will help you foster effective teamwork?

Let's look at three components of successful teamwork in the school library setting: establishing shared goals, defining accountability, and clear communication.

First: establishing shared goals. When you come together to collaborate with your colleagues and community members, it's helpful to start by agreeing on the fundamental objective. Within a situation, what is the specific outcome everyone wants to see? Higher test scores on an upcoming district-wide assessment? Government students demonstrating stronger media literacy? A particular student showing improved research skills? If you agree on a shared goal, it helps everyone stay focused as you set up and implement a plan of action.

The second vital part of productive teamwork is defining each person's accountability. All contributors on a team, from the teacher, to the librarian, to the parent, need to understand their unique role and the strengths they bring to the table. After that, everyone can establish their particular responsibility within the scope of a project.

For example, let's say you're creating a new research project around issues affecting your local community. The teacher could take the lead on ties to content standards; the librarian could plan and guide the inquiry process; and, parent volunteers could help with establishing connections within the wider community. Each individual has a role and a responsibility. When everyone understands what they're accountable for, teams run more smoothly and members can support each other. This also helps to build trust among team members. Once you show that you will follow through on your part, it is easier to inspire trust in others that you're doing your all to support students.

The third component of productive teamwork is no secret: clear communication. Most projects are likely to experience unexpected changes and challenges at different stages, and it's important for each team member to let others know when those challenges arise. The best team members work with each other, rather than for each other. Transparent, nonjudgmental communication takes place when egos are put aside and team members are willing listen to each other. Learn more keys to clear communication in the next episode on communication skills.

When we establish shared goals, identify individual accountability, and communicate effectively, we do more than just engage in smart teamwork: we model behavior for our students, showing them the value of mutual respect and healthy collaboration.

The Motown Method of Collaboration

Collaborating with teachers on instruction is the quintessential area to practice teamwork. But combining forces isn't always easy. In her article "Collaboration: The Motown Method," Leslie Preddy describes how modeling your collaborations after the success of groups like Diana Ross and the Supremes or Gladys Knight and the Pips can help strengthen your teamwork with teachers. Read the article in the Resources below, then complete the Reflect & Practice activity.

RESOURCES:

Activity 1.1_Soft Skills for School Librarians

Form

Article

REFLECT & PRACTICE:

Can you hear the music? After reading Preddy's article, consider how you could apply the Motown Method in your school library. Use the above form to plan out a collaboration pitch that also encompasses the three key takeaways from the "Teamwork" video: establishing shared goals, defining accountability, and clear communication.

MLA Citation

"Soft Skills for School Librarians: The Motown Method of Collaboration." School Library Connection, April 2019, schoollibraryconnection.com/Content/Course/2194637?learningModuleId=2194635&topicCenterId=2247902.

Entry ID: 2196944

Additional Resources

Bibliography.

About the Authors

Rebecca J. Morris, MLIS, PhD, is teaching associate professor at the University of Pittsburgh School of Computing and Information. She earned her master's degree and doctorate at the University of Pittsburgh and her undergraduate degree in elementary education at Pennsylvania State University. Rebecca has published articles in journals including School Library Research, Knowledge Quest, School Libraries Worldwide, Teacher Librarian and the Journal of Research on Young Adults in Libraries. She is the author of School Libraries and Student Learning: A Guide for School Leaders (Harvard Education Publishing Group, 2015). Rebecca is a former elementary classroom teacher and middle school librarian.

Email: rmorris@schoollibraryconnection.com

Twitter: @rebeccajm87.

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

Casey Rawson, PhD, is a Postdoctoral Research Associate in the School of Information and Library Science at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where she earned a PhD in 2016 and an MSLS in 2011 with a concentration in school library media. She also holds an MAT in middle grades education from the University of Louisville and is a former sixth- and seventh-grade science teacher. Her research interests include teacher-librarian collaboration in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) content areas, diversity and equity in youth services librarianship, and portrayals of scientists in children's literature. Her articles include “Are All Lists Created Equal? Diversity in Award-Winning and Bestselling Young Adult Fiction,” which received the 2012 YALSA Writing Award; and “Rethinking the Texts We Use in Literacy Instruction with Adolescent African American Males,” written with Sandra Hughes-Hassell, which received a 2013 Virginia Hamilton Essay Award Honor Citation.

Seth Taylor, MFA, has 20 years of experience in education as a teacher, administrator, and professional development specialist. He has taught graduate and undergraduate courses in Rhetoric, Composition and Research Methodology at San Diego State University, Colorado State University, and the University of Redlands.

Jane Cullina, MSEd, is the professional development manager for School Library Connection and ABC-CLIO. A former children's librarian and humanities teacher, Jane earned her master's degree from the Bank Street College of Education in New York City and has taught in Boston, New York, Maine, California, and South Africa.

MLA Citation

"Soft Skills for School Librarians. Teamwork [3:12]." School Library Connection, ABC-CLIO, April 2019, schoollibraryconnection.com/Content/Course/2194637?learningModuleId=2194635&topicCenterId=2247902.

View all citation styles

https://schoollibraryconnection.com/Content/Course/2194637?learningModuleId=2194635&topicCenterId=2247902

Entry ID: 2194637