Soft Skills for School Librarians

Course

Writing Skills [3:01]

Learn writing techniques to ensure your messages effectively reach their intended readers.

One of the great benefits of written communication is that it gives us the chance to craft our message carefully and accurately to both small and large audiences. As educators who are in regular contact with all members of the school, from the principal to individual students, librarians can use strong writing skills to keep everyone informed, updated, and engaged with their community.

A few key tips can help maximize the effectiveness of your written communications: staying concise, focusing on the goal you and your readers share, and crafting the right tone.

First, remember to keep communication concise. Our inboxes are bombarded with emails every day, and readers are more likely to open and read a message if they know it will be direct and to the point. See if you can present core information in one sentence and use no more than three or four more to flesh out the point. If you're writing a weekly newsletter with more than one main topic, use bold headings and short summarizing statements for each one. Headings like "Book Drive this Saturday" or "New History Databases Available" can be followed up with a single overview sentence and no more than three short bullet points with the most relevant details.

Second, stay focused on your message's overall intention, and the goal you and your readers share. For example: almost all content in a memo to teachers will fall into a single category: "How are we benefiting our students?" Keeping that question in the forefront of your mind can help you shape the content of your message. It can also help explain to your readers why the information you're including contributes to shared professional objectives. Awareness of that shared value will help your readers recognize your email as relevant and worth reading carefully.

Third, craft the right tone in your writing. Whether you're writing to inform teachers about a new service, remind a student about an overdue book, or suggest a program change to your principal, you're far more likely to get the desired response if your tone is one that establishes mutual respect. Try to avoid language that could be interpreted as reprimanding. For example: a great tip is to avoid using the word "should" when making any kind of request or proposal. A sentence like "Students should follow proper book check-out procedures," can become "Follow proper check-out procedures so everyone can find the resources they need."

By staying concise, goal-focused, and respectful, your written communication can reach all of your intended readers and help strengthen your school community.

Model Writing

As a librarian, you know that one of the ways students can get better at writing is by reading exemplars. The same can be true for us! Take a look at the three articles in the Resources below written by the editors of School Library Connection, then complete the Reflect & Practice activity.

RESOURCES:

Activity 5.1_Soft Skills for School Librarians

Form

Game Plan

Finding the Flow

Are You a Library Pilot?

REFLECT & PRACTICE:

Each of these School Library Connection editors has a unique voice that is effective in its own way. After reading one or more of the articles, use the chart provided in the above form to help you identify their strengths and what takeaways you can bring to your own writing. Then think about some information that you'd like to share with your audience and write a draft, incorporating something you learned from these writers.

MLA Citation

"Soft Skills for School Librarians: Model Writing." School Library Connection, April 2019, schoollibraryconnection.com/Content/Course/2194643?learningModuleId=2194635&topicCenterId=2247902.

Entry ID: 2196949

Recrafting the Message

In the "Writing Skills" video, three key tips were discussed to help you maximize the effectiveness of your written communication: staying concise, focusing on the goal you and your readers share, and crafting the right tone. With these three ideas in mind, complete the Reflect & Practice activity below.

RESOURCES:

Activity 5.2_Soft Skills for School Librarians

Form

REFLECT & PRACTICE:

Lucy Bibliophile, a new school librarian, needs help strengthening her written communication. Take a look at her three pieces below or in the form above, annotate the problem areas, identify the intended audience and shared goals, indicate what the appropriate tone would be, and then give Lucy a hand by rewriting her messages.

MESSAGE TO STUDENTS

Dear 2nd Period Students,

You've left the library a mess. It's unacceptable. I expect each of you to report to the library during your lunch break to right your wrong.

Sincerely,
Lucy Bibliophile

NOTICE IN SCHOOL NEWSLETTER

Well, folks, it's that time once again. We're hosting a school book fair and you're going find all kinds of books at this fair. There will be books for young kids. Books for old kids. Maybe even books for adults. You should come. It will be a blast. And don't forget your wallet!

OVERVIEW MESSAGE ON LIBRARY WEBSITE

On this website, among other things, you will find that there are a really great number of resources for you to use when you have to conduct research for your classes or if you just want to come in and find a great new book to read. We have a really wide selection of books for you to choose from, if that's something that you want. Although the actual books aren't on this website, our online catalog is, plus you can also access eBooks directly through this site. We also have great online research resources for you. These include databases and a list of websites curated by your friendly librarians (that's us!). So welcome! Take a look and please come see us with any questions.

MLA Citation

"Soft Skills for School Librarians: Recrafting the Message." School Library Connection, April 2019, schoollibraryconnection.com/Content/Course/2194643?learningModuleId=2194635&topicCenterId=2247902.

Entry ID: 2196950

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. Writing Skills [3:01]." School Library Connection, ABC-CLIO, April 2019, schoollibraryconnection.com/Content/Course/2194643?learningModuleId=2194635&topicCenterId=2247902.

View all citation styles

https://schoollibraryconnection.com/Content/Course/2194643?learningModuleId=2194635&topicCenterId=2247902

Entry ID: 2194643