by Heather Moorefield-Lang and Ida Mae Craddock, September 2021

School libraries have always been the first place for the newest and most interesting educational technologies to arrive, and teachers often ask for technology coaching and forward thinking from their librarians. However, keeping up with all that requires a tremendous amount of professional learning on our parts. Below is a short bibliography of luminaries that impact and inform our field, both in practical and cerebral ways, to help support and grow an accessible and modern school library.

How-To

Curts, Eric. Control Alt Achieve: Rebooting Your Classroom with Creative Google Projects. Dave Burgess Consulting, 2020

Taking the opposite approach from Google Apps for Littles, the next item in our list, Eric Curts uses Google projects to teach a variety of content. It will make you rethink how you've been using all kinds of online tools.

Pinto, Christine, and Alice Keeler. Google Apps for Littles: Believe They Can. Dave Burgess Consulting, 2018.

This title is aimed at helping young (PK-2) students explore technology and leveraging students' curiosity and play to learn G-suite tools. Practical and activities-based, this book has lessons that may outlast G-Suite.

Riley, Erin E. The Art of Digital Fabrication: STEAM Projects for the Makerspace and Art Studio. Constructing Modern Knowledge Press, 2019.

One of my favorites on this list, this title is a must-have for libraries that have integrated 3D printers, laser cutters, vinyl cutters, or sewing machines. Chock full of projects presented in an approachable way, this book is a great place to start digital fabrication in your maker library.

Pedagogy

Martinez, Sylvia Libow, and Gary Stager. Invent to Learn: Making, Tinkering, and Engineering in the Classroom. Constructing Modern Knowledge Press, 2019.

While written for classroom teachers, this book will help when thinking about which technologies are worth the purchase, how technologies can be used for maximum effect, and the place of students in contributing to those decisions.

Preddy, Leslie B. School Library Makerspaces: Grades 6–12. Libraries Unlimited, 2013.

Specifically for school librarians, this book addresses the unique challenges that librarians have when infusing maker technologies into our programs. This is a classic.

Socol, Ira David, Pam Moran, and Chad Ratliff. Timeless Learning: How Imagination, Observation, and Zero-Based Thinking Change Schools. Jossey-Bass, 2018.

This is a "big picture" title about asking the right questions. If you are thinking about space, tools, pedagogy, and/or reconfiguring modern education, this is a title to keep on your shelf.

Accessibility

Moorefield-Lang, Heather, ed. Accessibility, Technology, and Librarianship. ALA, 2018.

This edition of Library Technology Reports contains important considerations for school librarians. I would specifically recommend chapter 3, "Curating Technology for Learning: A Faculty View" by Helen Turner and Patrick Lee Lucas. Holding all the students and their varied learning needs above the technology tool is critical.

Woodruff, John, and Michelle Kowalsky. Creating Inclusive Library Environments: A Planning Guide for Serving Patrons with Disabilities. ALA, 2016.

From thinking about how websites are designed to emerging technologies, this title can help librarians keep accessibility in the front of our minds as we design experiences for students.

Copyright and Technology

Op Den Kamp, Claudy, and Dan Hunter, eds. A History of Intellectual Property in 50 Objects. Cambridge University Press, 2019.

An absolutely fascinating account of the evolution of intellectual property, this book helped me understand the relationship between innovation and the law. Both a cool way to teach intellectual property and to predict how and why new inventions are regulated, this book is a must have.

Simpson, Carol, and Sarah E. Wolf. Copyright for Schools: A Practical Guide. Libraries Unlimited, 2021.

This is a completely practical guide that addresses everything from streaming services to how to find copyright-free and licensed material. This book also contains information on appropriate responses to cease-and-desist letters and dealing with cloud-based sharing. Great to keep on hand for when questions arise.

Media Literacy

Otis, Cindy L. True or False: A CIA Analyst's Guide to Spotting Fake News. Feiwel & Friends, 2020.

Desperately needed in the modern age, this book is from an absolute expert on fake news. Covering both history and modern techniques, the inserts and guides are invaluable tools for one of our most important jobs: teaching students to find reliable information

Keeping a healthy professional collection is important, not only for our teachers, but also for our own professional growth. Our work is so enmeshed with technology that keeping resources close at hand is critical to our success. Guidance from these authors may help us avoid those minefields that pop up unexpectedly in technology land and make the path a little less bumpy.