When asked to think about libraries and librarians, many people envision a bespectacled, stamp-wielding librarian roving the dusty, silent stacks of books. Our society is changing the way we access information and librarians and library programs are evolving to meet these ever-evolving information needs.
The University of Washington provides a succinct definition of Library and Information Science, which is quoted below.
While our elementary-aged students may not be ready to provide Emergency Room care (Yet!), the Remsenburg-Speonk Library & Information Science curriculum is guided by the Empire State Information Fluency Continuum and the mission to support all learners in the Common Core Learning Standards. At the elementary level, library and information science classes are grounded in encouraging a love of reading and learning. With this foundation, students then learn about how we organize and access information using different systems, such as alphabetical order, subject classification, and digital tools. Students are able to apply these theories toward finding information both in the physical library and virtual environment. As students become older, they developmentally become better equipped to question what they read. Much of the curriculum in the upper grades is dedicated to advanced search techniques and critical evaluation of information sources. By the time students graduate, the goal is for students to be able to independently ask research questions and then answer those questions by accessing information, evaluating for authority and bias, and applying the information. This Inquiry Cycle, as illustrated in the diagram below, also promotes self-reflection and the cyclical creation of new research questions.
It is a thrilling time to be an information professional and I look forward to working with your children to wonder, investigate, construct, express, reflect, and then wonder some more! School libraries work!