While many of the responsibilities of a school librarian overlap with teaching, others are unique to the profession. Because of this, librarians with a growth mindset must intentionally seek out opportunities to interact and connect with librarians on a larger scale beyond the walls of their individual institutions.
The American Library Association Annual Conference gave me and Pre-K to 8 Librarian Mary-Kate Fowee a chance to do just that at the largest national professional library conference this summer. This year’s conference was held in San Diego, Calif., which made for an enriching professional development experience set against a picturesque background, and offered several hundred educational sessions, dozens of featured speakers, a vast exhibit hall, in addition to what is perhaps most valuable — the opportunity to engage with librarians from all over the world.
The conference is centered around the promotion of reading, intellectual freedom, and access to information, and also provided an invaluable opportunity to tour several independent school libraries in the San Diego area. The school tours were a highlight of our time at the conference in addition to meeting like-minded professionals who are dedicated to the same mission of supporting their communities by advancing literacy and learning.
We were also very fortunate to have an Atlanta-area school librarian speaking at ALA and addressing one of our main focus areas: research instruction. Robbie Barber of Tucker High School gave two incredible presentations about her research curriculum and the tools she uses to help her students succeed. In one of her sessions, she explained how she uses historical hoaxes to educate students about misinformation and false news. Her other session presented a creative way to teach students Boolean logic by using candy. This engaging and tangible method made the concept clear and fun for students, helping them grasp how search terms can be broadened or narrowed to get more relevant results. We have already incorporated some of these ideas into lessons with our own students this year.
As educators, our role is to teach students how to navigate, evaluate and use information effectively for deeper learning. The ALA Annual Conference provided valuable insights and techniques for achieving this goal.
Professional growth and development are high priorities for Darlington. Each year, faculty and staff members participate in a professional growth cycle that includes professional learning communities, professional development days, and the ability to apply for professional development grants which fund conferences, travel, workshops, instructional supplies, outside speakers, and more. For the next few weeks, our blog series will highlight some of the opportunities that faculty and staff have participated in since they were awarded 2024-2025 Thatcher Grants last spring.
