Collaborate with teachers

Be sure to read the articles "Do Your Collaboration Homework," "America's Most Wanted: Teacher Librarians Who Collaborate," and "Invest Time in Collaboration, Communication Efforts" for a set of action steps you can take to become an expert collaborator. (Citations below.)

By compiling a collection of print and online resources in advance via collaboration with the teacher, librarians can help students find the information they need quickly and save valuable class time.

Studies have shown that school librarians with flexible scheduling are more successful at collaborating with teachers. See the article entitled "Help Students and Teachers become Information Literate." (Citation below.)

What Works

You need to have enough time (at least 30 minutes) to sit down, lay out the materials, talk about the project, and really figure out the goals and outcomes of the collaboration. Otherwise the results can be discouraging for both the teacher and the librarian, which can dampen enthusiasm for future efforts.

— Elizabeth Hamming, Lynden High School

Persistence is a critical component of a successful library-teacher collaboration. You must constantly remind teachers what you can do for them. Each teacher is different; you must change your approach in a thousand different ways. If you can discover what they need and deliver a quality service, eventually teachers will see you as their secret weapon and search you out.

— Eve Datisman, Port Angeles High School

Advance planning is critical. When teachers sign up to use the library, I talk to them about their assignments in advance and ask them to provide me with a copy of the finalized assignment one day before they come to the library. When the students come, I give them a ten-minute introduction to the DLC Library resources customized to their specific assignment. The critical piece is getting the lesson plan in advance. Teachers are very thankful, because students waste less time and spend more time researching useful information.

— Eileen Ray, Toppenish High School

I get out of the library and into the classrooms to talk with the teachers one-on-one. I find specific ways in which I can help them. I try to become a real resource rather than just waiting for them to show up.

— Paul Christensen, North Kitsap High School

Ideally, you will have time to work through the goals of the collaboration, gather resources, etc.; however, being flexible is important as well. Sometimes you need to meet the teachers where they are at on a particular project. If they ask for my help at the last minute, particularly if it is a teacher I've never worked with before, I try to accommodate their needs the best I can.

— Debbie Arthur, West Seattle High School

I attend the English and social study departmental meetings once a month to discover exactly what they are doing and how it matches the curriculum. I can then put together library resources that fit exactly to what they are doing in the classroom.

— Janet Woodward, Garfield High School

Articles & Resources

"Do Your Collaboration Homework"
Gail Bush. Teacher Librarian. Seattle: Oct 2003.Vol.31, Iss. 1; pg. 15 (Proquest)

"Does Collaboration Boost Student Learning?"
Bonnie Lange, Nancy Magee, Steven Montgomery. School Library Journal. New York: Jun 2003.Vol.49, Iss. 6; pg. S4 (Proquest)

"Building a Collaborative Culture"
Sharon Coatney. Teacher Librarian. Seattle: Apr 2005.Vol.32, Iss. 4; pg. 59, 2 pgs (Proquest)

"Using Communication to Solve Roadblocks to Collaboration"
Toni Buzzeo. Teacher Librarian. Seattle: Jun 2004.Vol.31, Iss. 5; pg. 28, 1 pgs (Proquest)

"America's Most Wanted: Teacher Librarians Who Collaborate"
Carol Brown. Teacher Librarian. Seattle: Oct 2004.Vol.32, Iss. 1; pg. 13, 6 pgs (Proquest)

"Help Students and Teachers become Information Literate"
Jan Hylen. Teacher Librarian. Seattle: Jun 2005.Vol.32, Iss. 5; pg. 22, 3 pgs (Proquest)

"Invest Time in Collaboration, Communication Efforts"
Ann Riedling. Teacher Librarian. Seattle: Oct 2003.Vol.31, Iss. 1; pg. 43 (Proquest)