Librarians as Leaders of Open Educational Practice

The Association of College & Research Libraries
Publication Author: 
Lisa Petrides, Ph.D., Cynthia Jimes, Ph.D., and Amee Godwin
Resource Type: 
Journal Publications

Chapter 17 from the book Applying Library Values to Emerging Technology

Librarians in K-12 education are well-positioned to take on key leadership roles to address informational and instructional resource needs in their schools and communities. School librarians play many roles, but a primary duty in the twentyfirst-century learning environment has been to build, maintain, and share a digital resource base for teaching and learning. As digital curators, K-12 librarians research, locate, and organize digital materials to support teaching and learning goals and foment student interest. They also ensure accessibility and effective use of those resources through local cataloging and classification strategies, as well as through collaborating and sharing with teachers and learners around those resources. When librarians successfully model and guide digital curation, they save teachers instructional time, open up possibilities for new pedagogical approaches, and help to build more independent, engaged learners.1 Yet despite the value of their expertise, K-12 librarians are typically not included in the strategic planning and professional development discussions necessary to meet their districts’ curriculum and instructional needs.