The Solo Librarian

Volume 40, No. 2
November/December 2011
The November/December 2011 Knowledge Quest features articles on “The Solo Librarian.” As education funding is being cut throughout the country, many school librarians are being asked to do “more with less.” Guest edited by Audrey Church and Frances Reeve, this issue features the stories of librarians from rural, suburban, urban, and different regions of the country, and address what resources might be available to assist the solo librarian in tough economic times.

AASL Members can find the current issue on AASL's Metapress site. (Learn how to set up your access.)

Table of Contents

 *click on the image to view

Guest Co-Editors

Audrey Church is an Associate Professor of School Library Media at Longwood University in Farmville, Virginia. She is the author of Leverage Your Library Program to Help Raise Test Scores (Linworth, 2003), “The Instructional Role of Library Media Specialists as Perceived by Elementary School Principals” (SLMR, 2008), and “Secondary School Principals’ Perceptions of the School Librarian’s Instructional Role” (SLMR, 2010). She currently serves as the Educators of School Librarians Section representative to the AASL Board of Directors.

Frances Reeve is an associate professor of school library media at Longwood University in Farmville, Virginia. She is coauthor of “Prove it! Using Data to Advocate for School Library Media Programs” in Educational Media and Technology Yearbook, 2009. She most recently served AASL as a member of the Standards and Guidelines Implementation Task Force and is president-elect of her state organization, the Virginia Educational Media Association.

Read Audrey and Frances's Co-editor column from the issue! 

Read a blog post by Frances Reeve about how the issue was created!

Listen to a Podcast interview with Audrey on the challenges facing solo librarians!

  To listen to the podcast, you will be taken to AASL eCOLLAB, AASL's professional development repository. You must be logged in to the AASL website as either an AASL member or eCOLLAB subscriber to listen to the podcast.

The Solo Librarian with Audrey Church

Knowledge Quest Webinar on The Solo Librarian

Audrey Church, Guest Co-Editor of the Nov/Dec 2011 Knowledge Quest issue on “The Solo Librarian,” discusses the challenges and opportunities available to school librarians when operating a library, or multiple libraries, on their own.

To view the archived webinar, you will be taken to AASL eCOLLAB, AASL's professional development repository. You must be logged in to the AASL website as either an AASL member or eCOLLAB subscriber to view the webinar.

The Solo Librarian by Audrey Church

 30 Second Thought Leadership

View video podcasts from school library leaders giving advice on which traditional activity school librarians should stop doing in order to increase time for strategic activities.

School Library Media Research (SLMR) Spotlight

If you liked the November/December 2011 Knowledge Quest articles on the solo librarian, you may be interested in these research studies published in School Library Media Research (SLMR):

A Case Study of a Rural Iowa School Preparing to Meet New State Guidelines for School Libraries

Values-Oriented Factors Leading to Retention of School Librarian Positions: A School District Case Study

Visit the SLMR website to view other research articles by volume and author.

Visit the SLMR Spotlight page for additional articles related to Knowledge Quest Themes.

Additional Resources for The Solo Librarian

AASL Resource List
Co-Guest Editor Frances Reeve compiled this handy table of AASL resources for school librarians.

State Associations List
Claire Bashore Bremner and Katy Stein, graduate assistants in the Longwood University School Library Media Program, compliled a list of state associations for school librarians.

Essential Links
Essential Links is a wiki that comprises a working bibliography of resources for school librarians, principals, parents, charter school organizers, library para-professionals, government officials, and college instructors. Books, journal articles, websites, and other media are included. Here are some Essential Links related to The Solo Librarian that you may find useful at your school library.

Visit the KQ Additional Resources page for additional resources related to Knowledge Quest Themes.