How Public Libraries Can Help Teachers

I’m always looking for ways to create stronger partnerships with our school district and teachers. And it can be really difficult because teachers are so busy! But, I also know that we are a valuable resource that can assist teachers with classroom projects, reading, and extension activities.

Some teachers can be great about reaching out to the public library. They’re already heavy library users and know a lot about what we offer. Others reach out directly by stopping by or emailing us to see if we can help with a specific project or assignment. These relationships are great because we can assist much more easily because when we know what the teacher is expecting from their students and we can work with them to provide students with what they need. But sometimes, we hear from parents about a project they don’t know a lot about and expect us to know what’s going on! (And we wish we did!)

Example #1

Just this past weekend, I had a dad come into the library asking for “Level D” books. An email from his child’s teacher said that his child was reading at a “Level D” and that he should stop by the public library and we could help him find suitable books.

First off, I’m super excited the teacher told this family to use the public library! But, as a public library, we don’t organize our materials by levels like this. And I was unfamiliar with the curriculum, so it took me a little bit of time to do some research. I needed to understand how these levels worked in order to show this dad the best books for his child. The dad seemed frustrated that I couldn’t just walk him over to the “Level D” section. And he didn’t seem to understand that I’m not familiar with this system and that it took me a while to find what he needed.

In this instance, I’d love to work with the school district to better understand what type of curriculum they’re using. And to work together to find the resources that can help us help the families in our community. A few years ago, the schools were working with the Accelerated Reading program and that’s a similar situation that requires more research on our end to help families find the right level of reading for their kids.

Example #2

At the beginning of this week, I had another family come in looking for a nonfiction book that had to be at least 50 pages for a reading assignment. It could be anything in nonfiction and this child wanted something specifically on salamanders.

Again, I’m loving the fact that this family was using the library! But, I don’t think many teachers realize that in children’s publishing, books are often published with 32 pages or 48 pages and after that tend to be around 80-100 pages or so and much more broad in scope. When it comes to nonfiction books about a specific topic, you don’t often find those longer texts. And I know why teachers set a page limit, they want their students to be reading at a specific level, maybe even challenge themselves.

But, in this instance, I’d much prefer to hand a 48-page book to a kid about something they really want to read than have to focus on a specific page length. This family will likely be back next month when they switch up the genre and they need another title. And I get it. I think it’s important for kids to try lots of different types of books.

How Public Libraries Can Help Teachers

I can’t imagine being a teacher in today’s world – between the pandemic and people constantly second-guessing your ability to teach. It can’t be easy. In fact, here are some titles that feature brilliant teachers. And your public librarians are here to help as much as we can!

Don’t hesitate to reach out to us about upcoming assignments. Give us the information you’re giving the students so we can better assist them in finding what they need. Parents hear information second-hand which means by the time we hear it, it’s like a game of telephone!

If you’ve got a reluctant reader, I’d much prefer to find something they’re excited to read! They’ll be much happier, get a lot more out of the actual reading part, and it won’t be so much of a struggle to get them to complete the assignment. I know this isn’t always possible, but if you could slide some more “fun” reading into the curriculum, I think the kids would love it! Maybe there isn’t time during the time school is in session, but encourage “fun” reading over a holiday break. We’d love to help kids find something exciting to read!

If you can be a little lenient about page length for some assignments, it would make for happier kids! Those 2 pages between a 48-page nonfiction title about a subject a child loves and a book that’s the right length but “boring” doesn’t matter too much, I think.

We’ve also got some amazing online resources that can be valuable tools for working on research projects! Let us know what’s upcoming, I know we’d be happy to create a little “cheat sheet” to navigate a resource. We’ve even dappled into creating mini how-to videos about different resources to help patrons navigate them.

Kudos to Teachers

As I said, I can’t begin to imagine how teachers are fairing right now, but as public librarians, we’re invested in our community too and we want to help in any way we can! And don’t forget your school librarians either (they’re a wonderful resource to tap into!).

Teachers, I’d love to hear from you – what can public libraries offer to make your job a little easier?