Secondary School Library Services

I completed a 160-hour Practicum in School Libraries at Vandegrift High School and Four Points Middle School. Through this experience, I gained practical knowledge and skills in the five roles of a school librarian: instructional partner, information specialist, literacy programmer, collection developer, and program administrator. As an instructional partner and information specialist, I collaborated with middle school teachers to teach 7th and 8th graders how to refine search results and identify credible sources. As a literacy programmer, I assisted with a middle school book tasting and a Valentine's-themed Blind Date with a Book display. In the role of collection developer, I collaborated with a U.S. History professor from Austin Community College to identify ways the library could support a book report project for dual-enrolled high school students. After performing a collection analysis of our narrative nonfiction collection, I developed a list of suggested titles to purchase to better meet the needs of these students. I assisted with weeding the collections at both schools as well. As a program administrator, I worked at the circulation desk, performed original and copy cataloging, processed interlibrary loans, took inventory, processed new books, reshelved materials, and updated spine labels. As a result of these experiences, I am prepared to deliver high quality, developmentally appropriate library services in a secondary school setting, and I am excited to apply these skills in my future career.