Future Ready Librarians

I had the wonderful privilege of working with graduate students in library science this summer and one of the topics that really caught our attention is Future Ready Librarians. 

This initiative is part of the Future Ready Schools work which at least 2200 superintendents from 17 states (representing 16.3 million learners) have pledged to support.  That list includes local Winnetka D36.  Basically, the focus is on digital technology and transformative learning.

What is truly exciting for librarians is to see the advocacy tools for our profession – especially the Fact Sheet which is available at this link.  There also is a short video and some additional resources available here. An impressive set of thought partners, including real world practitioners like Mark Ray, Carolyn Foote and Joyce Valenza, contributed to this overview.

Take a moment and glance at these graphics… what do you notice?  

What do you see? Personalized Student Learning at the center?  The many, many facets of a school librarian’s role?  The opportunities for leverage and impact?  The focus on how we actively promote (builds, designs, empowers, leads, facilitates, etc.) student learning?  

I encouraged my graduate students to be proactive and initiate conversations on Future Ready Librarians with their administrators, particularly because these materials helpfully highlight the many ways in which school librarians are positioned as leaders in the digital transformation of student learning.  

Now, take a few moments and reflect on your own practices.  What are your strengths? Where do you want to grow this year so as to be more future ready?

40 for the Next 40

This month, we celebrated the 40th anniversary of Alvin Toffler's Future Shock.

Here's a link to predictions from his organization: 40 for the Next 40. This is the one view of the future for which we are educating today's students.

Note particularly the reference to rapid access to experts (page 5) and the importance of networks linking "answer seekers" with "problem solvers". The report says knowledge will be an increasing source of capital (page 10) and specifically that "US will make international education a top priority, encouraging Americans to travel to other countries and see themselves as part of the global community"