Inside our Libraries: Building Life-long Learners at Every Grade Level
In today’s world, students have access to infinite resources for information gathering – books, websites, social media, and more. While it opens up greater avenues for exploration, it can also be difficult to differentiate between accurate and inaccurate information. So, how do we as educators equip them with the skills to research in this new technological age, while also keeping a love for learning alive? We sat down with three Georgetown ISD (GISD) librarians to find out.
Pictured: Students reading in the Tippit library
“As librarians, we have degrees in Information Science,” Tippit Middle School Librarian Emily Curtis said. “That really speaks to how we are able to help students gather and sort information – from elementary where there’s mostly books available, all the way to high school where database research really comes into play.”
In order to build information literacy in learners, Carver Elementary School Librarian Megan Copenhaver acknowledges that there has to be collaboration across grade levels – and that starts with her youngest learners.
“We’re laying the groundwork,” Copenhaver said. “We introduce students to basic digital citizenship and teach them how to ask the right questions.”
Pictured: Librarian Megan Copenhaver
By middle school, those early lessons evolve into more advanced skills, with librarians like Curtis providing tiered support for research projects and guiding students through the complex world of online sources.
“In high school, we concentrate really heavily on research and asking the hard questions,” East View High School Librarian Jan Macwatters said. We focus on not just recognizing data, but how do we cite what we found? How do we recognize if it’s relevant?.”
Macwatters notes how she is currently expanding on her new career book section in the library, and just recently added a section for artificial intelligence, better known as AI.
“We are very career-focused in our library, and I think it’s important that kids realize the effect AI will have on future employment,” Macwatters said. “Like, how will it change jobs? I actually highlight a couple of careers every month that have been influenced by AI.”
While librarians are constantly keeping up with the everchanging world of information, the heart of their work remains steady: providing students with a safe place to read, learn and imagine.
Copenhaver shares how her students learned about endangered species through a read-aloud of Mystery of the Monarchs, then planted milkweed in their school’s butterfly garden.
Pictured: Tippit Poetry Slam
“Activities like this make it real for them,” says Copenhaver. “It’s literacy and science, and it allows them to have a connection to the world around them.”
And at the middle school level, where Curtis recently held a poetry slam and encouraged students to share their original work on stage, equipped with a microphone and a full set. She noted how “powerful” it was to watch students break out of their shells.
“Sometimes, kids come in here because they just want a quiet place to work or find peace,” Macwatters said. “So many wonderful things happen in this space…It’s the biggest classroom in the school.”
From a student’s very first day of kindergarten, a librarian is there every step of the way to prepare them for what comes after their last day of high school.
“As my students head to middle school, I want them to leave excited to keep learning and unafraid to ask questions,” Copenhaver said.
Curtis added, “I hope we’ve given them the tools to think critically. I tell them, ‘I don’t know everything – but I can help guide you find out.’”
And as Macwatters puts it, “Whether they go to college or straight into a job after high school, I want them to understand that learning never stops. Life is not without question, and the library is always the place to look for the answers.”
