This is Jennifer Gonzalez welcoming you to episode 226 of the cult of pedagogy podcast.

Today we're going to talk about all the incredible things school librarians can do to help teachers

and why despite that they are starting to disappear from our schools. Here's what I used to think a librarian did. One, organize and fiercely protect large collections of books.

Two, check those books out to visitors, and three, shush people.

As libraries started to house more technology, I added a fourth role, manage and protect the tech.

That was about it.

But over the last 10 years, whenever I set out to find information about teaching strategies, educational resources, technology

for schools, or pretty much anything related to improving learning for our students, someone

would inevitably pipe up and say,

librarians can also help with that.

And now that I've finally taken the time to learn more,

I realize I had no idea just how many things librarians can do for classroom teachers.

If your school is lucky enough to have a full-time certified librarian,

it's likely they are not being utilized to their full capacity.

In fact, your school may be one of a growing number of schools that are eliminating librarians

altogether, and that is a mistake.

In this episode, my goal is to explore all the ways a certified school

librarian can make teachers work easier, more efficient, and more effective, and to make a strong case for why every school needs

one.

I've invited four accomplished librarians to help me.

The first three are Casey Boyd, Karina Kilantan Garza, and Lauren Mobley, all current

librarians who have been nationally recognized for their public work to advance the cause of

...