Examining our Library Learning Commons Through the Lens of Equity
The commitment the Abbotsford School District has towards building equitable and inclusive schools has led our teams of LLC teachers and library technicians to develop a shared inquiry around equity in our library learning commons spaces.
Our conversations and research have centered on the following inquiry questions:
- Are our LLCs welcoming, inclusive, safe spaces where students and staff can access and engage with a variety of resources in a meaningful way?
- Do our LLCs and our collections reflect our common values of equity, diversity, and cultural identity in respectful and positive ways?
- How do you know? If not, then what is needed?
We have had rich discussion around the Canadian School Libraries Diversification Toolkit, various organizational structures, inquiry-based lesson resources tied to core competencies, and critical literacy strategies and pathways. We want to ensure all our collections are of the highest quality, represent people authentically, and remain current and responsive to the evolving needs of the learning communities we serve.
We continue to engage in conversation and professional learning with Jennifer Ofeimu- District Equity Helping Teacher, Allison Gardner-Teacher for Indigenous Success (Supporting Indigenous Pedagogy), Michelle Middleton- Helping Teacher- Curriculum, Instruction, and Assessment, and Kaylie Rooke- District Curriculum Helping Teacher – Instruction & Assessment to build our collective understanding of equitable and inclusive schools, with a specific focus on our library learning commons.
This Spring we will pilot a reorganization of non-fiction resources in two of our schools. ATMS/ATSS and Dr Thomas Swift will genre their non-fiction collections using a combination of Reedy and Metis subject headings, while maintaining the Dewey system for organization of texts in the Destiny database. We will also conduct an intensive weeding and reorganization of our secondary school collections to ensure our resources and displays are of the highest quality and represent people authentically. Our collective goal is to create welcoming, inclusive, safe spaces in all our LLCs where our common values of equity, diversity, and cultural identity are reflected in respectful and positive ways.