Interview with a Middle School Librarian on Inquire

    I sat down and asked Marijane Brandon about her experiences promoting inquiry in her library. Ms. Brandon is a middle school librarian who previously worked in the public library sector for seven years before transitioning to the school library environment. Her passion lies in working with middle schoolers, and she is currently in her 13th year as a middle school librarian. Her library remains open throughout the day, allowing her to maintain a flexible schedule to collaborate with other teachers. The middle school she works in is a Title 1 school and receives federal funds due to students below the poverty line and academic needs. The school consists of grades 6th-8th and has around students around 740 students. When Ms. Brandon and I talked, we discussed how she manages to keep the inquiry process going in her library, how she has found new ways to assist students to gain further knowledge, and how she can collaborate with teachers to keep students learning more.

    My questions included: How do you encourage inquiry with the middle school population in your library? What is something you are most proud of regarding generating new knowledge for students? What is something you are most proud of regarding generating new knowledge for students? How do you encourage students to create through inquiry? What strategies have you established to ensure an inquiry-based process for learners? Through these questions, I sought to learn more about how Ms. Brandon uses the inquiry process in her middle school library.

    We started off talking about how she makes the students feel comfortable asking questions. She explained to me that one of the ways that she and her assistant do that is that they have a question of the week that engages students in conversation. We then discussed how she tries to get into the classroom as often as she can. She said that she has previously collaborated with teachers at her school on research projects with their students. However, our district has removed SC Discuss as an accessible resource for students and teachers. As a result, she created a resource sheet with specific links that she distributed to all the students. Recently, she reports that a student told her that they liked and appreciated the resource sheet. When we discussed how she keeps her students on task, she said that she circulates throughout the classroom  or library. Another way we discussed was that she places students in pre-determined groups to ensure they work alongside others who help them stay focus on their task. She stated that in the past, when she collaborated with another teacher they work as a tag team. They both circulate the room and ask questions.  Ms. Brandon states that she asks questions that stimulate their thinking about the topic, encouraging them to ask further questions. 

Reflection

    After speaking with Ms. Brandon, I stepped away from the interview with several realizations. The first being, I realized that she and I are similar in how we circulate the room. I, too, try to make myself available to students throughout the day. The second was over how she collaborates with other teachers. I was hopeful hearing her discuss how she and the other teacher work together during a lesson to help students stay on task and keep the inquiry process going. As a first-year school librarian at a new school, it has been a struggle with trying to collaborate with other teachers. It is slowly getting better, but with time, I am sure it will become second nature. 

    I had a few takeaways that I would like to implement in my library. One is the question of the week. I think that it is a brilliant way to get conversations going. It would be a great way to point students to further inquiry and to point them in the correct direction to find the answer themselves. Another takeaway was her resource list she has shared with students. The recent removal of Discuss has thrown several things out of whack with teachers and librarians. Having a go-to written or digital resource would be a good idea to have in case there are times when a specific database is unavailable. 

    Through our conversation, I gleaned several good ideas from Ms. Brandon. As we work in the same district, I look forward to chatting and working with her again.