Interview IV

 For my final interview, I took things straight to the proverbial top, selecting Mrs. Tanksley, our county’s Lead Media Specialist.  This selection, I realize, does technically skirt some of the guidelines of this assignment- this year, Mrs. Tanksley is placed at the Board of Education, and thus is not currently operating a school library- however, in every year previously, for nearly two decades, she has served as an exemplary Media Specialist, and has been appointed as the representative for all of us down at the BoE, advocating for our libraries and raising our concerns, while also helping to set and guide the policies that will shape our programming.  For these reasons, I felt there was no better choice to approach about the final standard I wished to discuss- Explore. 

As one might guess, Mrs. Tanksley was keenly familiar with AASL standards.  Not only did she employ them in her own Media Center, but she had worked in tandem with our Teaching and Learning department to secure copies of the Standards books for all the Media Specialists, as well as hosting PLs focused around upholding them.  She was quite emphatic in her belief that these standards should be the cornerstone of our practice. 

I began by asking her about the “growth mindset” emphasized in the various Competencies of this Standard- how did she help to encourage that in her librarians?  She responded by bringing up Richmond Ready, a specialized training course designed to prepare incoming educators for the expectations of our district.  She had, over the summer, created the Media Specialist course from scratch, and a large part of her work had been in emphasizing the need for constant self-improvement.  “I organize PLs and provide resources so you all can keep expanding your knowledge,” she said, nearly beaming.  “I try to ensure that, in all our sessions, you have time to collaborate and share what you know, because that helps us all learn.”  In fact, she noted, some of her most common feedback on the PLs was that we all wanted MORE time to collaborate. 

My next question regarded technology, and what her plans were for how our county could embrace burgeoning developments in the technological sphere, as well as whether she had her eye on any particular hardware or software.  She responded, immediately, by going into AI.  As we all know, Generative AI represents a new frontier for education.  It has the potential to revolutionize how we approach classwork, but there are *also* a huge number of ethical concerns about plagiarism and dishonesty that arise with its use.  Mrs. Tanksley remarked that AI is firmly in her crosshairs, and that she is working to help establish guidelines for Responsible AI Use in the classroom.  She went on to say that she feels AI has great potential, and should not be dismissed, but that part of her job is helping us to use it to its greatest good. 

My next question shifted our topic over to community- How could we get stakeholders and parents involved in Exploration?  She noted that every library, mine included, is required to have a Media Committee- a group drawn from students, faculty, administrators, parents, and community members.  This Committee, she noted, does not only have to be convened for policy changes or book challenges, but is intended to help serve as a liaison for the library, getting its ideas and agenda out into the larger community. 
As we wrapped up, she made a closing comment which I found quite important:  “Libraries are the heart of the school,” she said, “and using the standards is how we keep ourselves on track.”  Ending the call, I thought back over each of my interviews, and realized my perspective had shifted somewhat.  Originally, I had seen the AASL standards as a sort of hierarchy, with Inquiry being the basis, and all others being subordinate, predicated upon the first.  As I have expanded my learning, however, I now believe that they are, instead, a collection of equals:  Each feeds into the next, but none is higher than the other- ALL are necessary to ensure a healthy, responsive, and effective program of library administration.