PLAI Congress 2021: School Librarians Responding to Changes During the Pandemic

Last July 2021, I sent a proposal to the PLAI NBOT in response to their call for papers in the upcoming PLAI Congress. See the proposal below:

Title: School Librarians Responding to Changes During the Pandemic

Name of Presenter: Zarah C. Gagatiga 

PRC License Number: **** 

Validity: August 15, ****

Institution / Company: The Beacon Academy / PASLI

Regional Council: PLAI STRLC

Contact Details: zarah.gagatiga@gmail.com / http://lovealibrarian.blogspot.com / 09209672884

Abstract

In a survey conducted among private school librarians, four relatively new roles emerged from the shift to online and the digital rendering of library services and programs. These are: 1) teacher of media and information literacy skills; 2) content creator; 3) research facilitator and 4) technology consultant. This paper further explores these four roles by identifying services and programs that were common to private school libraries before the country went on quarantine in March 2020. It is followed by a discussion of school librarians’ attitude towards changes brought by the pandemic and how they responded. It further argues the relevance of collaborative partnership between the teacher and the school librarian and the invaluable support of school leadership for library development especially in times of crises.

Keywords: School Librarian Roles, School Libraries, Pandemic 2020, Teacher and Librarian Collaboration 

Last week, I got the acceptance letter from PLAI.