Happy National School Library month! The Librarian Influencer of the Week is teacher-librarian Brandi Veal. She works in a high school in California. Click here to listen now!
Here are some librarian influencer tips Brandi shared:
Learn from the students and staff around you to learn about the school environment
Businesses focus on the bottom line of improving value and that’s something we can do also. Our bottom line is student outcomes.
Revamp your school and library websites. Check for ADA compliance. Evaluate your resources to see if they are truly accessible to everyone. This is not a one and done, it is an ongoing effort.
The best way to assert influence is to step away from your soapbox and “show” the importance of your library.
Match your work to the goals and needs of the school.
Be solutions oriented and have a plan worked out to share with your administrator before you ever approach them about something you want to do.
Brandi wants all librarians to think about Windows, Mirrors, Sliding Glass Doors, and Prisms.
Brandi thinks putting students first means making people feel seen.
Brandi walks us through an internal audit she conducted on herself to recognize how her personal privileges, implicit biases, and stereotype opinions influence her professional work.
Evaluate your circle of influence. Is there diversity in your circle of influence? This includes both personal and professional circles.
She works from home on collection development and management, including a diversity audit of her library site
Work with teachers to influence the diversity of their classroom reading sets. Offer them supplementary items to add diversity to the adopted curriculum in their classrooms.
You can connect with Brandi Veal at:
Twitter: https://twitter.com/veal_brandi
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/brandiveal/?hl=en
Internal Audit Resources: https://sites.google.com/view/leadership-for-diversity-csla/about-us
***Join our library squad! Scroll to the bottom of the page and subscribe to our mailing list. Stay up to date on latest blog posts, podcast interviews, and other related topics.***