Librarians and Library Media Specialists play an important role in the outcome of a child’s potential graduation and employment. Like any other educator, should be sharing that information with families to make the biggest impact possible.

Nuts and Bolts of Family Engagement

Family Engagement is when families and schools work together to support and improve learning.

Research has shown that when schools and families communicate with each other, students benefit.

Family engagement leads to:

• high grades and test scores
• regular attendance
• prosocial skills
• improved behavior
• school adaptation

When students see their families engaged in what’s happening in school, they see the value of school.

One of the key things to remember is that parents want their children to do well and succeed. When they know what their child is learning in school their interest is more informed and better equipped to make connections at home.

Why School Libraries Should Engage Families

Research has shown that qualified Librarians and Library Media Specialists have quite an impact on the school community.

Filling the school library with a qualified professional makes an impact on the type of teaching and learning that occurs in the school. Librarians are typically at the forefront of learning trends.

If you want to know more about personalized learning, go see your school’s Media Specialist. Chances are they already know about it, have been using it, and can help you get started.

One critical component of a student’s success if if the school has a trained Librarian within the school library.

School librarians provide students with a safe space to seek assistance. When students feel safe in a school, they are more likely to take risks in their learning.

Feeling safe also makes it easier for students to attend to learning tasks. They can focus more on the inquiry process. Something Librarians are uniquely qualified to engage students in.

The inquiry process leads students to being critical thinkers. And critical thinkers achieve better on tests and are more likely to graduate.

One impact school librarians and media specialists have on the community is helping staff and students differentiate between online content. They provide the school community with the skills they need to determine if the digital content in front of them is real.

As more content is created everyday, and the rate of information being thrown at us on our multiple devices, this is a critical skill for everyone to be digitally safe and successful.

Look at all of those ripple effects one person has on a student, school, and the community!

4 Ways to Engage Families

There are so many ways to connect with and engage families. Technology has provided us a plethora of opportunities.

1. Learning Management Systems: Share learning experiences in Seesaw, Google Classroom, or Class Dojo. Learning Management Systems are a simple way to highlight what children are learning and experiencing during Library Media. And it gives families a visual of what’s happening.
2. Social Media: Whether you love or hate social media, the truth is this: that’s where people hang out. So, if you want to connect with families, it’s a good place to do so. Create a page for your Library Media Center & start posting! I recommend Instagram because you can easily post to Facebook and Twitter from there as well. I’ve got some pretty great social media assets that are ready to go if you’re interested!

3. Short Videos: YouTube (technically not social media) and TikTok (technically social media) are a great option for sharing brief informative videos. Create an account for your library and start creating! The beauty of TikTok is that you’re forced to keep it brief. Whereas with YouTube the length is up to you. Even if you prefer to create longer videos on YouTube, be sure to still keep them under 3 or so minutes. Those social media assets I mentioned above? Also have them in video format!

4. Newsletters: Newsletters are a great way to keep families up to date. You can print them out and have students bring them home. Or you can make them digital and upload them to your Learning Management System or parent communication tool. I’m willing to be you don’t have time to put a newsletter together. If not, be sure to check out these No Prep Newsletters!

What Librarians Communicate With Families

There are so many things we can communicate with families about! That’s the beauty of being a Librarian or Library Media Specialist.

I try to communicate with families about every new unit we are doing. I do this typically about 1/2 way through the unit or towards the end of it. You can see an example in these Coding Newsletters.

But there are times when I want to make an impact with the entire school community. Those are times that I create schoolwide newsletters like these.

And of course there’s always the ‘Hey there’s a bookfair happening soon!’

Newsletter Tips

When creating newsletters, in any media format, keep a few style things in mind.

• Keep them short. The less information on a page, the easier it is to digest.The shorter the video, the more likely families will watch it all the way through.
• Make them informative. Give families little bites of information. Something that they may not have previously known. And something that is connected to your specific role.

• Include an action step. A lot of families like to know what to do with the information that was shared with them. Provide a suggestion or two for them. This makes it easier for them to engage with what’s happening in your library.
• Provide a tool. Okay, so this is completely optional. But it is something I like to do! I suggest an app or material that will help families achieve that actionable goal.

Newsletters don’t have to be cute, so do not stress out about that! To be honest, this can distract from your intended message.

Just keep the quick, digestible, and manageable!