SLIS Librarian Interview # Leslie Cooper INCLUDE

Leslie Cooper is the teacher librarian at Stono Park Elementary.  She operates the library on a fully fixed schedule with no clerk.  She says fixed schedules are not the worst thing, but back-to-back special areas are challenging. 

She states that it is more difficult to practice the foundation of Include when she sees a class once a week.  She is working on a collaboration with the Art teacher that is focused around Chinese art and folktales so her students can deepen their understanding of and make connections to Chinese art and literature.   Being on a fixed schedule means she has to find ways to practice "Include" in a meaningful way with her students.  She will make animal sections in Mackinvia and share them with students on a Google classroom page to ensure that students will have equitable access to the materials.  As she is bringing more robotics into the library to share with students, she talked with the computer teacher and collaborated on Ozobots and a timeline project that required students to collaborate and communicate effectively.

To give her students opportunities to learn about others’ differing experiences and opinions,  Leslie says it is imperative to read the books that are on your shelves so you can purchase more diverse books that your students will like to read.  If you are honest and you know your books, you are all set.  She states that it is powerful to buy a book and give it to the right student who needs it.  To continue to grow the collection with books featuring diverse perspectives, Leslie states it is also important to serve on book award committees to learn how to recommend books to students.  Her favorite readers are the underground readers. She keeps high school style books for the underground readers who may enjoy them. She says her top priority is getting students to love to read. She states that everything she does is driven by the need to create readers. She joked that even if you are reader-driven, when the reading test scores go up, the library won't get any credit.