AASL Standards for the 21st Century

The American Association of School Librarians, a division of the American Library Association, works to enhance the learning of students and leadership of school librarians. By developing methods, a code of ethics, procedures and strategies for libraries in schools and expectations for students and librarians, the AASL has created a community of librarians working toward common goals.

One goal of the AASL is to provide a structure and vision for school-library learning. As a result, the AASL has published standards for the 21st century learner as a way to express the rights, needs, and goals of learners in the school library media center.

Common Beliefs

The AASL states some common beliefs about teachers, libraries, students, and methods as an introduction to the 21st century standards. The common beliefs express the importance of literacy and reading in schools, the need for inquiry-based learning, the importance of teaching ethics in library usage, the need for providing widespread access to libraries and technologies, the importance of technology in research and libraries, the need for students to learn in a social context, the demand for a flexible definition of information literacy and a need for flexible learners who can adapt to new technologies and have the skills to research independently.

The common beliefs are designed to stress the importance of the library in the school, the need for funding in education and the demand for ongoing professional development for school library media specialists,

Inquiry and Learning Standards

The AASL states that school libraries should provide opportunities and the means for students to access, acquire and learn new information. Additionally, students should learn methods for inquiry and research-based learning.

Applied Knowledge Standards

The AASL's standards for applied knowledge include a vision for helping students connect with what they've learned, apply information and create new understandings from information. School librarians should help students develop the beliefs and attitudes that demonstrate successful learning.

Responsiblity Standards

The AASL also states that school-media specialists need to stress the importance of students gaining a sense of responsibility both inside and outside of the school library. In other words, students should be guided through using information ethically and responsibly and should also share information in a social context. Because information is necessary to solve problems in a society, students need to learn to share information and connect with it in order to provide new understandings of the world in which we live.

Self-Assessment Standards

The final set of standards relate to self-assessment. These standards state that students who will be successful in the 21st century will also need their metacognitive skills further developed. Students should be able to understand and evaluate how and why they learn. They also need to pursue personal growth and reflect on their own learning, knowledge and inquiry.

References

• AASL Standards for 21st Century Learners