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The most valuable thing I learned in this course is just what goes into an effective school library program. I’ve realized through my studies and my field experience that there are a lot of moving parts. It’s more than just books and library instruction. I have to think of budgeting, the physical space, volunteers, and other topics we discussed in this course. It’s a lot; almost overwhelming just thinking about it!

I used to think that library instruction would require me to know a lot more about the complicated parts of technology, such as coding. I’ve tried it before and couldn’t quite get the hang of it. I was worried I would be teaching students how to do things I don’t know how to do. After observing library instruction, I’ve seen that students are given programs that teach them to code.

I believe that this course prepared me for a future in school librarianship by providing insight in what major components make up a school library. I feel especially prepared for board presentations and needs proposals, which will be very important in the future!

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Guess who's back, back again? (Pay no attention to the brief 5 week period where I abandoned ship and considered leaving the profession entirely. I'm back on the ship but have a life jacket on.) I wish I could say that there was some heartwarming student moment that lead me to actually finish (and I did find a post-it note with a kid's name on it that he had "saved" for himself after school.) The reality is that my boyfriend and an old colleague convinced me to finish. Ironically I felt like I could only complete my remaining work after I had taken time off to attend a video game expo in Boston. The time away from the chaos of the school gave me the peace and clarity to think.

The most valuable thing I learned in this course was to stand in my own footing as a leader. It's been the fine-tuning of trusting my gut, observations, and training against things I am told or inequities I face. It's been the little voice in my head that is not accepting my admin's suggestions as scripture when I know they aren't grounded in best library practices. The environmental scan really helped me articulate discrepancies and put together a wholistic overview of what the school looked like beyond what a DoE report could give me.

While I do have a job in my current position for next year, I'm not sure if that's what's best for my professional or personal aspirations. I'm not in a position to be unemployed, but I am fortunate enough to have support to explore other options. Right now I would be lying if I said I didn't feel burnt out. The political climate and my current work situation are physically and mentally exhausting me. But, as my Little Words Bracelet reminds me, I think on the words of Andrea Gibson's poem "Shine":

"Gandhi said
You must be the change
That you wish to see in the world
So you’ve been curled up and sad?
Good
Depression is the first blessing
It means you’ve been in tune
But now the moon is waiting
For you to burn bright
And there has never
Been a time
When your light
Was needed more
Never a time like this before"

Now's the time to burn bright, colleagues.

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Shine
I was once told the story of a shaman
who woke every single morning of his life
crying for all the world’s sorrow
And yet every day
he would rise and shine bright,
He would walk the path
from…

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The Librarian (1566) by Giuseppe Arcimboldo

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This course really gave me a chance to think about libraries in practice. Many of the other courses were focused on theory, but combined with the field experience 575 encourages deeper thinking about how a library moves and fuctions. Some students complete the MI program already in schools and/or libraries, so they have insight that I felt I lacked. The course helped prepare me for being in the library on my own and leading as a member of a living learning community.

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I'm honestly a little nervous to reflect. As my final semester at Rutgers, it was a lot (truly the past year has been). I was late to starting my field experience, had to move across state, took my brother to the ER four times, helped my mom through homelessness, took three courses plus two 0 credit courses so I could graduate, worked a part-time job that was an hour and a half commute--and that was just these past four months. I wish it wasn't this way, but I am proud of myself for getting through it and finding time for learning and joy in what I do.

Going to my field experience became a kind of escape for me. When I entered the school it was like that's all I had to worry about in that moment. My mentor made me feel welcomed, the teachers were open, and the students never failed to make me laugh. I used to think working in a school wasn't for me; I was never the good student: I didn't study or take SATs or do sports or excel. Even when picking this concentration I wasn't sure if I was making the right choice. But now? I've seen how students react when I tell them I struggled in school too. I see how it gives their viewpoint even a small shift. When I tell them I read graphic novels, still do, and that's reading just as much as picking up a novel is, it's like a shock. It reminds me that I'm sure younger me would have appreciate an adult saying those things.

Even now, my mentor told me her story, and it felt like okay, I do belong. I can do this. She shifted my view to help me see that this feeling will never end. Wanting to be seen and understood will continue. We can bring that. It might be through our story or a book we get the student or staff to pick up, but we will continue to make ripples.

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In my final semester at Rutgers, taking three courses at once, working a full-time job, a part-time job, serving as a union official, and still attempting to be a caretaker and co-homemaker has taught me patience and humility, but has also been incredibly empowering, having now gotten through the thick of it and seeing a light at the end of a very long tunnel. I've been a returning student for 11 years, and honestly never would have been a someone in high school pegged for future academic success. I feel extremely proud for what I've now achieved, and believe you all should as well. Having bet on ourselves in such big ways, and being just in the early days of this success beginning to bloom, feels rich in possibility.

Through my field experience at Gateway, I had the opportunity to apply all of the theory we've been learning in real time, finally getting immersed in a school setting for my first time since graduating myself. I gained a much deeper understanding of the five roles of school librarians, and how they each play out across instruction, program development, and daily operations.

Some of the most meaningful learning came through the projects I developed: co-teaching lessons, developing my own on AI, curating digital resources for career/college readiness, and helping revitalize the school makerspace with hands-on crafts and student-centered activities like collaborative paint-by-numbers displays.

Above all, I learned to value progress over perfection, and that relationship-building and responsiveness are at the heart of strong library programs. This experience has truly helped me grow as both a librarian and as a more confident educator and community advocate.

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I used to think I could do it alone; I could run an effective program without promoting it. I thought my colleagues would understand the library's role in the community. I did not realize how much responsibility I had in creating its meaning to the school. This course has prepared me to advocate for the library and establish my role within our school community. I have learned how to create a vision for the school library based on my community's needs and practical steps to achieve it.

In week 8, we identified our compass points and discussed our strengths and weaknesses. This was a valuable exercise to address my weaknesses while staying true to myself. "Don't let perfect be the enemy of good - get started quickly and learn as you go."  While this quote from DRAFTSLM rev Chapter 8 Spaces Final, referred to starting a makerspace, it stuck with me. I often hesitate to take risks or make changes because I want to ensure everything will be perfect before I take action. As you might have guessed, this has also stopped a lot of ideas from leaving the planning stages. This course has helped me take risks and voice some new ideas to my coworkers and admin, which has helped me make connections and led to more collaboration this year.

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This course helped me see that being a teacher librarian is about so much more than managing books; it’s about leading with purpose, advocating for students, and building a library that truly reflects and serves the school community. I used to think the librarian’s role was mostly behind the scenes, but now I believe it should be active, visible, and a driving force for positive change. The most valuable part of my learning was doing the needs assessment and strategic plan; it gave me the confidence to back up my ideas with evidence and to speak up when budget or resource decisions are being made. I feel ready to not only run a library, but to champion it. I’m grateful for how this course has strengthened both my skills and my mindset, and I’m excited to carry this foundation forward as I grow into my role as a teacher librarian.

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Over the course of this semester, I've grown tremendously in how I understand the role of a school librarian - not just as someone who manages books and resources, but as an instructional leader, collaborator, and advocate for equitable access to information and learning experiences.

One of the most valuable things I learned was how to intentionally design search strategies and information literacy instruction that support student inquiry and teacher collaboration. Developing tools like LibGuides, needs assessments, and outreach plans has given me practical, real-world skills that I'm already applying in my current library setting.

I used to think that library leadership was more about managing the space and resources - but now I think it's deeply rooted in relationship-building, curriculum integration, and empowering students and teachers alike. This course helped me reframe what "good" school library practice looks like. Most of all, this course gave me confidence to see myself as a change-maker in my school community. Thank you everyone for a great semester! -Haley Mulroy

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I used to think that once I got a job as a school librarian, that would kind of be the end of the road, but now I understand how much evaluation and relearning and revising of my practice I am going to be doing every year. I am always going to be striving to grow myself and my library program. This course (and this whole program, really, since I am graduating next week!) has prepared me for that process of evaluation and I know where I can find the resources I need to make my practice better.

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I used to think running a library was similar to being a classroom teacher, but maybe not as involved. Now I know it’s more like Martha Hickson described in this quote: “Being a school librarian is like teaching full time while running a small business.” As I progressed through my Rutgers journey, I learned that there is so much more involved in running a school library than I had realized. Along those lines, I’ve learned the importance of advocacy; if I don’t share all the ways that I manage a strong library program, I’m taking a risk that it will go unnoticed. Something that has helped me feel prepared is the needs assessment and action plan. That was a valuable assignment that I can actually use in my future library job. I learned to make my planning human-centered and empathy driven. An important takeaway for me is the idea of extreme hospitality and making decisions that are best for my users rather than just what I want. Lastly, I am inspired by this quote from Woolls, Valenza & Dawkins, The School Library Manager, Chapter 14: “Continually reflect on your practice. Especially now, be playful with your current situation and with the future. Always think about how you can best inspire learning. Weigh risk against rewards and consider your decisions in terms of your core values. Be guided by your heart. Whenever you make decisions, make them in the best interest of the young people you serve, teach and inspire.”

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Something I learned this semester was the value and necessity of a needs assessment/strategic plan. At the beginning of this semester, I was kind of put off by creating a strategic plan, because (I think I trash talked them in a discussion post) my public library is doing one, and they hired an outside firm to conduct it for a lot of money, and no one has seen any progress so far. Strategic planning seemed like a waste of time and resources - if I know what needs to be done, wouldn't I just do it instead of talking about doing it? Completing one in this class, alongside the environmental scan and the needs assessment, showed me the value of sitting down and really getting a feel for the library, school, and community at large, and considering the best ways to change things, before acting - this ensures that you are trying the best possible option, instead of a temporary fix. Also, sometimes things can't be fixed, and need more of a long term solution (because try as we might, we can't get everything done in one week, month, or year!).

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I used to think that school librarians just kind of ran the library, but now I know they do a lot more than that! I never realized the different roles librarians play within a school setting and how much it varies across districts. Some school librarians teach daily or have a designated class, others teach on a collaborative basis, and some hardly teach at all. The roles that we as librarians play in a school setting can vary so much, but the principles of librarianism are mostly the same across the board. I am a firm believer in everything happens for a reason and I feel like I was put in this position for a specific purpose. Maybe it was to challenge myself, from what was becoming a very mundane library assistant position in a public library, or to keep me thinking and on my toes, or maybe the answer is yet to be seen. What I do know is that through my courses at Rutgers, meeting librarians across my district, and even across the country we all are passionate about the field and I feel proud to be part of a great community of awesome librarians! Keep in touch everyone!

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This is more an end of program reflection, rather than the end of 575 reflection, but I used to think that a school librarian's job was just a step away from what I was already doing as an ELA teacher. Now I know that the roles are completely different and what I can offer my students and my colleagues goes beyond anything I ever expected. I do want to add a little advice/ encouragement to my young classmates- it's never too late. If you want to change the course of your life or career, do it. Go for it. Not to get all mystical, but put what you want out there to the universe, do the work that will support what you want, and things will come to you. I wish you all the best and please stay in touch!