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Jennifer Domshke has been a teacher for 26 years. She started her teaching career as a middle school science teacher for School District U-46 in Elgin, IL. Jennifer's pathway to school librarianship is centered around her love for reading. During our interview, Jennifer told me how she introduced a novel to her 7th-grade science class in 2008 called The Lobotomist. The story encapsulates a dark period in American medical history where lobotomy became a cure-all surgical procedure to cleanse mental illness. Long story short, after grossing her students out with the details of a lobotomy, she realized she enjoyed teaching her students about what literature had to offer and that she was passionate about what her students were interested in; and that's when she knew she had to become a school librarian.

Jennifer attended the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign for her graduate studies and received her MLIS degree in 2012. Another deciding factor that Jennifer highlighted for leaving the classroom was that her time during the school day was spent supervising, and her time at home was spent grading. This work style was not conducive to a healthy family life that was important to Jennifer. Becoming a school librarian has empowered Jennifer to live a more balanced life and pursue her career, personal passions, and healthy family life.

This is not to say that Jennifer doesn't teach! When asked where and how she spends most of her day, her immediate response was teaching. For her, the difference is constantly teaching and supporting the curriculum as a school librarian vs. supervising during the day and grading at night as a teacher.

Some of Jennifer's favorite things are science fiction novels, cosplay, pumpkin spice lattes, orange and black cats, and students who like to read! She has a loving and supportive husband at home who is also an educator with 4 kids, all of which attended SD U-46.

Jennifer is the current school librarian for Kenyon Woods Middle School in South Elgin, Illinois.

(J. Domshke, personal communication, November 07, 2022)

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Build new knowledge by inquiring, thinking critically, identifying problems, and developing strategies for solving problems (AASL, 2018).

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Domshke supports the AASL National School Library Standards through her library media program at Kenyon Woods MS. The first shared foundation for the AASL Standards Framework is Inquire. Domshke works on a hybrid school library schedule. To explain, Domshke has a list of English language arts classes she sees bi-weekly. The rest of her schedule is considered a "flexible" schedule, giving her more power over her schedule and the ability to collaborate with classroom teachers. Domshke explained that this is a critical factor in her ability to promote inquiry-based learning within her library program and through the lessons she designs with teachers. The ability to address students' informational requests at the point of need is conducive to implementing the AASL shared foundation of Inquire. Domshke prefers to be available for her students and peers to continue supporting inquiry-based learning within her building, and her schedule supports this value.

(J. Domshke, personal communication, November 07, 2022)

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Demonstrate an understanding of and commitment to inclusiveness and respect for diversity in the learning community (AASL, 2018).

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The library media program at Kenyon Woods supports the Include pillar of the AASL's Standards Framework through collection development efforts. Domshke explained that weeding is an ongoing process within her library and that no resource can be re-evaluated. The collection at Kenyon Woods MS has an average age of 2005, and Domshke makes it a personal goal to ensure that all lifestyles, heritages, and people are represented within her library, as well as purchasing behaviors. Domshke offered, "No student should feel like they are not represented or that their story has no truth. As a school librarian, I aim to ensure that every story is told and that every story can be found. Especially by those that are looking for them." This philosophy of relevant and culturally prevalent/correct resources contributes to the library media's program success with the shared foundation of inclusion.

(J. Domshke, personal communication, November 07, 2022)

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Work effectively with others to broaden perspectives and work toward common goals (AASL, 2018).

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The third shared foundation for the AASL's Standards Framework is Collaborate. As stated earlier, Domshke's hybrid schedule effectively lets her collaborate with others within her building; however, she takes it one step further and collaborates with individuals at the administrative and district level. Domshke offers, "Administration and district level stakeholders are just as important to collaborate with as classroom teachers. They are the individuals who can make lasting change happen very quickly. You don't collaborate with a classroom teacher if you need money for your program. You collaborate with the big guys with the wallets!"  That said, Domshke reports her relationship with the building administration at Kenyon Woods as supportive and influential. Her relationship with building administration led building officials to advocate for her to be full-time within her building, whereas other MS librarians for SD U-46 are part-time. The collaborative culture at Kenyon Woods MS has granted its library media program the ability to work towards building/district-wide common educational goals.

(J. Domshke, personal communication, November 07, 2022)

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Make meaning for oneself and others by collecting, organizing, and sharing resources of personal relevance (AASL, 2018).

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Curation is a specialty of Domshke's and is prevalent within her library program as it supports the AASL's Standards Framework. School librarians are often seekers and sharers of information that will supplement and help their spaces and collections. Domshke's library is not genrefied, and her primary collection follows a traditional Dewey Decimal Classification System. Interestingly, Domshke does keep a genrefied wall of books that all of her new arrivals get stationed first. "Then you get the best of both worlds! You can find a book by genre for the serendipitous shopper, or you can drive in on traditional library skills like Dewey Decimal Work.", explained Domshke. This curation methodology is effective as it mimics aspects of the surrounding public libraries that currently use a Dewey Decimal Classification system and the industry trend of genrefication.

This effectively creates meaning for her library users through her organization of library space and resources. Curation is more important now than ever when considering the number of library resources available today and the diminishing societal attention span of modern society.

(J. Domshke, personal communication, November 07, 2022)

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Discover and innovate in a growth mindset developed through experience and reflection (AASL, 2018).

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Kenyon Woods MS library is home to a newly installed makerspace that was carefully and thoughtfully designed and constructed by Domshke and a collaborating STEM teacher within her building.  Domshke mentioned that makerspace culture benefits several types of learners who do not learn or think in typical patterns. This was Domshke's inspiration to implement a makerspace within her building. Domshke constructed a mobile makerspace cart that can be circulated by classroom teachers. This innovative method has created a tool that can be used in and out of the library. Also, makerspace activities are experiential in nature and create memorable experiences that create a growth-mindset culture. Additionally, the library is open for students to come and go as they please because of its hybrid schedule. This is also a contributing factor to promoting and sustaining a healthy growth mindset.

(J. Domshke, personal communication, November 07, 2022)

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Demo safe, legal, & ethical creating & sharing knowledge products independently while engaging in a community of practice & an interconnected world(AASL, 2018).

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As the sole information professional in her school building, Domshke is often the individual her school building turns to support the safe, legal, and ethical creation/sharing of information and resources. Domshke stated, "Lead by example. Staff and students will take note of your seriousness. Information can do a lot of harm if not handled correctly and ethically. Media literacy, copyright, plagiarism... These are all your areas as the school librarian. If you don't have it right. No one will."

That said, Domshke drives these concepts through well-planned lessons that are collaboratively instructed with classroom teachers. She is hitting her standards by helping classroom teachers hit theirs.

(J. Domshke, personal communication, November 07, 2022)

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Kenyon Woods MS is the only middle school within SD U-46 that employs a full-time certified librarian. The other middle schools in SD U-46 have certified librarians; however, the librarians are part-time between two middle schools. The school library media program at Kenyon Woods benefits from having a fully dedicated information professional in the building.

The Association for Library Service to Children (ALSC), a division of the American Library Association (ALA), has produced a set of seven core competencies that are recommended to library staff and professionals who advocate and administer library services for children ages 0-14 (Association for Library Service to Children [ALSC], 2020). The first core competency, commitment to the client group, describes the current teacher-librarian as understanding education practices related to information literacy (IL); moreover, literacy development, new knowledge, and tools fall into the responsibilities of the library professional (ALSC, 2020). A full-time teacher-librarian is a quintessential piece to a robust library media program, and this is a crucial strength for the Kenyon Woods MS Library.

Furthermore, the Kenyon Woods MS library schedule follows a hybrid format which is also an advantage and strength of the program. The ability to meet the informational needs of staff and students is the quintessential purpose of the library and its collection. Inhibiting library schedules prevents inquiry-based learning by limiting access to resources and support. The library program at Kenyon Woods can function at its highest capacity because of a flexibly scheduled librarian and consistent collection/space management from dedicated support staff (paraprofessionals).

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The Kenyon Woods Middle School library does not house any Spanish literature materials. This is an extreme oversight from the perspective of equity and access. According to the Illinois Report Card, 15% of the students at Kenyon Woods MS are English Language Learners (ELL). That said, the lack of reading materials in Spanish will negatively affect up to 132 students and any goals of biliteracy. Additionally, SD U-46 is a dual language district, and the fact that Kenyon Woods MS does not have a dual language program creates dissonance between the school district's goals and culture.

Additionally, the Kenyon Woods Library has not adopted a research/inforamtion literacy (IL) model. Domshke stated that she typically instructs research through collaboration with the social studies teachers. According to Reference Sources and Services for Youth by Megan Harper, "the adoption of an IL model enables educators and librarians to address information gathering across content disciplines," and "many IL models have been developed that serve as a guide to instructing and engaging students in research as a process of seeking and evaluating information" (Harper, 2011). Adopting a research/IL model into the school curriculum includes the standards described in the AASL Standards for Learners that offer the frameworks of Inquire, Include, Collaborate, Curate, Explore, and Engage (AASL, 2018; Harper, 2011). The value of a research/IL model lies in its flexibility, adaptability, and interdisciplinary reach that can promote critical thinking across multiple disciplines, therefore rendering real-world implications that suggest the development of information-literate citizens. Kenyon Woods MS would benefit from a structured, routine research/IL model.

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* Enrollment- 880
* Low-income- 30%
* English Learners- 15%
* Average Class size- 24
* No ELL program

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Kenyon Woods Middle School Library Window Display

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13,600 books

2005 avg age

15.9 items per student

64% Fiction | 36% Nonfiction

99% Print | 1% Digital

No Spanish literature

1 fulltime paraprofessional

(J. Domshke, personal communication, November 07, 2022)

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Association for Library Service to Children (ALSC), 2020. “Competencies for Librarians Serving Children in Libraries.” Competencies for Librarians Serving Children in Libraries | Association for Library Service to Children (ALSC) (ala.org)

American Association for School Librarians (AASL), 2018. “AASL Standards Framework for Learners.” https://standards.aasl.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/AASL-Standards-Framework-for-Learners-pamphlet.pdf

Harper, M. (2011). Reference Sources and Services for Youth. Neal-Schuman Publishers.

Illinois Report Card. (2022). Retrieved November 16, 2022, from https://www.illinoisreportcard.com/school.aspx?schoolid=310450460221009&source=teachers&source2=teacherdemographics