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This article from Knowledge Quest highlights the importance of the Include Shared Foundation from AASL.

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BY JULIE STIVERS

The Shared Foundation Include is at the heart of an effective school library practice, not as a buzzword or feel-good mantra, but as the muscle that should power everything we do. Include is as immediate as welcoming the next learner walking into our school library space and as overarching as building library instruction which consistently and joyfully centers marginalized students and families.
It's 2023 and Things Feel Hard
Transparency and authenticity are perpetual goals for me, so let's be real. It's January 2023, and things feel hard as a school librarian. But, here's what I know-our jobs have never been more important. I'm surviving by holding tight to my pedagogy-that my primary role is to nurture my students' reading lives, their interests, and their true, full selves through a space which serves as an incubator of both joy and belonging.

In the midst of this difficult year, I've been returning to the #LibFive -a set of five key foundations for building inclusive libraries that I co-created with three amazing students, Cesar Falcon, Jose Gomez, and Jaida Morris. There is no-one more equipped to speak on the concept of inclusive libraries than our students, and their experience, perspective and wisdom was leveraged to create student-driven PD for librarians.
Five Key Foundations for Building Inclusive Libraries

See me! Listen to me.

Show me on the shelves and walls. Read those books yourself.

Graphic Novels and Manga are not Extra.

Show the joy in our stories.

Make the school library a sorting free zone.

These ideas might seem obvious or too simple, but I would implore those thinking along those lines to think again. They are powerful due to their simplicity and when done well, can result in empowering and inclusive school libraries. Thinking back to creating this set of foundations with Cesar, Jose, and Jaida reminds me of what is essential for us this year (and every year): representation, intellectual freedom, real history, and student voice and joy.
Inclusion and INCLUDE
The #LibFive was developed to center students in conversations on inclusion. Inclusion-and the Shared Foundation Include-is a critical base for our work as librarians and equity-focused educators. Making Include live in our school libraries helps us create spaces, collections, and instruction that are BIPOC-inclusive, Queer-affirming, disability-positive, and mental health-sensitive.

Being inclusive librarians means that we have to be willing to 'unlearn' and relearn. What do I mean by this? Well, we have to unlearn false narratives (that we may have been taught) and relearn ideologies that are rooted in our learners' humanity and accurate history. Truly including our learners requires us to always stress an asset-driven perspective (as opposed to a deficit way of thinking). Viewing our students and their families and communities with an asset-driven approach means recognizing all of the gifts and strengths that our students already possess. Diverse student identities are strengths and assets that can advance learning for all of us, not challenges to overcome. This is exponentially more important when we're educating in a current climate that is often averse to these truths.

It's crucial for us to understand that Include is not the self-affirming foundation-allowing us to pat ourselves on the back in a spirit of multiculturalism. While perhaps an access point, only stressing diversity is NOT enough to build an inclusive practice. We cannot talk about Include without identifying who has historically been-and continues to be- excluded from school spaces and library instructions, including our own. We have to look unflinchingly at our own spaces, collections, and programming.
The Include Guide
Editing a guide on Include for the Shared Foundations series was a gift, as I was able to collaborate with a group of fantastic librarians to illustrate how the Competencies and Alignments under Include can live in real school libraries. The guide is structured to be both inspiration and roadmap as that is what I always look for in PD! The programs, initiatives, activities, and lessons contained in the guide are not exercises in theory. They are real. They've been born in real school libraries with actual, working librarians and educators. The contributor list is, well, beautiful. Powerful!

Rachel Altobelli

Allie Jane Bruce

Anita Cellucci

Kathryn Co le

Cesar Falcon

Jose Gomez

Kimberly Hirsh

Sandra Hughes-Hassell

Cicely Lewis

Jaida Morris

Liz Porter

Casey H. Rawson

Debbie Reese

Juan Rivera

Ness Shortley

Jennifer Sturge

Julia E. Torres

Chiquita Toure

Using the Include guide is just one of myriad ways to learn and grow around the Include Shared Foundation. Ultimately, we are all partners in creating inclusive spaces for the students in our care. Here's to us surviving in 2023 (and always) by centering on inclusion, joy, and belonging. For me, it's the only way forward!

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BY JULIE STIVERS The Shared Foundation Include is at the heart of an effective school library practice, not as a buzzword or feel-good mantra, but as the muscle that should power everything we do. Include is as immediate as welcoming the next learner walking into our school library space and as overarching as building library instruction which consistently and joyfully centers marginalized students and families.

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This article from Library Journal focuses more on public libraries, but still offers insight into creating inclusive spaces and updating eBook access. There is a focus on the deaf and hard of hearing community.

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Libraries are incorporating collaboration, creativity, and a steadfast commitment to create accessible and inclusive spaces. Also, LJ looks at EBSCO’s academic ebook accessibility findings.

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Social Emotional Learning and Book Bans: How Libraries Create Safe Spaces

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Social Emotional Learning and Book Bans: How Libraries Create Safe Spaces

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This article from School Library Connection discusses creating an inclusive space with collection development and programing focusing on SEL.

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School Library Connection | Social Emotional Learning and Book Bans: How Libraries Create Safe Spaces

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The School Library Connection Archive is an open access learning resource center for school library professionals. It contains webinars, articles, and video courses to enhance your librarian practice.

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Empowering Students with an Inclusive Environment

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Empowering Students with an Inclusive Environment

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This article from School Library Connection highlights the importance in having student voice involved in collection development. It focuses on ensuring that the library's collection makes all students feel seen and that all students have ways to access the collection.

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Radical Change Agents and Equity Warriors

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Radical Change Agents and Equity Warriors

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This article from School Library Connection advocates for librarians to evaluate their library materials and programming to ensure they both meet the inclusive needs of everyone in the school.

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How INCLUSIVE and HUMAN-FIRST Circulation Policies & Practices Can Impact a Child's Relationship with Elementary Library Spaces

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How INCLUSIVE and HUMAN-FIRST Circulation Policies & Practices Can Impact a Child's Relationship with Elementary Library Spaces

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This article from Knowledge Quest is about how circulation policies can be used to create a more inclusive space in the library and support SEL for students.

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Serving LGBTQ+ Students & Families in School Libraries

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Serving LGBTQ+ Students & Families in School Libraries

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This article from School Librarian Connection focuses on creating an inclusive space for LGBTQ+ students, a specific group that needs support in the library.

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UNIVERSAL DESIGN FOR LEARNING AND SCHOOL LIBRARIES

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UNIVERSAL DESIGN FOR LEARNING AND SCHOOL LIBRARIES

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This article from Knowledge Quest makes the connection between using UDL in the library and creating an inclusive space for all students. This includes collaborative lessons and the kind of instruction taking place in the library.

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This article from American Libraries Magazine explains the idea of the #Lib5 to create inclusive spaces in libraries for teens.

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If we build our libraries on the assumption that youth matter, how then are we tangibly realizing this idea in our programs and services? Not only do our youth matter, but they also have valuable perspectives. We must meaningfully integrate who they are into our libraries and our work, consistently and joyously.

One way I've been fortunate enough to do this in my middle school library has been through an initiative called the #LibFive. With 8th graders Cesar Falcon, Jose Gomez, and Jaida Morris, the #LibFive has leveraged teen insights and experiences to create a student-driven professional development program for youth librarians-initially in our district and eventually across the US.

Our project was based on an initiative from the Chapel Hill-Carrboro (N.C.) City Schools Blue Ribbon Mentor-Advocate Program called the Student Six. The "six" refers to six culturally sustaining strategies for educators to better connect with students of color. The power of the Student Six made me want to explore this idea with teens, viewed through the lens of libraries.

The students at our alternative school have had experiences with multiple schools; they come to us and rewrite their school stories. Part of that rewriting happens in the library. I chose to work with three students who I saw often for an enrichment and remediation period.

To build a professional development framework, I guided Cesar, Jose, and Jaida through research. We looked at the powerful Mary Stone Hanley and George W. Noblit study "Cultural Responsiveness, Racial Identity, and Academic Success: A Review of Literature" (2009), which found that positive racial identity leads to academic success for youth of color. From there, we unpacked the state of representation in books today and discussed the themes of #OwnVoices, counterstories, and the necessity of building reflective collections.

The possibilities for teen input are infinite-from programming and lesson planning to policies and physical layout.

The students then did their own action-based research. They conducted library walks and considered the time they spent at libraries at their base schools. We brainstormed what makes a library feel welcoming and spoke to other students about their experiences. After months of work, we came up with the #LibFive-the five biggest ways that libraries can build an inclusive environment. They are:

See me. Listen to me.

Show me on the shelves and walls. Read those books yourself.

Graphic novels and manga are not extra.

Show the joy in our stories.

Make the library a sorting-free zone.

By sorting, we mean separating students by perceived ability, grades, compliance, or other factors. Our libraries should not sort students but treat all visitors as readers and scholars. To illustrate the harm of sorting, my students use book fairs as an example: Classes are broken into groups based on who has money to shop at the fair and who does not.

Using the #LibFive, we built a training session for librarians where Cesar, Jose, and Jaida share their perspectives and research. The list might seem obvious or simple, but I would implore people thinking along those lines to reflect and reconsider. The principles are powerful because of their simplicity. As Jose says at the end of our session, "These reasons help explain why we love our library so much. We want every library to also do these five things."

The #LibFive can be universally applied to any library that serves youth-from school to special to public. I've pulled the foundations into an infographic that can be printed and shared. I also invite you to think about an issue or opportunity in your library right now that you can explore with youth. The possibilities for teen input and design are infinite-from programming and lesson planning to policies and physical layout.

Authentically including teens in building an inclusive library not only improves service for all but shows them that they matter-through supported expression, the creation of empowered spaces, and the amplification of their amazing voices.

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Building Inclusive Libraries | American Libraries Magazine

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If we build our libraries on the assumption that youth matter, how then are we tangibly realizing this idea in our programs and services? Not only do our youth matter, but they also have valuable perspectives. We must meaningfully integrate who they are into our libraries and our work, consistently and joyously.

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Keeping Up With... Universal Design for Learning

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Keeping Up With... Universal Design for Learning

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This article from ALA introduces some starting ideas for librarians to incorporate UDL in their libraries to make the space more inclusive for all those who access it. The article breaks it down to different aspects of working in the library as well as varying degrees of intensity for incorporating things.

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Association of College & Research Libraries (ACRL)

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Keeping Up With... Universal Design for Learning

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This edition of Keeping Up With… was written by Robin Brown, Zach Welhouse, and Amy Wolfe. Robin Brown is the Head of Public Services at Borough of Manhattan Community College, CUNY, email: rbrown@bmcc.cuny.edu Zach Welhouse is the Online Learning Librarian at Oregon State University, email: zach.we…