Interview Three, Carol Smith

"Inquire: Build new knowledge by inquiring, thinking critically, identifying problems, and developing strategies for solving problems."(AASL, 2018, p. 67)

I spoke with Carol Smith, long-time librarian at North Charleston Creative Arts Elementary, located in North Charleston, South Carolina. Ms. Smith feels that the INQUIRE AASL Shared Foundation forms the basis for all course collaboration she does with her teachers. While she connects with students to help them choose books, prepares activities that tie in with books with her library classes, it is when she works with teachers on their standards that she is able to foster the inquiry process with students.

Ms. Smith finds it challenging to collaborate with teachers, as her schedule is fixed and there is little shared time to plan; however, she often shares ideas with teachers when they bring their classes to the library, and she looks to connect to their standards. Ms. Smith loves working with elementary students to guide them to come up with the questions they need to ask (as opposed to giving them the questions to research with.

As an art-infused school, Ms. Smith considers inquiry and the creative process when leading students to a product; students at her school enjoy artistic expression, and there are so many different ways for them to share what they have learned in their research.
Ultimately, Ms. Smith feels, the students come to her as curious learners, and it is part of her role as future-ready librarian to cultivate that curiosity and guide the students to becoming curious adult learners.
American Association of School Librarians.(2018). AASL standards framework for learners. Chicago: ALA.