Pratt Institute, School of Information
written by tgiannini on Tue, 02/16/2016 – 16:26
Public libraries are rethinking their physical and digital spaces as well as their programs and events in order to become active, responsive community centers for teaching and learning. Most recently, public libraries have become deeply engaged in delivering public instruction around digital, critical and information literacies and more. This means public libraries require a workforce that has been trained differently than we have seen in the past. As a school of information, we are well positioned to address this shift by creating new programs for future librarians and information workers.
At Pratt we have a school library program, led by Dr. Jessica Hochman, that placed in the context of public libraries could have broad impact. While school librarians are versed in pedagogy and teaching methods, public librarians are lacking in the education and training required to be effective library teachers. Because of this lack of expertise, some libraries hire public school teachers to meet the new learning needs of K-12 students. A new program, perhaps an advanced certificate in teaching and learning within the MSLIS, would be one great way to address this.
Pratt School of Information would welcome a METRO Fellow that worked with the school as well as partner institutions to design curricula, courses, and programs that address this shift in librarianship.