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ERIC Number: ED612470
Record Type: Non-Journal
Publication Date: 2021-Apr
Pages: 15
Abstractor: ERIC
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: N/A
EISSN: N/A
Lessons from the Illinois Media Mentor Project
Guernsey, Lisa
New America
In 2020, New America embarked on a year-long initiative with librarians in children's and youth services across three library systems in Illinois. The aim was to build staff members' skills and confidence in media mentorship--the act of mentoring and providing tailored guidance to students and families in selecting, analyzing, and using media to support learning. Librarians are often well-positioned to do this kind of mentoring. Media mentorship is, after all, aligned with what many staff members are taught in schools of library and information science. But they need their own support and training on new techniques and programming innovations to keep up with the ever-changing media landscape. This is particularly true if they never received training on how to be responsive to and effective in helping families and youth in underserved communities who have not historically had positive experiences with American educational systems or who have home languages other than English. Librarians need opportunities to think through and explore, with their peers and other experts, how best to respond to the strengths and diverse media needs of the people they serve. The Illinois Media Mentor Project project was designed to offer those opportunities. This project provided two different professional development options for librarians working at the Chicago Public Library, the Schaumburg Township District Library, and the Skokie Public Library. The final forum included those librarians, as well as other educators, researchers, and leaders of school and library organizations around the country. Giving librarians and other educators space and time to talk about and hone these new skills can lead to greater confidence in their roles as media mentors. They can then forge stronger connections with the youth, families, and educators in their communities and can serve as trusted advisors for seeking out and managing media, using new tools, and identifying quality sources and materials.
New America. 740 15th Street NW Suite 900, Washington, DC 20005. Tel: 202-986-2700; Fax: 202-986-3696; Web site: https://www.newamerica.org
Publication Type: Reports - Research
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: Robert R. McCormick Foundation
Authoring Institution: New America
Identifiers - Location: Illinois
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A