Your lesson, should you choose to accept it, is to create busy, multi-modal, and democratic libraries where students see themselves represented and feel welcome. The special agent assigned to help you with this task is Rebeca Rubio, coordinator for libraries and information services in the Richmond School District.

In this interview we discuss: the changing role of the school librarian; how to thoughtfully purchase and integrate technology; why libraries are, at their core, democratic spaces; why ‘weeding’ a collection is a good thing; how to integrate Indigenous content in authentic ways; and why the future of libraries are ‘learning commons’.

Follow Rebeca on Twitter @rebecarubi0

For further information about libraries:

• Watch an inspiring video about the exciting things Rebeca and SD38 are doing in their libraries

• Check out an example of a book list, like the one Rebeca Rubio built her SOGI book bundle from

• This Library takes an Indigenous approach to categorizing books

• Mentioned in the censorship bonus episode was the Educational Resource Acquisition Consortium (ERAC) that provides guidance to teachers as a new, incorporated not-for profit society: Focused Education Resources, and can be found at https://bcerac.ca

• I personally recommend this article when considering beloved books that, as the author tactfully puts it, “haven’t aged well”

• Don’t forget to mark your calendars in 2020 for Canadian Freedom to Read Week (www.freedomtoread.ca) from February 23 – 29 or the American Banned Books Week (https://bannedbooksweek.org) September 27 - October 3.