I-SAIL: Illinois Standards Aligned Instruction for Libraries

After our first class meeting, I found myself fascinated with a topic that, I am almost embarrassed to admit, was new to me. As a former classroom teacher and a GSLIS student at the end of the program, I am no stranger to learning standards. I was not aware, however, of the incredible I-SAIL document that has recently been completed. To find AASL standards and Illinois state standards all aligned in one tool is such a boon to all Media Specialists.

The purpose of this document, according to I-SAIL, is "to empower, educate, and encourage school library media specialists to utilize this tool to teach Information Literacy Skills to their students; therefore preparing the students for college and an information fluent society" (p. 4). How far we've come in this field when there finally exists a document that truly defines what we do!

As I looked more closely at I-SAIL, I found the four I-SAIL standards intriguing. Not coincidentally, all four center on information. The first three standards use the verbs "access," "evaluate," and "use" as they relate to information. The last one appears to be more rooted in traditional library values as it begins with "appreciates literature;" but upon closer reading, the standard further states that a student "appreciates literature and other creative expressions of information and pursues information related to personal intersts and aesthetic growth" (I-SAIL, p. 5). The message we are clearly being sent is that everything we do centers wholly on information. I-SAIL does a fine job of really boiling that down.

The implications of this document are great for me. I finally feel I have something tangible and user-friendly that I can present to both my building administrators and my classroom teachers. For the two years that our elementary school has been open where I have served as Media Specialist, I feel that the staff has never really had a grasp of what exactly I do or should be doing nor how they can utilize my services to best serve their students. With the help of I-SAIL, I can now confidently approach my staff and begin to truly collaborate to meet the learning needs of every student in my school.