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School and public library collaboration can be beneficial for libraries in rural areas. Collaborating allows libraries to share resources, promote services, and build stronger connections (Moreland and Kammer 2020). The problem is that while school and public libraries collaborate, they may not always have deep or sustained collaboration (Smith 2014). To learn more, we conducted a study to understand how school and public librarians in rural areas described their collaborative experiences, and what similarities and differences they used when describing them. We hoped to provide insight into new ways schools and libraries could collaborate better.
Background
School and public librarians are active collaborators within their communities. Historically, librarians understand they serve the same populations because children and teachers attend the school and public library (Fenwick 1960). School and public library collaboration is often affected by organizational culture as both need institutional support to collaborate outside of the library building (Sarjeant-Jenkins and Walker 2014). Many school librarians report great satisfaction when collaborating with public librarians (and vice versa) as collaborating develops new relationships and improves the librarians' professional learning networks (Pandora and Hayman 2013). Unfortunately, both school and public library administrations are often unaware of the value collaboration can provide learners and librarians (Collen 2013).
To find out about librarians' collaborations in rural areas, we conducted twenty interviews with school and public librarians. The librarians were all from a rural area in the Midwest. We asked librarians to reflect on their collaborative experiences. We used a method of research called phenomenology that allowed us to look at these interviews from the perspective of the librarian's lived experience. Using a technique called bracketing, we were able to identify the essence of each librarian's statements to understand how they think and feel about collaborating between libraries.
What We Learned
We were able to sort what we learned into four...