Mastering Middle Grade Information Literacy

About the Program

Category: Libraries (Best in Category)

Year: 2022

With in-person programming and outreach suspended due to the COVID-19 pandemic, partnerships between branches of the Miami-Dade Public Library System (MDPLS) and local schools developed new ways to connect in a virtual space. Between July and December 2021, the Opa-locka Branch Library and Beacon College Prep, a K-8 charter school, partnered in the development and support of a 3-month humanities project assigned to all students in grades 6-8. Middle grade students were tasked with creating a focus question, which they would then research and be inspired by, to produce a creative final piece. Involved in the initial planning stages of this project, the Manager of the Opa-locka Branch helped Beacon College Prep’s Lead Humanities Teacher craft an assignment prompt and a project timeline. Through the course of this project, the Opa-locka Branch supported teachers and students by creating a series of recorded presentations that introduced concepts of information literacy and historical research. With this focus, the Opa-locka Branch coordinated with MDPLS’s Special Collections and Digital Collections to ensure student access to the library’s digital resources. Asynchronous presentations were coupled with synchronous virtual meetings to establish a connection between students, teachers, and the librarian.