Abstract
Drawing on significant reform education voices, the authors propose that credentialed school librarians add to their various library or learning commons services an innovation laboratory. Like a true laboratory, this includes physical and virtual space tests of major ideas, learning strategies and initiatives by administrators, teachers, and students as a major collaborative effort of the credentialed librarian. Such real world experiments happen in the spirit of a try before you buy strategy where some ideas will succeed, fail, or need modification before going viral in the school. It also places the library at the center of teaching and learning in the school. Since this enlarged role will be unique to every school based on demographics, learning gaps, and financial support, the authors present a wide repertoire of supporting guidance for beginning an initiative that is both visible, transparent, and documented. Whether our initiative renames the place an ILLC, a learning hub, or just retains the library, the authors recommend that you be a part of the Learning Hub journal and become a “Leaper” who is leaping into the future of this initiative.
Recommended Citation
Loertscher, David Vickers and Kompar, Fran
(2026)
"Flip This Library Again! A Metaphorphosis: Evolving the School Library into an Innovation Lab & Library Learning Commons (ILLC),"
Learning Hub: Vol. 1:
Iss.
2, Article 6.
Available at:
https://scholarworks.sjsu.edu/learning-hub/vol1/iss2/6
