Over time information literacy has gone from using reference resources to seeking information.  There are a variety of pathways to make our students lifelong learners.  As a library media specialist and classroom teachers we must acknowledge how our students learn the best by identifying their learning styles.  We have to identify what instructional strategies to use to teach our student most effectively.  Students must know how to inquiry information and how to understand the information by using methods of inquiry within the library media center.  By identifying and using the preceding we will meet the Standards for the 21^st-Century Learner.

            The students that come into the library media center learn as differently as they look.  What may work for one student may not work for the next student that walks through your door.  We all have multiple intelligences (learning styles), but at different levels.  We as library media specialist must work with the classroom teacher to know and understand how to best benefit each student.  A student who learns visually will not benefit from a writing assignment as they would a hands-on project.  Once we take advantage of knowing the student’s learning characteristics you will make learning more interesting which will then in turn promote them to want to learn on their own.

            The instructional strategies that we as library media specialist use to reach our students can be advantageous.  If you know that you have a student that will gain more knowledge by letting them keep a journal online from an independent study then you have given them optimal potential to learn.  Once they are able to take their own learning into their own hands learning becomes meaningful.  The instructional strategies determine the approach the library media specialist will use to achieve a learning objective.  The instructional strategy can be different for different students. 

            Students need to know how to get and make sense of information that will influence their lifelong learning abilities.  There are many different models of inquiry that a library media specialist or classroom teacher can use, but the most important thing to remember is that “students must gain not only the skills but also the disposition to use those skills along with an understanding of their own responsibilities and self-assessment strategies” (2007).  Inquiry is most thought of when teaching science, but it can be used across the curriculum.  We want our students to seek out information to make it useful and applicable knowledge. 

            The library media specialist serves more of a purpose then just making our students read for decoding and comprehension, but to interpret and develop new understandings (2007).  The library media specialist must recognize that each student has different pathways to reach their potential due to having different learning styles.  As library media specialist there are many different instructional strategies that can be used to help our students understand and apply the information needed.  We want to make our students lifelong learners and once we allow them to inquiry that information that will make their learning more meaningful we have become one step closer to making them lifelong learners.  All of these put together will aid in reaching the Standards of the 21^st Learner. 

American Association of School Librarians. (2007). Standards for the 21st-century learner [Pamphlet]. Chicago, IL.