IB librarian

Mar 05 2025

IB Assessor Questions for a MYP & DP Librarian

By Heeru Bhojwani IB Accreditation No Comments

The Librarian’s Role & the IB Accreditation Team

Librarians are often nervous about the accreditation team questioning how the school library supports the IB curriculum. The library is considered the centre of the teaching and learning of the IB curriculum.

A gentle reminder to the Librarian: it is a collaborative process with the school admin, coordinator and librarian, who work hard to meet the IB accreditation criteria. So, as librarians, you can reach out for support from your team; it is not your sole responsibility.

Here are some questions to consider and think about when preparing for the accreditation team.

As an IB Assessor, the following questions may be asked to librarians during an IB evaluation visit to assess alignment with IB Standards and Practices in an MYP or DP program:

1. Library Role and Support for Inquiry-Based Learning

How does the library support inquiry-based learning across the MYP and DP programs? (0202-01-0600)
Can you provide examples of how the library encourages independent research for students?
How do you collaborate with teachers to integrate Approaches to Learning (AtL) research skills in student projects? (0402-01-0100)

2. Collection Development and Access to Resources

How do you ensure that the library collection supports the IB curriculum, including core components like the Extended Essay (EE) and Theory of Knowledge (TOK)? (0202-01-0600)
How does the library provide multilingual resources to support students’ language development and the school’s language policy? (0301-04-0300)
What steps do you take to ensure digital access to research databases and e-books for students and teachers?

3. Academic Integrity and Research Skills

How do you teach students about academic integrity, citation, and avoiding plagiarism? (0402-04-0300, 0301-03-0400)
How does the library support students in developing research skills for the Extended Essay and Internal Assessments (IA)?
How is the school’s academic integrity policy communicated to students, and what role does the library play in it?

4. Collaboration with Teachers and Leadership

How do you collaborate with subject teachers to support research projects, inquiry-based learning, and the IB curriculum? (0203-01-0100)
How do you contribute to curriculum planning discussions and ensure library resources align with MYP and DP learning goals?
What support do you receive from school leadership regarding professional development and resource allocation? (0203-02-0100, 0201-05-0100)

5. Community and Parent Engagement

How does the library engage parents and the wider school community in fostering a culture of reading and research? (0202-05-0200, 0301-01-0200)
Can you provide examples of workshops, literacy events, or collaborations with parents and local organizations?
How does the library support students who speak multiple languages or require additional learning support?

6. Professional Development and Continuous Learning

What IB training and professional development have you participated in? (0203-02-0100)
How do you stay updated with best practices in school librarianship and IB-specific research methods?
How does leadership facilitate your ongoing professional learning and growth?

7. Digital Resources and School Library Website

- Does the school have a library website or digital platform where students and teachers can access research databases, citation guides, and book catalogs? (0202-01-0600)

How is the library’s cataloging system structured to ensure easy accessibility to books and digital resources for students and teachers?

Can you provide examples of how the library organisation supports inquiry-based learning and independent research?“ (Aligned with Practice 1.6, 0202-01-0600)

How does the library use technology to enhance student access to academic resources?
What initiatives have you introduced to promote digital literacy and responsible research practices?

8. Documentation and Evidence of Impact

Can you provide examples of library policies, research lesson plans, or collaboration records that demonstrate your role in student learning? (0301-06-0700)
How do you track and document student engagement with library resources and research skills development?
Can you show evidence of how the library supports interdisciplinary learning and IB’s global contexts?

~ IB Program: Standards & Practices

May 26 2018

IB Librarians – What makes them so special?

By Heeru Bhojwani General, IB Profiles, International School, Librarian's Role, Library curriculum, PYP Profiles 9 Comments

IB Librarians – What makes them so unique? People in India, often have an image of a librarian with glasses, stern and someone who hushes you to be quiet. But a librarian at an international school or IB librarians are dynamic and have a growth mindset to learn.

PYP Transdisciplinary Skills – Teacher Pay Teacher (free download)

IB Librarians learn how to connect the IB learner profiles, transdisciplinary skills and concepts to stories and the Units of Inquiry. They are often found using technology tools and various apps to help students share their learning. IB Librarians connect through read-aloud sessions keeping in mind – Reading with a Purpose, and five keys to storytelling, supporting Literacy. With computers in the hands of the children, it’s important to teach them DigitalCitizenship (Commonsense Media Guidelines) as a part of the library classes. Of course, all of the resources are guidelines to suit your patrons and learners.

VR Headset by Andri Koolme, Flickr, Under CC-BY 2.0)

Librarians in IB schools wear many hats: one of a curator of resources both print and digital information, they collaborate with teachers to build the collection, they co-teach with classroom teachers, maintain the library, work with the technology department and use technology tools to sharpen students understanding.

Creating with digital tools by Speed of Creativity – CC- BY-NC

They usually have the digital Library platform where they share library news, resources, and information with their learners. Now, librarians are bringing content to students by using Virtual Reality (VR) and Google Expeditions to the units.

Librarians who join international schools are often perplexed about teaching and often ask about a library curriculum. There is no stand-alone curriculum for librarians. However, I guess you will need to create one that combines the ATL or the Transdisciplinary Skills or the AASL or ISTE Standards to match the Units of Inquiry and find various ways and strategies to enrich literacy. These guidelines can give librarians accountability and direction. Many librarians are creating different planners. I was at a conference last November 2017 and the presenter – Doug Johnson recommended adopting ISTE standards. I looked at them carefully and found them to be relevant and robust, precise and attainable. Keeping the standards in mind, you can create engagements to match the Units of Inquiry.

Yes, that’s a lot of work, but I guess when a couple of librarians come together to collaborate and support each other, they can create a unique curriculum that works for their school. There is no “one size fits all” formula at International Schools. Each school is exclusive and therefore forming guidelines/engagements/ standards-based or skills-based structures to suit your learners is something for each librarian to ponder. Collaborating with your curriculum head or coordinator helps give direction. Feel free to email me for a good discussion.