From Eye Rolls to Engagement

Behavior Management for Middle & High School Libraries

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Course Details

Registration deadline August 7
3 Self-Paced Course Modules
12 Credit Hours
Recommended for grades 6-12 school librarians.
$282 | Save with early bird and group rates.

Dealing with behavioral issues in middle and high school is overwhelming at best. This course gives you a library-specific way to handle behavior so you can protect the space, keep things moving, and stop feeling like you are managing chaos with no backup.

  • Clearer ways to set expectations that actually land with older students
  • More practical strategies for handling mixed-use spaces, drop-ins, and classroom visits
  • A stronger plan for responding when things go sideways without escalating them

 

IS MANAGING STUDENT BEHAVIOR GETTING IN THE WAY OF EVERYTHING ELSE?

  • You’re balancing open-access periods, whole-class visits, and drop-ins, often all at once.
  • You don’t have the same authority structure classroom teachers have, and students know it.
  • You want a space students actually want to use, but not one where anything goes.

You’ll come away with a practical behavior management framework so you can build a space students actually want to use, on terms that work for everyone.

Enroll in SUMMER SESSION

Early bird rate is $232 through July 7, 2026. Standard rate is $282 through August 7, 2026.

Need flexibility? Once materials are released, you can start any time during your 6-month access period and move through the course at your own pace.

 

Invoice or PO options: Orders of $600 or greater can choose invoice at checkout. For orders under $600, please do not check out online. Submit this form, and we will process your order manually.

Need approval? Email this course to your supervisor.

TRAINING A TEAM?

If multiple staff are supporting student behavior in middle or high school library spaces, this course helps your team align on expectations and responses so students get a more consistent experience.

Multi-seat discounts are automatically calculated in the cart.

Buying for a larger group? Explore all purchasing options

Return to Full Course Catalog

AFTER COMPLETING THIS COURSE, YOU'LL BE ABLE TO:

  • Set and communicate clear expectations in ways that resonate with adolescents and fit the unique authority structure of the secondary library.
  • Apply a proactive, library-specific behavior management framework built for mixed-use, open-access spaces.
  • De-escalate tension without damaging the relationships that keep your library functional and welcoming.
  • Manage the competing demands of simultaneous open-access periods, whole-class visits, and drop-ins without losing control of the environment.
  • Navigate harder situations, including chronic disruption, students using your library to avoid somewhere else, and moments when multiple crises land at once.
  • Build a secondary library environment where expectations are clear, students feel welcome, and you have a plan for when things go sideways.

You will leave with a practical framework designed for the realities of the middle and high school library, not adapted from approaches that were never built for your context.

If you're someone who:

  • is working with students who don’t necessarily want to be there and aren’t shy about showing it
  • is managing a mix of open-access time, classes, and drop-ins, all happening at once
  • feels like expectations are unclear or inconsistently enforced, and students take advantage of that
  • is navigating eye rolls, pushback, or low-level disruption that chips away at your time and energy
  • wants to keep your library welcoming without letting it turn into a space where anything goes

This course was built for you.

 

This course is especially relevant for:

  • middle and high school librarians working in grades 6 through 12
  • library staff managing open-access or mixed-use library spaces
  • librarians balancing instruction, supervision, and student support at the same time
  • anyone working with adolescents in a space that functions as both a classroom and a social environment

If you’re trying to run a space that feels both welcoming and functional, and not constantly negotiate every expectation, you’ll find this useful.

 

Behavior management in the middle and high school library comes with its own set of pressures. You're serving adolescents who are testing boundaries, asserting independence, and not always thrilled about authority—in a space that functions simultaneously as a classroom, a study hall, a refuge, and a social hub. This course was built for that reality.

In this course, you'll develop a proactive behavior management approach grounded in the secondary library context. You'll learn how to set and communicate expectations in ways that resonate with older students, de-escalate tension without damaging the relationships that keep your library functional, and manage the competing demands of mixed-use, open-access spaces.

You'll also tackle the harder situations—the chronic disruptor, the student using your library to avoid somewhere else, and the moments when you're mediating conflict, supporting a distressed student, and managing a full room at the same time. This course won't promise a drama-free library. It will give you the tools and confidence to run one that works.

 

SESSIONS AND PRICING

Early bird pricing ends one month before the session deadline. Course materials unlock on the session deadline date.

Rate + deadline Summer Session
Early bird deadline July 7, 2026
Early bird price $232
Standard deadline August 7, 2026
Standard price $282
Materials unlock August 7, 2026

 

GROUP OPTIONS

Training a team? Choose the setup that matches how you want to plan and pay:

Group course enrollment: Enroll 3+ staff in this course and save.

Bulk course credits: Prepay once, get the highest per-seat discount on every course, and assign seats later.

Unlimited annual licensing: System-wide access for a year with no per-course approvals.

Request Discounted Group Pricing

Questions? Email groupsales@libraryjournal.com.

COURSE FORMAT

This is a fully self-paced, asynchronous online course consisting of 3 modules. Each module includes video instruction, slides, readings, and reflective exercises designed to connect concepts directly to your daily work.

 

EXPECTED TIME COMMITMENT

Each module is designed to take approximately 4 hours to complete, for a total of 12 professional development hours. You may move through the course at your own pace and on your own schedule.

 

COURSE ACCESS

You will have access to all course materials for six months from the material unlock date.

 

CERTIFICATE OF COMPLETION

Complete all modules to earn 12 professional development credit hours and a School Library Journal certificate of completion. Certificates are emailed upon completion.

 

ACCESSIBILITY

All video recordings feature auto-captioning. If you require accommodations, please email course-support@libraryjournal.com upon registration and we will make our best efforts to support your needs.

 

SUPPORT

For technical or course-related support, please contact course-support@libraryjournal.com.