Shh Happens

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

• Design your library space and establish routines that reduce disruption before it starts.
• Apply a proactive, library-specific behavior management framework built for the realities of high-volume, short-window instruction.
• Respond to challenging behavior in the moment without losing instructional momentum or damaging student relationships.
• Support students who arrive dysregulated and navigate classes with widely varying behavioral expectations.
• Address complex situations that do not have clean solutions, including students whose needs exceed what any single strategy can meet.
• Build a library environment where transitions run smoothly and you have a clear plan for when they do not.

You will leave with a practical framework designed for the K-5 library context, not borrowed from classroom management approaches that were never built for your situation.

If you're someone who:

• sees large groups of students on a rotating schedule and has to reset expectations over and over again
• is trying to teach, manage behavior, and keep things moving without another adult in the room
• feels like transitions, noise, or disruptions are eating into your actual teaching time
• is working with students who come in dysregulated or classes that all operate differently
• has tried classroom management strategies that don’t quite work in the library setting

This course was built for you.

This course is especially relevant for:

• elementary school librarians working with grades K through 5
• library paraprofessionals and support staff managing student groups
• librarians responsible for both instruction and circulation during class visits
• anyone running a high-volume library program with limited time for relationship-building

If your day involves trying to teach while managing a room that doesn’t always cooperate, you’ll find this useful.

THIS COURSE CONSISTS OF 3 ON-DEMAND MODULES:

Module 1: Framing Behavior Management

Behavior management in elementary libraries starts long before a problem happens. This module introduces you to foundational behavior management frameworks and shows you how to apply them in your library through the things you control: your space, your routines, your expectations, and the relationships you build. By the end of this module, you'll understand the "why" behind proactive behavior management and have a framework for thinking about your own library environment.

Module 2: Managing the Moment

Frameworks get you started, but what do you actually do when things happen in real time? This module uses case studies to walk you through common elementary library situations and multiple strategies for each one. You'll learn how librarians handle low-level behavior issues, transitions, unexpected changes, and more. By the end of this module, you'll have concrete tactics for the situations you encounter most often.

Module 3: When Behavior Signals Unmet Needs

What looks like disruptive behavior in your library might actually be an unmet need. Students with disabilities, sensory sensitivities, trauma, and other support needs often communicate through behavior. This module helps you recognize the signs, understand common disability-related needs and how they show up in libraries. You'll also learn how to access information about students, build relationships with special education staff when available, and advocate for students whose needs aren't being met. By the end of this module, you'll see behavior differently and know practical ways to support all your students.

COURSE ADVISOR & INSTRUCTORS

Zinnia Bayardo, Library Instructional Support Specialist in a Texas district

Zinnia is a BOOK-loving, techie, CHICANA TEACHER-LIBRARIAN who celebrates her bilingual, bicultural identity, working to bridge the linguistic divide one libro at a time! Promoting and sharing LIBROS, CULTURA, y COMUNIDAD - BOOKS, CULTURE, and COMMUNITY!

COURSE INSTRUCTORS

Melanie Wood, Elementary Librarian, Parkway School District, St. Louis, MO

Melanie Wood is an elementary school librarian in the suburbs of St. Louis, Missouri. Before making the move to the library, she spent nine years in the classroom teaching 2nd, 3rd, and 4th grade - which means she knows firsthand what teachers need and exactly what kids are capable of getting away with. She is passionate about creating library spaces where students feel engaged, safe, and actually excited to be there. When she is not wrangling 360 kids a week, she shares library life and classroom tips with a growing community of educators at @melanie_in_the_library.

Amanda Chacon, Librarian and Course Operations Manager @ Library Journal/School Library Journal

Amanda Chacon is a NISE STEM-certified Future Ready Librarian® and a LEGO Education Teacher Ambassador, Canva Teacher Ambassador, and Amazon Future Engineer Teacher Ambassador Mentor. She was selected as the School Library Journal 2024 Librarian of the Year, Sam Houston State Distinguished Educator of the Year, and a 2024 Library Journal Mover & Shaker. Amanda believes the library is a place where all students are welcome to explore their interests and creativity. Her professional interests include the intersection of STEAM and literacy, as well as community engagement and initiatives, particularly in Title I schools. She has been in education for 22 years and a librarian for 16 years.

Selena Layden, Ph.D., BCBA-D, LBA; Associate Professor; Old Dominion University

Selena J. Layden, Ph.D., BCBA-D, LBA is an Associate Professor in the Department of Human Movement Studies and Special Education at Old Dominion University in Norfolk, VA. Dr. Layden also serves as the Executive Director for the Virginia Public Schools Behavior Analyst Network and the Executive Director of the Cooperative for Effective Behavior Intervention and Supports. Dr. Layden earned her doctorate degree from the College of William & Mary in Education Policy, Planning, and Leadership with an emphasis in Special Education Administration and her master’s degree in Applied Behavior Analysis from St. Cloud State University in Minnesota. Prior to joining the faculty at ODU, Dr. Layden has extensive expertise in behavior and supporting teachers and other educators in Pre-K-12 public schools and has worked in school districts focusing on interfering behavior and children with autism spectrum disorder. Previously, she was also the Assistant Director of Training at the Autism Center for Excellence at Virginia Commonwealth University. Dr. Layden has published and presented extensively on her research interests focused on providing effective professional development for school personnel, school-based behavior analysts, improving the implementation of evidence-based practices in schools, teacher attrition and retention, and autism spectrum disorder. She has received several grants to support this work.

Managing behavior in the elementary library requires a distinct skill set. You're not a classroom teacher with consistent daily contact and deep relationship capital. You see hundreds of students a week in short, high-activity windows—and you're expected to deliver meaningful instruction every single time. This course was built for that context.

Across three self-paced modules, you'll develop a proactive behavior management approach grounded in the realities of the K–5 library. You'll learn how to design your space, establish routines that reduce disruption before it starts, and respond to challenging behavior without losing momentum or damaging student relationships.

You'll also address the situations that don't have clean solutions—the class that arrives already off the rails, the student whose needs exceed what any single strategy can meet. This course won't promise a perfectly quiet 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.

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.

ON-DEMAND 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.