Geoliteracy through Aerial Photography: Collaborating with K-12 Educators to Teach the National Geography Standards

Abstract

Geoliteracy is a necessary skill for the twenty-first century. By collaborating with K-12 educators, geographic information librarians can play an important role in geoliteracy initiatives as well as gain knowledge and experience to benefit their home institutions. The newly released Geography for Life: National Geography Standards, Second Edition, published in 2012, is a useful tool to bridge the gap between librarians and educators by providing a common framework for educational goals. Although there is a wealth of resources within geospatial information collections, aerial photography is particularly suitable for meeting the needs of the K-12 educational community and can be linked directly to many of the national standards. This article provides six rationales for increasing the involvement of geographic information librarians in geoliteracy at all educational levels and demonstrates how twelve of the eighteen Geography for Life standards can be taught using aerial photography.