People at her school are on edge. So says Katie Voss, a high school librarian at Mary Institute and St. Louis (MO) Country Day School (MICDS) about the general uncertainty in anticipation of a grand jury decision this month on whether to indict a white police officer for shooting to death unarmed black teenager Michael Brown in August. School administrators are trying to prepare for what may happen following the decision, she says, and on November 17, Gov. Jay Nixon declared a state of emergency. The shooting has opened a topic of conversation that is "difficult to talk about in class," according to Voss. "Teachers are talking about it more [now], and since the shooting, the school’s director of diversity held a Ferguson Fireside Chat, in which students were invited to talk about what they’ve seen in the media [since Brown was killed]." As for herself, Voss explains that the shooting and its aftermath had initially made her feel "helpless"—and also forced her to examine what she could do. “As a librarian, I always feel like I have to share what resources are out there and the best of what is out there.” Voss has created a LibGuide, an online resource containing related articles, books, Gale databases, and more, providing information on the Brown shooting and its aftermath for the teachers at her school. "This isn't just [about] the Michael Brown shooting. People can consider this [incident] 50, 100 years, or more in the making," she says.

For more information:

Ferguson Resources LibGuide (by MICDS) Geared toward high school and middle school grades. Understanding Ferguson: Resources on Protest, Nonviolent Resistance, and Civil Rights (SLJ) Geared toward elementary and middle school grades.