EBSCO SEL resource hub

EBSCO has published a school resource hub that turns social and emotional learning research into classroom-ready materials for librarians and teachers. (about.ebsco.com) The main package is a free solution guide, “Using Library Databases to Support Social Emotional Learning: A Toolkit for Librarians,” published on September 8, 2025. EBSCO says it is built for middle and high school librarians using its Ultimate Databases for Schools through Explora. (about.ebsco.com) The company has added a wider set of related materials around that guide, including a November 19, 2025 infographic, an October 24, 2025 white paper, and a series of blog posts published from October 2025 through February 2026. Those pieces tie student research to empathy, confidence, relationship skills, self-management, and decision-making. (about.ebsco.com, about.ebsco.com, about.ebsco.com) Social and emotional learning is the school practice of teaching students how to manage emotions, build relationships, and make decisions, alongside academic work. EBSCO’s own explainer lists five competencies: self-awareness, self-management, social awareness, relationship skills, and responsible decision-making. (www.ebsco.com, about.ebsco.com) EBSCO is pitching librarians as the staff members who can move those skills into daily assignments by shaping research projects, source evaluation, and reading activities. Its materials repeatedly frame database research as a way to practice empathy, perspective-taking, collaboration, and confidence while students complete schoolwork. (about.ebsco.com, about.ebsco.com, about.ebsco.com) The survey data behind the campaign came from 446 school librarians in a 2025 School Library Journal survey sponsored by EBSCO. In the white paper, EBSCO says 93 percent of respondents believed information literacy supports social and emotional learning. (about.ebsco.com, about.ebsco.com) That gives curriculum teams something more concrete than a general call for student well-being. Instead of asking teachers to build new lessons from scratch, the hub packages handouts, guides, and examples that can be shared across a school library program or district resource list. (about.ebsco.com, about.ebsco.com) The catch is that the materials are also a product showcase: the toolkit is designed around EBSCO’s own school databases and Explora platform. Schools that do not subscribe can still read the free guides, but the classroom model EBSCO describes depends on access to its research products. (about.ebsco.com, www.ebsco.com) For librarians already using those databases, the pitch is simple: turn research time into a social and emotional learning lesson without adding another separate program. (about.ebsco.com, about.ebsco.com)