Just yesterday I was bemoaning that there are librarians everywhere who are simply satisfied as a gate-keeper of books, for all intents and purposes a specials class in the specials/planning period rotation, and are dismissive of the expectations AASL has laid out for the critical roles we are trained to fulfill in our schools. Administrators who for whatever reason choose to use the Master’s degree level professional in this way have truly paved the way for a budget cut, and we have allowed it to happen. After all, couldn’t a paraprofessional checkout books, have story time, and generate reports and rewards for a computerized reading management program (like AR?)
If we do not advocate for our programs, who will?
Buffy Hamilton in my mind is the epitome of the 21st Century SCHOOL LIBRARIAN–yes, embrace it people. We are so named by our very own professional organization as a school librarian. No matter our interpreation of that moniker, our duties we carry out everyday define the term. Buffy Hamilton is such a great role model for a 21st century school librarian. And guess what folks? She herself is feeling the pressure of staffing and budget cuts.
Buffy – let’s call a spade a spade
As I ran across this post from her blog, Buffy is questioning (my interpretation) School Library Journal for using an article about a school librarian who has left the school librarian profession for a tech position, a position where the person continues to serve in essentially the same role as the school librarian. As one of our top professional journals, the question that comes to mind for me is why feature and bring attention and possibly praise to one who has abandoned the job? I am stunned by the article myself, but couldn’t put into words my bafflement. Buffy very eloquently states the many thoughts, feeling, and even emotions I had in reaction. And bless my soul, my friend Diane Cordell left a comment too that is resonating with me:
School Librarian – We are evolving into an endangered species!
Where do you stand on this spectrum? "Raibow Walk" by Andrei Zmievski, Flickr
We now have to worry about both ends of the spectrum of a good and the bad school librarian. Let’s examine them:
At one end of the spectrum of school libraries/librarians are the ones who
refuse to embrace 21st century thinking,
are complacent in their role as a babysitter,
feel satisfied that their AR points racked up annually reflect a wonderful program,
and are very dismissive of technology, tools, participatory learning, and being a technology and collaborative learning leader in their schools.
At the other end of the spectrum are the ones who:
are striving to provide a 21st century program,
have transformed their programs into a technology rich information hub,
serve both their students and their staff as partners in teaching and learning,
facilitate inquiry and investigation based not only on curriculum standards but also interest,
and work tirelessly to be effective collaborative partners and designers of engaging curriculum.
What is my worry?
The first group will cost me my job due to apathy–this one can be replaced with a paraprofessional quite easily. The second one will leave the profession for a different title altogether, yet again leaving me as a minority–one who is striving to be 21ST Century School Librarian. What remains is a majority of those who are apathetic or don’t care, and by and large administrators see that and so make sweeping cuts based on that sad majority. Sigh. It’s scary.
What to do?
If you are somewhere in the spectrum NEAR the first one described above, begin advocating for your program and your role in your school. Make every effort and work tirelessly to get your self OUT of the specials rotation. Collaborate with teachers for the purpose of curriculum design and engaged learning. PLUG in your resources to their units of study. Lead professional development. Educate your school and community with what you have been pedagogically trained to do. embrace blogs, rss, and all forms of participatory learning on a professional level, and extend it to the teaches and students level. Don’t fall victim to apathy. Don’t just lay down and take it without trying to make change. Change is never easy. But it is vital if you plan to make a difference in your school…and hopefully save your job as a school librarian.
Read it. Walk away with your own interpretation. Mine may be a little too “knee-jerkish” to some. But everyday that passes and I read about WONDERFUL Librarians whose jobs are already cut or on the chopping block, the more I fear for my own job…. and also the a harder I work at being an interwoven, vital part of the broad school program.
You and Buffy both display the type of reflective thinking that is necessary to professional growth – which, in turn, ensures the best library experience for our students & staff. And that “library experience,” as Buffy noted, does NOT have to be in a designated library space. Let’s take it to the world! Diane Cordell´s last [type] ..Picturing Poetry
Thank you for sharing this information – I’m a faithful reader! I’m in the position of Middle & High School Librarian, but in a paraprofessional capacity. Our district does not have a certified library anymore. You speak of just being a gate-keeper of the books – that is exactly what I am. I do have a college degree although not in education so I have no teaching responsibilities. The only access to students I have is through book check-out & study-hall type setting. I’m trying to keep up on the wonderful technology out there. My question to anyone out there would be – what suggestions can you share to help me make this the best library I can based on the books?
Begin Sara, by conversing with teachers. Find out what their units of studies are, and then try to cross match the books available to them in the library to offer as a resource. In your situation I expect that is about the most logical way to start being seen as MORE than the gate keeper. If you are interested in tech, offer them links to content as well as applications that might engage their students and make their lessons and activities more interesting and engaging. As you do this, you should also research their content standards. Find ways to plug in by offering to co-teach content, especially content from the library. That is a start on the road to being seen as a more than someone who holds study hall and checks out books. Having success in this area will make your teachers begin thinking of you as a major contributor, a partner. You make them look good to students and administration, and you will get the buy in on that end. Eventually they will wonder how they did things without you. It could grow into a situation where your teachers are demanding your presence and needs, making it very difficult for admin to keep you tied up and unavailable because of those study halls. Good luck. Keep me posted.
We should all be supporting Buffy’s stance on this and writing and posting and tweeting about it. My issue and I think she has made it clear that it is her’s too, is with the journal. This conversation is incredibly timely and it is a conversation that desperately needs to happen, because whether you believe it or not, this is the reality of our profession. Cathy sums it up perfectly with the spectrum. I love being a librarian and I love working with literacy and reading AND technolgy. That is why I became a librarian in the first place. Thank you Cathy for putting things into perspective.
[...] blog post that I found most fascinating was posted on April, 03, 2012, titled “What End of the Spectrum Are You On?” In this entry, Cathy Nelson responds to an article published in School Library Journal [...]
You and Buffy both display the type of reflective thinking that is necessary to professional growth – which, in turn, ensures the best library experience for our students & staff. And that “library experience,” as Buffy noted, does NOT have to be in a designated library space. Let’s take it to the world!
Diane Cordell´s last [type] ..Picturing Poetry
Thank you for sharing this information – I’m a faithful reader! I’m in the position of Middle & High School Librarian, but in a paraprofessional capacity. Our district does not have a certified library anymore. You speak of just being a gate-keeper of the books – that is exactly what I am. I do have a college degree although not in education so I have no teaching responsibilities. The only access to students I have is through book check-out & study-hall type setting. I’m trying to keep up on the wonderful technology out there. My question to anyone out there would be – what suggestions can you share to help me make this the best library I can based on the books?
Begin Sara, by conversing with teachers. Find out what their units of studies are, and then try to cross match the books available to them in the library to offer as a resource. In your situation I expect that is about the most logical way to start being seen as MORE than the gate keeper. If you are interested in tech, offer them links to content as well as applications that might engage their students and make their lessons and activities more interesting and engaging. As you do this, you should also research their content standards. Find ways to plug in by offering to co-teach content, especially content from the library. That is a start on the road to being seen as a more than someone who holds study hall and checks out books. Having success in this area will make your teachers begin thinking of you as a major contributor, a partner. You make them look good to students and administration, and you will get the buy in on that end. Eventually they will wonder how they did things without you. It could grow into a situation where your teachers are demanding your presence and needs, making it very difficult for admin to keep you tied up and unavailable because of those study halls. Good luck. Keep me posted.
We should all be supporting Buffy’s stance on this and writing and posting and tweeting about it. My issue and I think she has made it clear that it is her’s too, is with the journal. This conversation is incredibly timely and it is a conversation that desperately needs to happen, because whether you believe it or not, this is the reality of our profession. Cathy sums it up perfectly with the spectrum. I love being a librarian and I love working with literacy and reading AND technolgy. That is why I became a librarian in the first place. Thank you Cathy for putting things into perspective.
[...] blog post that I found most fascinating was posted on April, 03, 2012, titled “What End of the Spectrum Are You On?” In this entry, Cathy Nelson responds to an article published in School Library Journal [...]