Friday, March 27, 2009

The Indispensable Librarian

These days a good portion of my day is filled with librarian cuts, staffing shifts and advocacy for positions. These School Library System activities are becoming ubiquitous throughout the state. If you read just one thing this year, read the two handouts from Doug Johnson, Director of Media and Technology for the Mankato (MN) Public Schools found on his blogsite:

http://dougjohnson.squarespace.com/dougwri/the-indispensable-librarian.html

I too am concerned that the paradigm has shifted in our schools these days from the status quo librarian, teacher/librarian or library media specialist. It is no longer enough to do a good job, to fulfill the teacher contract and to meet the educational needs of students and support teachers.

You need to become INDISPENSABLE.

Doug’s thoughts on the top 3 things that librarians can do to become indispensable follow:

1) Become the educational technology expert, the integration pro and the best person to go to when anything electronic needs to be addressed. Provide access, access, access and training in new modalities for students, teachers, administrators and families.

2) Become the interface between what is out there in the world, in the business world, in the IT world and between the new paradigms in education and your school environment. Become the expert in email, various technologies, networks, databases and all things digital.

3) Use your expertise in information literacy, digital literacy, technology literacy to set the standard for curriculum and lessons that are aligned not only to state standards, but also to AASL Learning Standards and the National Educational Technology Standards. Become connected to your local, regional, state, national and international professional organizations.

In other words, doing a good job is no longer enough. You need to take on not-necessarily-glamorous or well-loved work and projects that your administrator would love to get off his / her plate. When it is time for cuts, make sure that you are responsible for so many things that the administrator does not want to do, that your job is saved.

We don’t have to like it; we just have to do it. I am finding that the issue of mandated staffing of libraries is pretty slippery, often interpreted and definitely on the table this year. It is not too late to become indispensable.

2 comments:

Chuck O'Bryan said...

Thanks to a query from a "she who will not be named" librarian at one of our districts, a further set of questions has been developed in light of more threatened positions. I will also post this to my blogsite as well.

First, I want you to know that I am not working directly to intervene on any particular librarian's part. My director has made it clear that we at DCMO BOCES advocate for programs and services offered and not for individual positions. However, I am available for individual consultation, program evaluation and general directions that you might like in order to make you and your position indispensable. The following are a few thoughts....

Do you have a library advisory board? The purpose of the board would be to help oversee implementation of the mission of the library, find additional funds for the library, work with you on policies and advocate for your programs from a non-librarian point of view. If you don't have this, consider setting one up asap.

Do you have a connection to any particular students and specifically to their parents? Boards of Education do listen when parents campaign and speak up about staffing and programs. See what you can do on this front.

Do you send updates on a monthly basis to your administrators and your BOE? You need to toot your horn a bit without becoming strident. What are you doing? Projects completed? Grants won? Groups and committees within the school that you are serving on and what they are accomplishing.

If you could please, send me any specific threats, notifications and shifts to staffing in your districts. School Library Systems from across the state will be compiling and using this type of information to inform how we support our districts in the future.

doug0077 said...

Hi Chuck,

Good luck to you and all your librarians during these difficult times. Even my own district's library staffing has been hit this year.

Let's keep a positive outlook and do the best by our kids, even during these tough times.

All the very best,

Doug