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.