A fabulous quote from one of the principals in the article: “An effective librarian could be as important as an effective principal, given his/her ability to impact teaching and learning in the school.”
Even though the principals surveyed were well aware of the importance of their school librarian, many of them did not know the full extent of what librarians do each day. "When asked to list the activities that librarians perform daily, media specialists provided a list that exceeded 100 tasks. On the other hand, principals listed 20 items, which, when we eliminated redundancies, were narrowed down to a mere 10. The good news is that both pretty much agree that the top tasks performed by librarians include helping students to access books and information, teaching students and teachers research and tech skills, and collaborating with teachers."
The section in the article called Tech Respect was especially interesting. One principal indicated, “The librarian needs to be current on new and emerging technologies, and assist others in their use.” Another explained that our “teachers are not technology literate, but the librarian is doing her best to change that problem.”
What do you think about this article? It's kind of long, but very interesting. I don't agree with the part about the pumpkin sweater. :-)
While reading this article I thought, "Oh, so I am not the only one who thinks that!" My favorite part that I totally agree with is to always be positive even if you have to fake it.
ReplyDeleteWow after viewing that list no wonder I am tired when I go home at night. This article got me thinking about how much my job has changed over my career. 19 years ago I remember helping to set up a brand new apple lab in my school. We had to attend several inservice trainings just to learn how to use those computers. Now look at what we do everyday with technology and computers. Some days it is easy to forget just what a librarian use to do.
ReplyDeleteI also think it would be easier to take on a leadership role if we did have to be tied to the "sacred block schedule" I think that leads to a view of the librarian as a babysitter and not a skilled teacher who can collaborate with the teachers to help them teacher their curriculum. I remember being much more effective with the students when I wasn't limited to just 45 minutes a week with them.
We are indispensable!!!!
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Interesting article! Our role has changed over the years but I think the two lists are pretty accurate.
ReplyDeleteI like the principals' list. It seems that they value us and what we do to contribute to literacy learning in our schools!
ReplyDeleteI like the principals' list also. It is always good to think of the jobs you do as alittle more than just the 'laminator queen' or the 'microphone lady'. I call that housekeeping, and would rather think of myself as certified for deeper activities.
ReplyDeleteI like the principals' list, too, but I also think they need to know that we do all the "other" things along with what they expect or think we do. It is such a job that is overarching in many areas and that includes crawling around on the floor sometimes to make sure computer connections are right or find out why a DVD player isn't working. It's all part of what we do but I like the fact that the principal's see us for our most important tasks.
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