November 29 Reading Log

This week, we talked about librarians and job descriptions in the library. Studies have shown that student achievement is higher when a full time media specialist is in the school. However, there are different staffing mandates and the media specialist may or may not be the only librarian for the district, if full time (Staffing the School Library). But if I'm lucky, I will have volunteers, circulation clerks, and paraprofessionals working with me in order to make the library run more smoothly. If I do, then I will need to be sure that the job descriptions are clear and that my job isn't confused with the others. In order to make a clear distinction, I will need to first build good relationships with everybody involved lest I create political in-fighting with everybody involved and make a decisive action about establishing myself as the librarian (Tough Choices). In order to make this happen, however, we first need to think about what standards we are holding ourselves as librarians. What duties do we see the librarian and the clerk doing? If the district office doesn't have a job description, then the library needs to create one based on the standards and duties that the librarian has lined out on paper (Managing the Clerical Staff). Even after these steps have been completed, there still needs to be a continuous evaluation system. As a librarian, I need to continuously make sure that the library environment, planning and preparation of instruction, and the instruction itself is running to the best of its ability as well as evaluating the performances of support staff (Performance and Evaluation). The job might run into other people's jobs as well, such as the tech support. Who creates and run the library website? Do we both have equal say in its creation? (Staffing the School Library). Some other questions that need to be considered include: What personal dispositions to need to be successful? How do you self assess to move foreword? What professional skills do you need to improve upon? (Developing the Vision)

There may be a time when we need a substitute in the school library. Leaving a letter giving direction as to what the sub can do. This includes shelving books, cataloging new books, and sorting books for shelving. It's also important to tell them about the catalog, library website, and anything else that would be helpful for the sub to know when helping students and teachers (Dear Teacher Librarian Substitute).

 But we also need to reward the people who help us in the library. Allow volunteers and paraprofessionals to have the chance to check out new books first. Give acknowledgement to work done well, such as talking to the principal and giving a shout out to the radio or news station (Persk, Rewards, Glories...). This will boost the confidence in the library and further build relationships with everybody involved.