August 1999

Staff -- School Library Journal, 8/1/1999

"Collection development on the Internet. . . is no different from collection development of books."

No Limits on Links
I take issue with RenA"e Olson's comment that "by creating a list of sites that have to work for such a large age span, YALSA [Young Adult Library Services Association] set itself an impossible task" (Editorial, June 1999). Collection development on the Internet, through creating links to sites of interest, is no different from collection development of books, or from creating a list of titles for a young adult book list. In all cases, balance is the key.

In our YA collection, we have books that appeal to middle schoolers and we have books that appeal to older teens. When She Was Good (Scholastic, 1997)Smack (Holt, 1998), and Bee & Jacky (Front Street, 1998) may not be appropriate for a sixth grader, but that did not preclude me from purchasing these titles for older teens. I balance these purchases with titles that are appropriate for middle schoolers, such as Holes (Farrar, 1998) or Tangerine (Harcourt, 1997).

On our YA Web page, we have links to health education sites that appeal to middle schoolers and we have links to sites for older teens, including "Go Ask Alice!" While "Go Ask Alice!" may not appeal to middle schoolers, other links on our page do, including many of the sites that [Surf For columnist] Gail Junion-Metz recommended in this magazine just a few short months ago ("Body Language," April 1999).

YALSA's "Health and Medicine" page, while it does link to "Go Ask Alice!," is also balanced -- there are a dozen links in total, and they appeal to the broad spectrum of the YA age range.

Developing a collection around the lowest common denominator, in this case excluding a link to a site that deals with older teen issues because it may not be appropriate for a 12-year-old, goes against everything I learned in library school about good collection development.

A balanced collection, regardless of the format, should never be an "impossible task." (The opinions expressed here are my own, and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of my employer.)

Eva M. Davis
Young Adult Librarian
Plymouth District Library
Plymouth, MI

Teachers and/or Librarians
I am quite concerned about the ideas of some of my fellow school librarians. First, Frank Indriso writes that he feels school libraries should have no controversial materials in their collections (Letters, December 1998, p. 8). Now W.B. Dixon says she is not the teacher but the librarian (Letters, May 1999, p. 10).

Does she know that in Canada and Australia, school librarians are called teacher/librarians and must have education courses for certification? Has she read Information Power: Building Partnerships for Learning (ALA, 1998), which discusses the role of librarian as teacher? I am more than a librarian. I consider myself a teacher/librarian: a teacher of students, of teachers, of administrators and of other librarians.

I was a teacher before I became a school librarian and that experience has helped tremendously in my work as a librarian. I continue to take classes to keep abreast of changes in curriculum. I am serving my teachers and students not only in building the collection, but also in teaching teachers and students to use the materials.

When my teachers bring their classes to the library, they expect me to do the instruction. I know the collection and how to best use the materials. I even team teach with some teachers. I am evaluated by the same methods used for teachers; most school librarians I know are as well. I'd better be able to teach!

I don't think that by emphasizing teaching, the collection-building aspect of the job will suffer. How can you build a collection to support the curriculum if you are not involved in that curriculum?

In school districts where cuts are made, the first to go are school librarians. Often, administrators and boards do not know what we do. But if we are teacher/librarians, we become an integral part of the school's educational program.

Diane C. Pozar
Library Media Specialist
Wallkill Middle School
Wallkill, NY

A Master's Matters
Congratulations to Donna Beales ("To Be [or Not to Be] a Librarian," April 1999, p. 53) on finding the right position for herself in medical librarianship rather than children's services. I believe she had underestimated the value of a master's degree in becoming a fully functioning member of our profession. The idea that experience working in a library is sufficient training for a children's librarian is flawed. While I have seen some paraprofessionals who are outstanding in performing their duties, they are rare and have generally worked under the tutelage of an MLS librarian.

What surprises me is that she admittedly worked as a "children's librarian" and "library director" (proof that not all library boards value the MLS), yet she was dissatisfied that other positions were not open to her. Apparently, many Massachusetts library systems still recognize that a master's degree in library science is more than a piece of paper. In my experience, too many libraries are willing to accept a high school degree and clerical experience in a library as the entrA"e to a "librarian" job.

The master's degree does take time and costs money. That's what makes this a profession: the personal investment of time and money in preparing for a particular field. Beales's complaints about her dissatisfaction with pay in relation to the cost of the degree as well as the "typical burn-out schedule of nights and Saturdays" demonstrate her unsuitability for public library work. Certainly librarians would enjoy higher salaries, but each person must do a cost-benefit analysis before entering any field. My library degree has given me the opportunity to pursue a career I truly love. I wish Beales equal satisfaction in her new career.

Julie Linneman, MLS
Youth Services Coordinator
Wichita Public Library
Wichita, KS

Distance Education Is Essential
I was glad that RenA^e Olson called to talk about LIS education in a virtual environment and was pleased to contribute to Olson's information-gathering for her editorial (April 1999, p. 5).

LEEP3, the distance education enrollment option for the masters program at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, has been up and running since the fall of 1996. Thus far, 132 students have enrolled in LEEP3, including 48 who have received their MS degrees. Last spring, the graduate school offered 10 courses via LEEP3, including my class, Library Materials for Young Adults. Every week, 21 students logged into the synchronous class session from the Virgin Islands, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, Alabama, Michigan, Illinois, Colorado, Alaska, and Japan.

As a youth services educator, I am particularly eager to reach out to students who are interested in youth services librarianship. Youth services is a female-intensive specialization within a female-intensive field. An important factor in the shortage of youth services librarians is the geographic limitations faced by many women seeking further education: they do not live within commuting distance of an LIS program and do not have the mobility required to relocate. For these students, the choice is not between an on-campus program and an online program, but between an online program and no program at all.

I understand that the intent of the editorial was not to describe LEEP3 specifically, but rather to stimulate discussion of the possibilities (and potential pitfalls) of distance education for youth services people. I was sorry, however, to see the Illinois LEEP3 program represented by a single quote (from me) about one course (storytelling) we do not offer (yet), rather than a description, however brief, of the many courses and opportunities we do offer distance learners. For further information about the Illinois LEEP3 program, visit www.lis.uiuc.edu/gslis/leep3/index.html#head.

Christine Jenkins
Assistant Professor
Graduate School of Library and Information Science
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign