December 1999
"Some school board members think that librarians should be paid on a paraprofessional scale because we aren't teachers."
Staff -- School Library Journal, 12/1/1999
Librarian, Defend Thy Profession
While I don't disagree with Dr. Keith Swigger in his article "Librarian, Teach Thyself" (Make Your Point, October 1999, p. 45), I believe that his view is much like that of the workhorse, narrowed by blinders.
As librarians, we must face reality. Our futures are determined not by the service we provide but by economics. So, even though we may not "want to be" knowledge asset managers, bookstore managers, or members of a university faculty, we become what the public values. And if we aren't willing to yoke our profession with some other title, we may find ourselves denigrated. Some school board members think that librarians should be paid on a paraprofessional scale because we aren't teachers. And some schools have paraprofessionals in charge of the school library.
Since people rarely have the opportunity to walk in another's shoes, it is difficult for non-librarians to understand what librarians do, particularly those tasks that separate us from other professions. As a country we have always valued hard work, not intellectual study.
Our country's people also take great stock in an independent spirit. Teaching library skills encourages that sense of independence.
The notion of not teaching library skills troubles me most when I consider the impact that might have on children. Sometime in elementary school, children will decide whether they want to embrace learning or simply survive it. If we fail to give students a welcoming, stimulating view of the library and fail to equip them to use it, we will have failed to do our job. And we will contribute to the ever-widening gap between the learners and the attenders.
I believe that our biggest problem as librarians is perception. And I don't believe that we will change that perception by insisting that all librarians have an MLS or that we may not teach what we know to our patrons. Rather, we need to expand our vision of who and what we are. We cannot hold the key, opening the door only for those who ask. We must make duplicates of that key and point the way to the door. Society will value our contribution when we are actively sharing our skills by doing and by teaching. While we cannot be all things to all people, it sure would be nice if people would automatically say, "I can find it in the library!"
Carol Cottrell
Librarian
Newbury Elementary School
Bradford, VT
In "Librarian, Teach Thyself," Keith Swigger says, "librarians should provide library services: setting up and maintaining complex collections and electronic knowledge systems, answering reference questions, delivering resources to students and teachers, and knowing the collection to advise readers."
That tidy, though incomplete, list sounds a lot like what I've been doing for 15 years. Where has Swigger been?
Of course, I've also been teaching, in addition to providing the services Swigger mentioned.
Why do we teach?
* We teach because, like other specialists, we have knowledge and expertise that many classroom teachers do not have. Maybe 80 years ago we could expect classroom teachers to be experts in all areas and provide for all of a student's needs, but no longer.
* We teach because non-librarians often do not understand the complexity of library services. To many, for example, collection development amounts to glorified "book ordering." If you're not teaching, most schools can and will live without you.
* We teach because we know there is a connection between literacy experiences and learning to read.
* And we teach because, unlike Swigger, we know that information literacy is not just knowing how to access information or use the tools; it's being able to construct new knowledge and information and put it to practical and effective use. And that's the goal we're shooting for, not the one Swigger mistakenly assumes (knowing how to use the tools).
Frankly, I think Swigger's piece was a poorly disguised stab at professional preparation or perceived lack thereof among different types of "librarians," a political agenda that does little more than perpetuate the class war that occasionally breaks out within the profession. He added nothing new to the argument while demonstrating a surprising lack of knowledge regarding school issues--from an understanding of what information literacy is or how it relates to curricular and instructional theory to how schools make staffing and spending decisions.
Swigger's take on information literacy is not unlike the church's take on the printing press once upon a long time ago: keep the masses ignorant and dependent. If information isn't power, why the concern?
I think Swigger needs a wake-up call. Teach thyself, Mr. Swigger.
Joni Rathbun
Library Teacher / Media Specialist
Lincoln Elementary School
North Las Vegas, NV
God Bless Kansas
What audacity. What nerve. Criticizing people in Kansas for standing up for God (Editorial, October 1999, p. 9). Are we "irresponsible" because we believe God created the world and all things therein? May more school boards put God above men's theories.
Wilma Shipley
Librarian
Burnet Elementary School
Burnet, TX
Maxi Means Well
In the October SLJ news section, there is a reference regarding Taxi Dog, a movie that is to be made with Robin Williams ("Coming Attraction," October 1999, pp. 16-17). The article stated that the Taxi Dog books (Dial) are about the adventures of a "mean cab driver and a mean dog."
I have used The Adventures of Taxi Dog (1990), Maxi, the Star (1993), and Maxi, the Hero (1991) during story time and nowhere is there any indication that the cab driver or Maxi is mean.
Mary Ellen Kniest
Library Media Specialist
St. Louis Public Schools
St. Louis, MO
Editor's Note
Our news story relied on press reports stating that the Taxi Dog movie would tell the story of a mean cab driver and a mean street dog who are reluctant partners. Maxi the dog and Jim the cabbie in Debra and Sal Barraca's Taxi Dog books are not mean, but we must wait to see their Hollywood temperament.
