Stop the Whining

A popular television commercial features annoyingly cute children complaining sulkily about the food on their dinner plates. A voice-over suggests that if you are experiencing "too much whine with your meals," the solution is a packaged pasta product. Every time I see this commercial, I am reminded that we have much, too much "whine" within the school library media profession. Over the past 25 years, I have heard library media specialists whine that no one understands what we do. They whine that we are not treated as professionals. They whine that our budgets are inadequate. They whine that we have too much to do. They whine that our libraries are too small or too cavernous, too old or too dark, too hot or too cold.

Whining seems to be an "equal opportunity" activity. I have met whiny librarians in big cities and small towns, in wealthy districts and in impoverished communities, in elementary schools and in high schools. The condition does not seem to be directly related to chronological age or length of service in the profession.

I would never deny that the conditions in many school libraries are sufficient to provoke frustration and dismay. However, whining rarely improves the situation, and often does nothing but create a greater distance between the whiner and somebody who can actually do something to change the conditions.

Since whining has brought about few positive results, I would like to propose that the rallying cry of the school library media profession for the 21st century should be "Stop the Whining!" (Perhaps there also should be bumper stickers and support groups.) The energy formerly used for whining can be redirected into positive action. Rather than complain that "none of the upper grade teachers use the library," spend time becoming more familiar with your school's science or social studies curriculum. Do a collection map to determine how well the current library media resources support and expand the topics. Check to see whether the materials are current, relevant, and appropriate for the ability levels of the students. Be "aggressively helpful" by taking particularly appropriate resources to teachers' classrooms or by planning meetings rather than waiting for the faculty to come to you.

Ask if you can attend departmental meetings if you are not regularly included. Although teachers may be suspicious at first, make it clear that you are not "spying" for the administration, but simply hoping to learn more about what they are teaching so that you can provide better assistance. You may not win over everyone immediately, but in all likelihood, several teachers will be pleasantly surprised by your interest and will welcome your help.

If others in the school community do not understand what it is that we do, explain it to them—without using "libraryese"! Don't talk about collection development policies. Instead, talk about choosing materials that will help the sophomores in your school learn about primary sources, since last year's standardized tests showed that the students were weak in that area.

Don't talk about weeding the collection. Share examples of books that you are discarding because the information is wrong, outdated, biased, or stereotypical. Most faculty and administrators have no idea how old the collections are in many school libraries in this country and can be convinced only through specific examples.

It is difficult to make a compelling argument that the library media budget must be increased when the library's shelves are filled to capacity with books, even if the books are more than 30 years old and completely irrelevant to the current curriculum. Demonstrate why empty shelves are better than shelves filled with books that have outdated, incorrect, and misleading information.

Don't talk about flexible access or flexible scheduling. Talk about giving students and teachers opportunities to use the library's books and computers, and the library media specialist's assistance throughout the school day. Show how the resources provided through the library media program can help students pose questions and discover answers—when they need them.

The "if I whine long enough, someone will give me more money or space or help for my library program" tactic was used without much success during much of the 20th century. It is now time to employ the activist approach. We must take responsibility for documenting the importance of the library media program to student learning. We must then present this evidence in compelling terms that demonstrate the value of the program to our users, rather than merely applaud (or bemoan) the virtue of our work.