The Seven Habits

I'm going to speculate that there's a distinct chance your principal only has a vague idea of what you do as a library media specialist. Oh, principals will lean toward political correctness, acknowledging your importance. But do they really believe it?

In our nationwide survey examining principals' perceptions of the library media specialist (see "What Does Your Boss Think About You ?"), eight of ten say the school library plays a "positive role in the overall value of our school." Sounds good, but when asked whether they thought there was a correlation between the degree of effectiveness of the school library and student achievement, 47 percent "strongly" agreed and the same percentage "somewhat" agreed. The numbers are even less convincing when we asked principals if they thought the library media specialist had a positive impact on students' standardized test scores. Four out of ten agreed "strongly," yet 50 percent were more ambivalent, only agreeing "somewhat." The numbers reveal that principals are well-intentioned but unenlightened about the school library's potential to help students become better learners.

Some concerned leaders have begun to whisper that the future of school librarians is also in peril because other players in the school district's food chain are usurping their role. California is rife with librarian-less school districts, thanks to Proposition 13. Consider the Lemon Grove Elementary School District near San Diego, where a technology administrator who happens to be a former principal says she discerns no difference between her library aides and certified librarians.

Two articles in this issue provide strategies to help ensure that school librarians never become marginalized. Mike Eisenberg's call-to-arms ("This Man Wants to Change Your Job"), part one of a two-part series on the future of the profession, provides readers with a spirited blueprint on how to move their library media programs to the center of the school's learning objectives. Katherine Bassett, a tireless and creative library media specialist who we interviewed (see "A Measure of Respect ,"), shows her commitment to raising the profile of the librarian as a bona fide teacher, first by winning New Jersey's 1999–2000 Teacher of the Year Award and then becoming one of the Educational Testing Service's prime architects in creating a national certification for librarians.

After reading about the skills and strategies suggested by Eisenberg and exhibited by Bassett, it occurred to me that these were attributes every dynamic librarian shared. Here, then, are the Seven Habits of Highly Effective Librarians:

1. Great at communicating and proselytizing the vision they have for the library.
2. A knack for making the people they work for look good.
3. Skilled at obtaining "buy-in" from crucial members of the organization.
4. Politically savvy.
5. Masters of fostering enthusiasm and respect from others.
6. Innovative, creative, and intellectually flexible thinkers and doers.
7. Excellent at outreach (read: very proactive).

If we heed Eisenberg's management maxims and emulate bold role models like Bassett, then the speculative whispers auguring your irrelevance will fade into oblivion as school librarians emerge as the engines behind school reform and the leaders of emerging learning communities.

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