Greatest Challenges for 2003

These are particularly challenging times for library media specialists. Library budgets are being cut, federal funding is waning, and the government is clamping down on information in the name of national security. What's a librarian to do? The best advice is to follow through on your mission to ensure that students become information literate and acquire the critical thinking skills necessary to become better learners.

Despite rough economic times, the role of the librarian is being highlighted in some quarters. First Lady Laura Bush hosted the first White House conference on school libraries in June 2002, shining a spotlight on the profession. And although Senator Jack Reed (D-RI) secured substantially less than the $100 million he sought for school library materials in FY2003, his law still remains on the books, meaning the federal government will continue carving out funds for library media centers.

The big picture offers a mixed bag for the profession, but there are undoubtedly a host of day-to-day issues that you'll be focusing on this year. School Library Journal asked a handful of experts—from practicing school librarians to professors—to tell us what they feel are the greatest challenges for 2003. The answers ranged from keeping up with technology, learning about advocacy efforts, and recruiting fresh blood to an aging profession. Although each topic differed, they all had a common theme: library media specialists need to continue to be proactive. Here's what they had to say:

By Blanche Woolls, program director and professor at the San Jose (CA) State University School of Library and Information Science

When library media specialists partner with their principals, they create a better learning environment. What if you walked into your principal's office on the first day of school and said, "What can we do this semester to make teaching easier for our teachers and learning easier for our learners?" If your principal has no immediate response, it's your chance to shine.

Take some time to conduct a careful analysis before you present your idea, and make sure you propose serious challenges that you can address. When your proposal resolves a major information literacy problem—for example, how to help students become better researchers—you become an indispensable member of your principal's team.

When we help principals confront and tackle challenges, we take a leadership role. But most importantly, they'll become our biggest supporters, which means we have a better vantage point to begin collaborating with teachers—all of them.

The benefits of coming together with your principal simply proves that he can't succeed without you.

By Terrence E. Young, Jr., librarian, West Jefferson High School New Orleans, LA

Do you use Blackboard or WebCT software to help your students become better learners? Can you even create a Web page? As library media specialists, we need to stay on top of new technologies to remain effective. Our new role now requires multitasking—not only are we information specialists, but we're also network administrators, computer technicians, and technology assessors.

We need to keep up with students and faculty who may be more technologically savvy than us, but who lack the necessary skills to effectively research the enormous wealth of print and online resources. We must teach faculty and students how to evaluate the free Web, while also emphasizing the abundance of information available in print and subscription databases.

The more we attend library conferences and workshops, the better we'll be at positioning ourselves to work more closely with teachers. Our profession demands a lifelong commitment to learning—and that applies to all of us. We should think more creatively, critically, and analytically as we mine appropriate and useful information for our students and faculty.

We also need to develop tools for measuring the goals we achieve. A comprehensive list of school library evaluation tools are available online at School Library Standards and Evaluation (www.sldirectory.com/libsf/resf/evaluate.html). Colorado also offers a school library evaluation tool at www.cde.state.co.us/litstandards/evaluation.htm.

As an active school library media specialist, I intend to play an important role in shaping the future of education and school libraries. I hope you do, too.

By Gloria Curty, K–12 Library Media Program Coordinator at Missoula County (MT) Public Schools

Library media specialists are overwhelmed and stressed. But you can drastically improve time management by reprioritizing your daily routine.

This can be accomplished by creating two lists: what can be controlled and what can't be controlled. Focus only on the items you can control, and prioritize that list by asking yourself, "Will this task make a difference to students and will the result be worth the time spent?" If the answer is no, then it can be done by someone else.

Then prioritize the list even further, putting aside tasks that can be put on hold, such as opening junk mail, shelving books, answering the phone, and completing inventory.

What items should you have at the top of your list? Getting in touch with other teachers and letting them know that the library media specialist is the in-house expert of knowledge and quality resources. Since collaboration with fellow teachers is vital to student learning, make sure teachers know how much we need their support in teaching information skills. By focusing on your partnerships with teachers, you'll let others understand the importance of your role in the instructional process.

Don't forget to include the administrators. They can become powerful allies. Make sure you attend all meetings involving curriculum, funding, or anything to do with the school library. You can be sure that teachers, administrators, and community members will be there as well.

Don't let technology problems hinder your collaboration—only fix tech problems that affect your work with students. Saving time also saves money, so find reliable vendors and stick with them. Minimize clerical and technical tasks or you might be perceived as someone other than a professional. Take advantage of adult or student volunteers. Purchase as much pre-cataloged and processed media as possible, and get rid of the unnecessary details that don't affect students and teachers.

The key to a less-harried life is to organize and control your time. Prioritizing tasks is extremely helpful, and the results can be very rewarding.

By Della Curtis, director of library services at Baltimore County (MD) Public Schools

Attracting and retaining qualified library media specialists is one of our biggest challenges in 2003. At the highest levels, library media specialists help establish professional standards, coordinate with district and statewide initiatives, and convince decision-makers to fund quality programs. At the school level, we carry out the mission of Information Power , the American Library Association's nine information literacy standards for student learning.

Still, it's hard to believe that 24.8 percent of the nation's 76,807 school libraries lack a state-certified librarian. Only 60.5 percent of schools have a full-time certified librarian and only 14.7 percent have a part-time certified librarian. Although school boards and administrators work diligently to close the gap between the number of pupils and teachers, nationwide there is an average of one school librarian for every 953 students. To make matters worse, nearly 50 percent of the nation's 125,000 fully certified librarians—including school media specialists—are expected to retire in the next 12 years, and the average age of a librarian is 45.

In order to tackle the problem, we must let the public know the important role we play in education, and we must convince teachers and principals to collaborate on classroom curricula. Here are some things you can do based on promising strategies currently under way nationwide:

• Create Web-based library courses to make education more accessible to potential educators.
• Recruit more undergraduate students to library science and instructional technology degree programs.
• Require that undergraduate and graduate majors in education study school library media programming.
• Target more high school students and their teachers.
• Retain and retrain the current workforce by developing district-level training programs taught by experienced library media specialists.
• Apply for grants. Look for the Institute of Museum and Library Services 2003 grant, Recruiting and Educating Librarians for the 21st Century.
• Enhance our visibility and image at the national, state, and local level.

By Gretchen Wronka, youth services and outreach coordinator for the Hennepin County (MN) Library

From the White House to the statehouse to local corridors of power, everyone has heard the buzz about early literacy. Never before has the library's mission to help students read been more closely aligned with public policy.

The early literacy efforts started under former President George Bush were carried over to President Clinton's administration, and now President George W. Bush's No Child Left Behind Act takes center stage as the government's latest education policy.

Many state and local initiatives are also targeting early literacy development. Researchers at the University of Minnesota are creating an early literacy and language program that focuses on new training techniques for childcare providers and preschool teachers. At my library, Hennepin County, the department heads have said their most pressing challenge was to ensure that all local children enter kindergarten with early literacy skills and that they become competent readers by the end of third grade.

A new round of grants distributed through the government-funded Library Services and Technology Act offers opportunities for programs specifically designed to meet the literacy needs of young at-risk students. These projects are not only highly effective but they are a testimony of what can be done at local and state levels.

As the Early Literacy Pilot Project, an initiative launched by the Association for Library Service to Children and the Public Library Association, moves into its second year, consultant Sara Loughlin is compiling data to prove that research-based library programs for preschoolers are effective strategies for ensuring that kids start school prepared to read.

Armed with this study and a growing body of research on the importance of literacy programs, we must design preschool programs that directly involve parents and caregivers. And children's librarians need to get their message across without using unfamiliar professional jargon, such as "phonological sensitivity," "print awareness," "narrative skills," and "dialogic reading." They need to know the incredible clout they have—from introducing new books to kids to influencing public policy at the highest levels.

By Julie Walker, executive director of the American Association of School Librarians, a division of the American Library Association

I recently heard someone say, "I don't want to hear about your adversities—I want to hear about your successes despite those adversities." As library media specialists, we need to speak loudly and clearly about the value of libraries and librarians, particularly in these uncertain economic times.

The goal of the American Association of School Librarians is to help students become better learners. That's why we've compiled a collection of ready-to-use tools for school librarians to conduct advocacy campaigns about school library programs. (For more information, log on to www.ala.org/aasl/advocacy.)

How can you become a library advocate? Schedule a meeting with your school principal to talk about your mission to carry out Information Power, which ensures that students are effective users of ideas and information. Discuss the function of the library media program—the role you play in learning and teaching, as well as information access and delivery. And make sure you discuss both of your visions for the library and plans for the future.

We encourage school librarians to build on the publicity generated last year at First Lady Laura Bush's White House conference, which focused on the impact school libraries have on student achievement. While libraries are popular, they're often taken for granted, so we've created the "@ your library" campaign for America's Libraries, a five-year plan, sponsored by ALA, aimed at educating the public about the vibrancy, vitality, and real value of today's libraries.