Proud to Be a School Librarian

I have been Head of Public Services in a college library. What a cushy job compared to what I do now as a school librarian! Here, I am public services librarian; acquisitions librarian; cataloger; bibliographic instruction librarian; electronic and systems librarian; Webmaster; young adult services librarian; and reader’s advisory librarian all in one. As Director of Libraries, I handle a generous budget and oversee staff. I also teach literature and writing electives, serve on the school’s technology committee, am involved in library renovation, and have coordinated a laptop program.

So when I get phone calls from public librarians offering to do booktalks for me or to teach my students how to use electronic databases, I have to wonder, when will the rest of the profession get a clue as to what school librarians do? When an academic librarian encourages me to get out of the school environment and be “more than just a librarian,” I think, more what?

Frankly, I have stopped going to ALA [American Library Association] conferences. Programming is so weighted toward public and academic libraries that it isn’t worth either my time or my school’s professional development funds. Furthermore, as the system currently works, I am unable to serve on committees because I cannot attend Midwinter; I have four major research papers in progress at that time and like to think I’m needed here to do my job.

I am proud of what I do as a school librarian. I will not stop promoting reading and teaching research skills to the best of my ability simply because other members of ALA are unaware or disrespectful of what I do. Doing my job is its own reward.

Secede from ALA? That may be a bit drastic. But I admit, it sure would be nice to feel appreciated within my own professional organization.

Katherine Koenig, director of libraries
The Ellis School
Pittsburgh, PA

I am writing to take issue with the review of Orel Protopopescu’s Two Sticks (Farrar, 2007; March, p. 184). Although Nancy Kunz praises the vibrant, lively illustrations, she feels that the “rhythm of the text is clunky at times and can be difficult to read while maintaining the pace.”

I read the book to my preschool class and they loved it. I used two rhythm sticks and beat out the rhythm while I read the book aloud. I found the rhythm of the text anything but clunky. In fact, it fit in with the strong beat like a jazz poem. The children echoed back some of the phrases like a jazz chant and they had no trouble either. The pace is effortless to keep because the rhythm of the text maintains a steady beat. It is a book that is not only easy to read but exhilarating. The children particularly loved the crocodile parade back to Maybelle’s house so, on our way to the playroom (our next activity), I pretended that I was Maybelle playing the sticks while they all pretended they were the crocodiles parading behind Maybelle.

I strongly recommend this book to all teachers and librarians as an effective and enjoyable read-aloud.

I am compelled to write in response to the librarians who were offended by the January cover. It seems they missed the point of the article accompanying that image. In the Second Life realm, you can look, dress, and adorn yourself any way you want. And there’s a major point they missed—it’s not real! So dress codes, gender, piercings, tattoos, body shape, and features are all up to the user.

The whole point of the “flying” librarian, I believe, was to show readers that there are no limits in the digital world and that this online environment allows creativity and expression for both student users and their educators. So please calm down, fellow librarians. The beauty of this technology is that it can take you way outside of the box, and I think it’s time we go there alongside our patrons.

I love love love Jennifer Bromann and Ellen Lindner’s comic, “Everything Bad Is Good” (April 2007, pp. 43–46). I wish I’d written it. As a public middle school librarian, I am proud to say that I follow the new kind of library rules, every one of them. Thank you so much for challenging all librarians to think about their purpose: serving their students.

While I appreciate some of the points in “Everything Bad Is Good,” I found many of the ideas to be a reflection of our frighteningly overpermissive and indulgent society. I agree that all librarians should provide good, friendly service. I also agree that nurturing a love of reading and providing an inviting, supportive place for students are fundamental aspects of a school librarian’s job. I do not believe, however, that either of these should be done at all cost.

It seems to me when we do that, we are overlooking another extremely important role of anyone working in a school, which is to provide students with proper discipline along with a sense of values, ethics, boundaries, and personal responsibility. We do the students, and society, a disservice when we instill in students a belief that they should be able to get whatever they want in the library, when they want it, and without having to incur any responsibility for it.

As public school librarians, supported by public tax dollars, we have an obligation to recognize that funds are limited and to assure that we optimize their use without being irresponsible. If students lose a library book, they should have to replace it—preferably with money they make from their after-school job. If they are truly without the financial means to pay for an item they have damaged or lost, providing them an opportunity to work off their obligation is an alternative. It is not OK, nor is it a good idea, to dismiss such obligations, thereby encouraging students to believe that they can do whatever they want with public property. When we do that, we fail in one of our primary responsibilities as educators.

Corrections: Our review of Peoples of Western Asia (Marshall Cavendish, 2006; April 2007, p. 84) indicated a mistake in the set, saying that Azerbaijan and Kyrgyzstan were both named as the first Soviet republic to declare independence. In fact, Azerbaijan is identified as “the first of the Soviet republics to declare its independence,” whereas Kyrgyzstan “became the first central Asian republic to declare itself independent.”

The subtitle of Toni Buzzeo’s Collaborating to Meet Literacy Standards (Linworth, 2007; May, p. 176) was incorrect in the print review. It is, in fact, Teacher/Librarian Partnerships for Grades K–2 and has been revised online.

The blurb about Rare Book Room in the May issue (p. 28) incorrectly listed the URL as www.rarebookroom.com. The correct address is www.rarebookroom.org.