Letters

I am disappointed that Judith Nador’s district is such a dictorship (Letters, March 2009, p. 14), but it does not represent all school districts. I am the district library media coordinator as well as an elementary library media specialist, and I work very closely with the technology director as well as the director of instruction. All of our library media specialists have close working relationships with their principals. Every district curriculum committee here has an LMS as part of the team. I meet with the school board policy committee, serve on the strategic steering committee that guides our district’s forward vision, and meet regularly with all library media specialists in the district.

We advocate free expression and access to information. Our district policies emphasize education, selection, evaluation, and supervision. Students are not allowed to surf, but are allowed to use a wide variety of 21st-century tools. We are moving forward with podcasting and assistive technology. And we are doing these things while spending the least amount per pupil in Dane County, which includes Madison and Middleton, Wisconsin, two cities that have been deemed great places to live with families by several national sources over the years.

We have access to databases both through our state-level resources and our district-purchased selections, and students can gain access both at school and at home. When new curriculums are selected we immediately begin a process of obtaining supporting materials, be they picture books or activities for interactive Web sites. We are actively involved in planning, delivering, and evaluating instruction. It’s all part of our responsibility as school library media specialists. It is part of our joy as educators. It is a fact of life in Stoughton.

I do not think we are unique. When I attend state and national conferences, I talk to colleagues who are doing the same things. I applaud David Loertscher for always pushing us forward with ideas and methods and lament those who only use visioning pieces such as his to complain. As Gandhi wisely said, “Be the change you wish to see in the world.”

As a new media specialist, I have really enjoyed reading the articles and book reviews that SLJ provides. It has been a wonderful tool for staying current and making book selections.

That said, I read your “A Shotgun Wedding” editorial (December 2008, p. 9) and am not pleased with the “act first, think (and plan) later” paragraph. Your side won the election. Be happy. Stop with the Bush bashing. I get that you are writing an editorial, and you are entirely entitled to your opinion, just as I, in control of a budget, can opt to use another (and cheaper) source for book reviews.

Here’s my editorial: stick to what you do best—reviewing books and technology—and leave the political comments to someone else.