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Issues for the independent
April 13, 2008

I bumped into the very amazing Alice Bryant in Reno way back last fall.  We chatted about lots of stuff including the unique daily challenges faced by independent school librarians. 

Having never worked in an independent school, I am largely ignorant of the differences between the public and private school environments.  I wanted a peek into this other school library world.  I asked Alice if she and her independent school colleagues would share that peek in this blog. 

Alice recently hosted a meeting of her colleagues from the Nashville area and the librarians compiled concerns.  Some items on this list will resonate clearly with public school librarians.  Others may inform public school librarian readers of the slightly different issues Alice and her private school colleagues face. 

Duty Time:  
School libraries are changing hours of operation to accommodate the needs of their students.  Some libraries offer extended hours until 5:00 or 6:00 p.m.  Although the library should be an academic venue for students working on research, projects, and reading, in many cases the library has become the “holding zone” for students waiting for athletics or other extra-curricular activities to begin.  The librarians looked at this situation as a babysitting feature rather than a situation that truly enhances student learning.

State of flux:
With new technologies, new Web 2.0 offerings, and the goal of incorporating technology into many aspects of the library, many of the librarians stated they feel pulled in too many directions.  One of the librarians stated, I feel like I have ADD. 

Alice: My personal take on this state of constant change is that I feel l have become the master of nothing.  Although I am capable of doing many things, I believe I would serve my goals in life better if I could show I was an expert at something!

The instant society:
Expectations have changed for librarians from two camps:  the students and the administrators.   Students seem to want instant answers when true research is a time consuming and painstaking process.  One person commented:  All the students care about are the answers.  That comment led to the next:  Students have been googlized. Students want information fast and they do not want to search or investigate resources as a matter of inquiry.
                                                                                                                                                                                                                              
On the administrative front, one person commented that her Head of School expected his e-mails returned within minutes of being sent.  The librarian stated that she had classes and students to assist, but her administrator expected that she frequently check her messages regardless of her class load.  

From Alice in response to my response regarding the need to present more engaging assignments and set high expectations for student work:  I understand that many people believe that we need to provide engaging challenges.  I wrote this information down while the librarian was speaking.  I believe that she was reflecting on the instant society in all aspects of school, not just research.  The comment came from the discussion about resources and research.  My take on the comment was that students live in a world where they receive information very quickly.  When faced with a challenge, let's say to find an article in a database on a particular topic, students might have to search a bit more than if they conducted a Google search, but the information retrieved could be much more scholarly if students took the time to search thoroughly. 

Parental help:
Librarians noted that parents are often doing the work for their students.  Students feel pressured to get good grades, which results in parents becoming more involved in helping students develop a final product for projects, papers, etc. 

I asked Alice if she felt parent involvement was different in the independent school environment.  She responded: I believe most of the librarians present at the meeting believe that the families we serve have strong academic goals and that is why they chose a private, independent school.  For the most part we have caring parents who want their children to be successful. 

Affluence:
We have the financial power to purchase a wide variety of databases, but are we going too fast and offering too many options?  Evaluation is a skill which must be learned.  Perhaps by offering our students many options we are creating confusion among database choices.  The comment reminded me of when I head to the mall for a great sale and return with nothing because there are so many choices I become confused.  

Competition among independent schools:
During our discussions, one of the librarians mentioned that we are competing with one another, with magnet schools, and affluent public schools in the area.  One person expressed the idea that the public schools give the kids what they need, but private, independent schools need to go one step further in providing greater selection and opportunity.  The demand to create resources and services is sometimes stressful to librarians.  

Being all things to all people:
School librarians work hard at providing customer service to our students.  In many cases, school librarians take on many challenges to help students succeed.  At the public library level though, there seems to be a greater ability to “draw the line.”  The independent school librarians expressed concern that they were burdened by trying to help students, teachers, parents, and administration.  They wondered if public librarians felt the same in reference to their skills and service, mainly because their responsibility is to the general public rather than a school community.  

Inequality:
The Tennessee Electronic Library (TEL) has worked with TN Share, a consortium, to provide great resources for all schools, whether public or private.  This year, the Tennessee legislature voted to give TEL additional funding that would support an increase in databases available to all schools in Tennessee.  Shortly after that announcement, private, independent schools received a letter stating that since their resources were greater, would they please continue to pay for their databases to support the greater good.  From the librarians perspective the consensus was that our families already pay additional fees to attend private, independent schools in addition to their property taxes.  Why should the independent schools pay again for the databases in TEL that are intended for all students in the state?   

Autonomy:
This topic in many instances is a gift and a curse.  For example, in a public school the librarian receives a budget on an annual basis and that figure is not negotiable.  Independent school librarians often design their own budgets and also control those budgets.  Sometimes though, the independent librarians mentioned that their autonomy also restricted their ability to bargain for purchasing power.  Public schools often receive better pricing for the same databases and resources that independent schools pay higher fees to obtain, because they do not have procurement power.

Alice concludes: Although we did not develop a top ten list, we did come up with nine great challenges that many of us face throughout our experiences.  The challenge question sparked reflective conversation.  I am looking forward to our next meeting!  By beginning this conversation we will only help one another cope with the multi-faceted job of the school librarian.  

Posted by Joyce Valenza on April 13, 2008 | Comments (3)