I am a 55 year old SLIS grad student, working on the School Media Specialist Certification. So far, I've learned that I don't want to be a School Media Specialist because of all the things you mention in your post. So, I will finish what I've started, then find a job doing something else in some other kind of library. I would rather be cataloging by hand in a basement somewhere than work with uncooperative teachers, with no budget for arguably, the most important program in the school. Carry on! Best wishes!

Aha! So there in lies the mystery. Even with all those obstacles, I still believe we do have the most important job in the school and that it is nearly paradise. Maybe we just have more than one snake.

I completely agree. Admittedly, I am a public librarian, but in any profession, if you are doing everything the exact same way you did it 20 years ago, you are out of a job. Librarians need to be aware and willing to use new technologies, read the latest books, and not be afraid to try! I hear all the time, "we already tried that, and it didn't work." Try it again! Maybe it will work now! If you just put some passion and sweat into the job, it will pay off. I completely agree with you opinion.

wow, that's quite a comment by Disgruntled. Sadness. The School Media profession is excellent - fun - different every day - and it is a product of what you bring to the table. It's positivity, salesmanship, drive, and fortitude. I love my HS LMS position. I love the changes and the growth. We are supposed to instill in our students the love of lifelong learning. If we ourselves are unwilling to model this, then you are in the wrong profession. Growth and change are positive forces.

Diane, I love that you're saying "you don't have to do it all - but you have to do SOMETHING"! All too often I think we hear that if you're not tweeting/blogging/on Facebook/embracing all that's 2.0/participating in nings/circulating Kindles/who-knows-what-else and doing it NOW,you're somehow a Bad School Librarian. And of course people get overwhelmed and tune out. Encouraging people to do a little something different, to expand their PLN by one contact or try reading 1-2 blogs, etc. will win more converts (the whole "fleas with honey" thing).

Great post.

OK, maybe some anger management and then some people management skills are needed. Your way or the highway, huh? Poor you. You have inadequate resources, boo-hoo. Try working in much of the real world where there are NO resources, No internet , No projectors etc. The something we all do does NOT have to be tech. In case you didn't know, books can move mountains.

Thank you, methodology, for saying what I wanted to say!! We often get told this or that is best for our profession. I care "what is the best I can do with what I have for these kids".

We had a great summit thinking about the Framework for 21st Century Learning which bears a striking resemblance to the AASL Standards. These standards highlight the kind of learning environments students need for real success. My contribution to the panel was to discuss the role of the school librarian in Professional Learning Communities. If there are PLCs in your school or district you need to be there! School librarians are uniquely positioned to introduce new models of teaching and learning through the reflective practice of PLCs. We need to model and collaboratively plan for teaching that goes beyond the standardized test and offers formative, thoughtful learning experiences. This work takes time; it takes energy, and serious commitment. Why take this step if you’re not required to? It connects the school librarian directly to school improvement which impacts student achievement (hopefully). We, as a profession, want to be part of this effort - right? School librarians will have to stretch our thinking, expand our understanding, and branch out into new ventures to be central agents of educational change in the 21st Century. Those shy of adventure need not apply.

There are potential obstacles to the PLC idea:
Obstacle – I have no idea what a PLC is or what I would do in one.
Opportunity – you’re a reader so study up, begin with a slim volume like “Getting Started: Reculturing Schools to Become Professional Learning Communities” by Eaker and DuFour. Or email me at ernest dot cox at gmail dot com. I’m working on a book for Libraries Unlimited about PLCs and the School Librarian. We can talk about what the opportunities might be for you.
Obstacle - You are not assigned to a PLC.
Opportunity - Find one that needs your expertise and show up. If they want to know what you’re doing tell them “I’m here to plan for learning. Where can we get started?” They will want your help.

Obstacle - You don’t have time to attend – you’re all booked up.
Opportunity – Cancel a class, get your assistant to teach (they need to teach right along with us), close the library and place a sign on the door “planning for learning with PLCs”.

Obstacle - You cover the PLC time for other teachers.
Opportunity – Enlist a parent volunteer to cover for you or better yet - lock the doors and close the library, if the physical space is a holding cell they don’t need a librarian.

Other potential obstacles? Find a creative response.

Hello Diane, The conversation is essential. As a library media specialist in a very supportive school, I've had the opportunity to present numerous workshops. The one entitled "Thrashing Towards the Digital Classroom: Rocks, Blocks and Friction" addresses the reasons behind the reluctance -- and everyone has a story to tell. We have to listen to and appreciate these stories. Perhaps this is the most important step in writing new stories. Sarah Chauncey, Grandview Elementary School www.grandviewlibrary.org

Diane,
Thanks for picking up this vital conversation. I too believe that books can move mountains, if you have the right books. That doesn't mean you have to forsake technology. It also doesn't mean you have to dive in head first. We have teachers at our school who are of both types. The trick is being willing to try something. Pick one, two, or even three things to do over the course of a year and see how they work for you. If after a reasonable period of exploration, and resonable expectations, they don't cause an improvement in reaching your goals, then stop and try something else.
Whether you agree with the opinion in this blog, and for the record, I do, if you solely rely on books to justify your existence in an online world, your supervisors are going to be able to justify replacing you that much easier with someone who can stand behind a desk and scan barcodes.
You MUST contine to evolve. Continue to challenge yourself and your students. Continue to grow, even if slowly.
If you rely on the world of books solely, then you will find yourself further and further out of touch with students who use social networking tools and digital media as second nature and typically do so unethically as they don't know any better. Whether you change and evolve or not, the world will continue to do so. Change or get out of the way of people who are willing to.
If you lose your job due to not being indispensible, it's no skin off my back. If you make my profession look irrelevant so that my job is jeopardized, then you become my problem and I will tell you to get out of my way for the good of the profession as a whole.

I totally agree!!! In William Arthur Ward's words, "The pessimist complains about the wind; the optimist waits for the wind to change; the realist adjusts the sails." And of course, if the wind does not fill the sails, start paddling. Have these obstacle-ridden, stubborn, excuse-making colleagues of ours forgotten our mission as stated by AASL? "to advocate excellence, facilitate change, and develop leaders in the school library media field" Perhaps it is because I am "young" - in my 30's - or because I'm only in my 8th year in school library media, or because I am at a school that supports collaboration and PLC's that I believe we must be agents of change, that I must be an agent of change. However, I don't think that's it. I think it's because of who I am, who we are - or should be - as school library media specialists. We must stay current, keep learning, model for our students, parents and staff. I've been at a school with high free & reduced population, on a completely fixed schedule with no budget, no planning, and no support; but that did not stop me. I worked with what I had, I looked for other resources and people outside my school to be a better librarian for my students and staff, and a better leader in my district, state and field. I've worked at a school where the money flowed freely and had low F&R population and high parent involvement - there were still obstacles and problems there too, but that didn't mean I had any more or less excuses not to step out of the box, work to make my program and my profession the best it could be. I seek new ways to improve myself and my program every school year, even if it means stepping out of my comfort zone. We all know Rome wasn't built in a day, so I take that to heart, knowing that my efforts, whether small or big, whether they change things over night or over the period of 5 years, that at least I am moving, and my program is improving and thus impacting my students. Because in the end, isn't that what this is all about? Our impact on our students? Helping them to achieve? So, yeah, Diane is right, because after all, as Will Rogers said, "Even if you're on the right track you'll get run over if you just sit there."

Sometimes the truth hurts, but ignoring it is even worse, so please keep speaking the truth Diane. How ironic and disappointing that someone on a school librarian's salary would spend their time and money to travel to Washington D.C. for a School Library LEADERSHIP Summit only to drag their heels about acting like a leader.

I was also at the Leadership Summit and came away feeling energized, excited, and challenged. My head was swimming with ideas for building my repertoire of skills so that I can help my students be ready for the future. I didn't need to go to the Summit to know that the (library) world I live in today doesn't look anything like the (library school) world I trained in just 11 years ago. Staying afloat, much less riding these waves of change, isn't quick, easy, or stress-free. Nor is it fair that some of us face much bigger obstacles than others. Yes, it is really HARD sometimes, but that's not a good enough excuse for giving up, giving in, taking a back seat, or fading away.

As for me, I'm where I am precisely because I love learning and I want my students to love learning too. I take pride in being a role model for my students. The minute I start powering back, my students will see that maybe their learning isn't all that important either (or that the school library media center is pretty irrelevant to their needs).

I want to be part of a growing, learning profession and not part of one that watches the world race by while sputtering about not having the time, the energy, or the interest to stay in the race. We congratulate ourselves on being a smart, helpful, and collaborative profession ... we need to use these qualities to teach, encourage, support (and yes, sometimes drag) one another to keep our profession strong and growing.

To Methodology and tellit, Re-read and you'll see that I never said to get rid of the books. I am passionate about the books. I advocate that we should be buying more nonfiction and fiction now than ever before for students to read. I am adamant on the importance of reading in print and online. Every student in my school knows you must check out and be reading books. I am not anti-book. I am passionate about positive learning and attitudes willing to change and try new things. I have 14 books on my bed, 30 on the bedside table, 3 bookcases in my bedroom, plus books in every room including the bathroom. I tuck books in my son's car and in their duffle bags. Anti-books? Not me. Need of people skills. Okay, I'll buy that.

In a school of 1100, with NO library clerk (as I tell the kids, "all me, all the time"), it would be easy to resign myself to a "woe is me" and simply continue with the status quo. I'm embarassed to admit that I did that for a few years because I didn't know how to proceed with limited resources.

Twitter, however, opened a new world for me. I developed relationships with people who were doing the things I dreamed about doing -- developing more intensive programs, collaborating more with my collegues and working to provide better partnerships with my students.

Do I feel overwhelmed at times? Definitely! Do I have more days where I feel empowered and face the day with a different type of enthusiasm? Heck yes! I've always loved what I do but looking outside the box and building other areas, while tiring, is also invigorating!

I suggest taking baby steps. Develop and foster 1 collaboration. Work to learn 1 new piece of software that you believe will enhance your library programs. Yes, there will be times when you feel like you are trying to "sell" your ideas - but there will be buyers!

Off to face a day of library fines and overdue books, student orientations and working to learn a new application for research that I think will add a new element to library programming. Another great day!

"October 20, 2009
In response to: "get out of my profession"
Diane commented:
"............. Anti-books? Not me. Need of people skills. Okay, I'll buy that."

Hey Diane - There's a book for that! - Probably quite a few.

But seriously, Thanks for challenging us all. Change doesn't have to be drastic, it doesn't have to happen overnight . Just try one small new thing. What would you say to a student who came to you for help, but rolled their eyes at your suggestion - whatever it might be? Wouldn't you encourage them? and try to convince them to give it a try??

great post diane. i hope you never stop speaking your mind!

Some quotes come to mind after reading this initial post:
"Be the change you wish to see in the world" by Gandhi
"Do the best you can with what you have wherever you are." Teddy Roosevelt
"Don't matter if the horse is blind, load the wagon!" John Madden

I blogged about this on my teacherninjas.com site earlier this week. I think if teacher-librarians can't embrace change, then you're probably right about them not needing to continue being teacher-librarians.

Thanks!

PS and I think you probably meant Buffy Hamilton, the Unquiet Librarian?

Hey TeacherNinga! Great catch. I did mean Buffy Hamilton who is so amazing. Buffy Holland was a parent and substitute teacher at my elementary school before and a facebook friend.

I am so with you about bad attitudes. We are not saying people have to give up their entire lives. However, this is a profession not a job. WE cannot just put in our hours during the school day then leave and forget about it. Doctors, lawyers, and executives don't. If we want to be treated like professionals, we have to grow as professionals.
A comment for disgruntled. Please rethink your decision not to use your degree. I didn't get into education until I was 35. Before that I worked in business, entertainment; I was even an animal tech. I am now 51, and I love going to work everyday. My budget has been dessimated; I am fundraising every way I can just to buy books; my clerk has so many other duties, she's really half time, but then there are the kids who get excited about books, and who need help with research, and who come to the library if they are having a bad day because it's a safe place. This is the best profession in the world, and we need to advocate for it.

Diane,

Thank you for this post. I read it right away and completely agreed, but even more so now after I just returned from my state librarian conference. One of the sessions I attended was on advocating for school libraries and how to be recognized by administrators, governing bodies, etc., and what challenges we face. Well, frankly, as I have seen in my own district and at this workshop, I believe one of the BIGGEST obstacles we face is the fact that a huge percentage of the people in our profession are the "stuck in the mud" librarians who just want to complain and who do NOT place teachers and students first. Ugh.

I COMPLETELY AGREE WITH THIS:
"If you aren't willing to try something new, you are just a placeholder and are endangered. You may even be endangering the rest of us in our profession."

How can we advocate for our profession in our state and national legislatures with people who aren't considerate and giving of their time and willing to grow? We can point at the good we've done, and the legislators will point at the mean librarians in their school districts (we've all met them)..."Well, that's not what the librarian in my town is like."

At the workshop today, we held a conversation about librarians losing jobs. And then one of the participants in the workshop had the gall to complain that she has posted "NO FOOD OR DRINK" signs all over the library, and she was so upset when a group met in the library and had food and drink. She even sent out an email afterwards to the whole staff reminding them of the rule! Argh! I wanted to quote you, Diane, "Get out of my profession." We librarians cannot be so possessive of our space - turn that group's meeting into a public relations opportunity for your library!

I agree with you. Imagine how I felt walking into the library 10 minutes late one morning because I had driven all the way downtown to borrow 5 Flip cameras only to find my assistant yelling at people and telling them they only had 4 minutes to check out a book. ARGHSH The problem is not just the librarians, but also the aides. We are judged by all people helping in a library.

Thank you, Diane, for this post!
As someone who could complain about much, I am choosing to rejoice in the fact that I have two volunteers helping me and another one asking to help! I am rejoicing that I have some students who are working on some global and other collaborative projects! I am a resource for teachers who need that book or website! I love my job, given the good and the bad. And, I MUST adapt to the education paradigm shifts or else. . .

I will admit that as a veteran of 35 years in a variety of libraries, I was a bit taken aback by your comment. I DO get tired of teachers and librarians thinking that use of the latest technology is teaching. I call it the "bells & whistles" approach" and have seen it for years. We must remember that our teaching goals are not
"use technology." Our content may best be taught using these technology tools but we shouldn't do it just because its cool or neat and "the kids will like it."
We should keep our educational goals firmly in mind and use the technology where it best fits the needs and learning styles of kids. To adopt a new
technology just because it is new sidesteps the process of planning for
specific educational goals. Education as a profession struggles with being a science, an art, a combination of both and often folks spend incredible amounts of time doing "cool stuff" that has no content. Let's not let the media become the message in schools. It's happening too much around us as it is!