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Elementary Librarians Preparing for the Future? March 31, 2007

Posted by sbrisco in : Hot Topics , 4 comments

A recent question posed on LM_NET asked whether elementary library positions are being cut back to part-time or if elementary librarians are in such a vicious cycle of being so tied down to a rigorous fixed schedule that they are, in essence, being killed because they have not been given the opportunity to change as other levels of the K-12 library program.

While it may be true that “some” elementary library programs provide flexible or fixed-flexible schedules that allow for a more dynamic library environment, it is more likely that elementary libraries and librarians are still being held to the types of programming that were in place during the “pre-Information Power Standards” era (which began in 1988 with the publication of “Information Power”, ALA). Before “Information Power” was published, elementary libraries were a part of a rotation of special classes that included other subjects such as art, music, physical education, band, etc. As a result, students were ushered systematically into the library based upon a specific day and time during the week and “library lessons” were taught in isolation. Although no grades were given, it was expected that the librarian would provide “crowd control” for a certain amount of time in order to allow teachers to have a planning period (and possibly, some peace and quiet).

Today, many middle, junior high, and high school libraries provide students and teachers the opportunity to visit the library on a flexible or fixed-flexible schedule in order to choose materials for recreational reading or for specific library research assignments that are taught in cooperation with the classroom teacher who has taken the opportunity to work with the librarian. However, elementary librarians are often left to “find the time” to meet with teachers in order to collaborate…and with some librarians teaching as many as ten 35-minute classes each day, that time never comes.

With very little time during the day to meet with teachers for collaborative opportunities, many elementary school librarians are placed in the position of just “getting through the day” rather than advocating for their professional position within the school. When teachers are provided planning time away from the library while the librarian provides instruction to their students, they are also isolating themselves from the value of the school librarian and the impact that s/he can make to curriculum.

Even while most elementary librarians are team players and are involved in activities that allow for other programs to succeed, in many schools the elementary school librarian is alone without even a full-time assistant to help with clerical work such as shelving books. Relying on volunteers to help is not always an option and providing additional library enrichment programs such as visiting authors, book fairs, or storytellers can become a major issue because of time constraints that limit planning and / or the execution of the event.

Overall, the responsibility for change in elementary school libraries must come from the top down. School administrators must be the ones to set the environment that will provide elementary librarians with the opportunity to work with all students in a way that provides for true information literacy skills to be taught. If elementary school administrators continue to regard the elementary school library program as expendable, rather than a significant investment in academic achievement, these programs will be eliminated through ignorance.

If elementary school librarians are considered to be insignificant to the curriculum or to student achievement in specific areas such as standardized tests, they will be removed by those who are uneducated in how Information Literacy can impact the lives of their students. In fact, if elementary school librarians do not find strong library advocates through their school administrations and others, it is certain that librarians at higher levels will have a more difficult time teaching Information Literacy skills to students who have learned at the elementary level that libraries are not important to their education or in their lives.

(posted by Shonda Brisco)

Join in! March 28, 2007

Posted by Laura Pearle in : Community , add a comment

Have you heard about Ning? It’s the latest in social networking (in other words, you decide what the network is about and how it looks and all that other nifty stuff)… and ALA’s all over it. Come join the party at ALA’s Ning Site.

(posted by Laura Pearle)

Stop Cyberbullying Day: March 30, 2007">Stop Cyberbullying Day: March 30, 2007

Posted by ayucht in : Community , add a comment

Andy Carvin is initiating Stop Cyberbullying Day this Friday, March 30, 2007, on his PBS Blog in reaction to the terrorization/bullying that has been done to Kathy Sierra. Kathy’s Creating Passionate Users blog explores and explains “how the brain works and how to exploit it for better learning and memory… and how to recognize when someone else (including one of us) is applying brain-based techniques to get you to do something.” Her posts are frequently praised and quoted across a wide variety of industries and interests: marketing, technology, education, libraryland, etc.

In school-library-land we know how important it is to alert students, parents, teachers, and administrators to the realities of the Read/Write Web. We advocate for social responsibility and fight against censorship. We want — nay, need – our future citizens to know how to conduct themselves appropriately and ethically at all times, whether face to face or online.

Bullying and social cruelty is hateful behavior, no matter what the format or the age of the instigators. As educators, it is imperative that we do whatever we can to make sure that it does not happen to anyone, child OR adult.

Go to http://cyberbully.org and Nancy Willard’s Center for Safe and Responsible Internet Use for excellent resources to use and share with your students and colleagues.

What will YOU do to prevent cyberbullying in your community?

(cross-posted on LM_Net, and at http://www.aliceinfo.org )

posted by Alice Yucht

Weeding time March 25, 2007

Posted by ayucht in : Community , 1 comment so far

Did you know that the first full week after the first day of spring is National Clutter Awareness Week?
From the Clutter Diet blog:

“You could certainly compare decluttering to weeding your yard… keeping the good plants and getting rid of the ones that obviously need to go. Have you ever noticed that when you get some weeding done, it feels really great? You have visible results and it’s very satisfying to see just the plants that belong there. “

If your shelves are cluttered with tattered and obsolete titles, you are doing your program and your students a disservice. Too many administrators tend to reduce budgets because ‘the shelves are full,’ without any understanding of the need to constantly weed and update your collection. I know, I know — weeding takes time. So instead of feeling overwhelmed at the enormity of the task, try evaluating just one shelf every day. Pick one section, and work your way through it bit by bit. If you chunk the task this way, it will be much more do-able, and at the end of the month you’ll be astonished at how much you’ve learned about your collection.

(posted by Alice Yucht)

Support your school librarian March 21, 2007

Posted by Laura Pearle in : Hot Topics , 2 comments

There’s been a bit of a kerfluffle about American Libraries and school librarians. Specifically, a perceived editorial bias against reporting on what’s going on in school libraries and with school librarians.

Doug Johnson wrote:

Open letter to Lenonard Kniffel, Editor of ALA’s American Libraries (americanlibraries@ala.org):

Dear Mr. Kniffel:

Once again ALA has demonstrated that school libraries are truly the red-headed stepchild of the library world.

I appreciate your re-working of American Libraries to acknowledge that there is actually a digital world where libraries play a part. Adding columns by a few librarians who are under 110 years old is a good start. (Andrew Pace and Merideth Farkas are refreshing)

But it really grinds my gears reading an article like “Mattering in the Blogosphere” without even the token school library blogger being mentioned. I can just hear Alice Yucht asking, “What are we, chopped liver?”

Let me list a few of the vibrant school library voices writing blogs:

I hope you print this in your Letters to the Editor section. But you know it doesn’t really matter since it is also out in the school library blogosphere - which I would wager has more school librarians as readers than does American Libraries.

For a more inclusive editorial policy,

Doug Johnson
The Blue Skunk Blog http://doug-johnson.squarespace.com/

Peter Milbury, co-creator of LM_NET, also commented, and Sara Kelly Johns has urged us to share our thoughts with both Mr. Kniffel (lkniffel@ala.org) and Keith Friels (kfiels@ala.org).

Do your part: be heard!

(posted by Laura Pearle)