Library Advocacy!!

If there's ONE thing that today's library school students take away from their grad school experience, it's that someday you WILL have to justify/fight for your job. Library advocacy is practically "built in" to the program of study. I'm not suprised AT ALL that fewer and fewer people are choosing to go into this profession, because, more often than not, it's the FIRST thing to go under the "budget axe".

I'm HAPPY to say that I haven't had to worry about this...UNTIL NOW... My school district, having to make HUGE cuts because of the current budget MESS, has proposed that my position be reduced to half time. I'm not worried about only having a part-time job, because the other .5 can be filled with something else around the school...whether it be reading specialist, coordinator of this, half-time teacher of that...what I AM concerned about is the "fate" of the position.

Last night, I was asked to go to the "Budget Advisory Committee" meeting to give a presentation on my position, and why I think it should be kept "as is". The committee consists of school board members, selected staff members in the district, parents, etc.

Here is the (rather long!) transcript of the presentation. It's been "generalized" for purposes of confidentiality:

"The fear of public speaking is called glossophobia (or, informally, "stage fright"). It is believed to be the single most common phobia - affecting as much as 75% of the population. I would be one of those people. However, when the superintendent approached me about making a presentation to this group, my answer was yes…ABSOLUTELY, because of how strongly I believe in what I’m here to talk with you about!

When I started in this school district, there were THREE professional, library school trained media specialists in the district…one in each building. During my first three years, the media specialist position at the middle school/high school was eliminated, due to budget cuts.

A few years later, the other elementary school in our district, replaced its library school trained media specialist with teachers on special assignment. They did a fine job, but did not have ALL of the skills necessary for the position.

In the NINE YEARS that I’ve been with this district, neither of those professional positions has been reinstated. I am deeply concerned about the effect this is having on our students, and all that they are missing by NOT having a skilled media specialist in their building.

Libraries have changed ENORMOUSLY in the last 10 to 20 years. Where we were once book repositories, and our primary role was circulation of materials, we are now a technology hub, where students are learning research and literacy skills, computer programs, and how to find information in a variety of print and online databases.

Media specialists are teaching students how to critically evaluate websites. Students are learning about plagiarism and fair use, online safety strategies, and countless other tasks that can’t just be “picked up” as they get online…these skills need to be actively taught by a professional who understands “higher order” thinking skills.

To give you an idea of how the roles of librarians have changed, here’s an example of a “typical day” in the media center:

· 2nd grade biography website lesson using laptop computers. During this session, students are learning skills needed to use the laptops, including working with a “finger mouse”, and navigation of biography websites that I’ve selected as appropriate for use.

Students will learn how to navigate these sites, AND my focus will be on the fact that websites CAN be put up by anyone. Students will begin the process of using critical evaluation skills when using the internet.

· 4th grade author study: Gary Paulsen. I’ve built these studies into the schedule on a monthly basis, to expose our 4th graders to OTHER authors (besides Barbara Park, who writes the Junie B. Jones series, and Dav Pilkey, author of the Captain Underpants books).

· Kindergarten and 1st grade “storytimes”. I STRONGLY believe that kindergartners and 1st graders need to be in the media center on a CONSISTENT, weekly basis. With kindergarten, I use the “letter of the week” that they are learning in the classroom, and, use the Tucker signs (which assist with the assimilation of the sound) for each letter being learned. Every time the student hears the letter of the week, they make the sign, say the sound, and this reinforces their classroom learning.

With the 1st graders, we take a different letter each cycle, and focus on an author whose last name begins with that letter. After listening to the story, I take the students to the shelves and we locate that author’s books.

Through these storytimes, I’m working on their alphabet skills, beginning the process of “location” skills (finding books on the shelves, and assisting our students in becoming independent library users), and they are getting consistent practice in how the library works, the routine for checking out books, and, even more importantly, are getting to know the media center staff. The relationships that are formed are an ENORMOUS advantage, as students work their way through grade school, especially in the area of “reader’s advisory”…matching students to books at their interest and reading levels.

· 3rd grade team meeting, at which we discuss the current lessons I’m teaching, and plan the upcoming unit, to see where I can “plug” in needed library and research skills.

At yesterday’s meeting we created a lesson, utilizing the Kidspiration program, to create a “biography web” for each of the students. They will use these to write an “About the Inventor” paragraph for their “Inventions” presentations.

We didn’t have time to complete the assignment today, but they will be able to come back to the media center tomorrow to finish, because of the “flexible schedule” now in place in the media center.

· 6th grade exhibition lesson. This month, we’re focusing on interpreting data…taking the mountains of information they’ve found, and organizing it into usable “segments”.

In previous months, students have been in the media center to learn about website validity, plagiarism and collusion, research resources, interviewing skills, how to take notes, and will continue coming through the rest of the exhibition process to learn how to put all the information together, how to present the information, and how to evaluate the final project.

· 4th grade “Main Idea” lesson, using fables to teach the concepts of “main ideas” and “supporting details”.

All of these lessons are taught COLLABORATIVELY with the classroom teacher, and the students are getting the attention and skill sets of TWO teachers, each with different areas of expertise. By teaching these lessons together, we are able to accommodate multiple learning styles, and the teacher to student ratio is GREATLY improved.

An additional benefit of this collaboration is that I’ve heard MANY teachers state that they learned something new in the lesson. I really like that I’m able to teach the teachers as well as the students!

In addition to teaching responsibilities, I am also coordinating the community mentors for the 6th grade exhibition (which is a MUCH bigger job than I anticipated it being)!

Community mentors are the “guides” that assist our 6th grader exhibition groups in every step of the research and presentation process. They are not teachers…and need assistance with this huge undertaking. They are doing an AWESOME job, and I’ve LOVED working with them. It’s been a GREAT community/school collaboration!

I currently assist students with book selection, or “reader’s advisory”, as they come into the media center. I order books to supplement the collection (as we’ve moved further into PYP, collection development in non-fiction has changed, and I need to re-evaluate the collection, weed out books that are too old, or aren’t being used anymore, and replace them with updated, relevant materials that aid our staff in teaching these units).

Through the courses I’ve taken to get my master’s degree in library science, and 18 years as a librarian/media specialist, I’ve learned the “fine art” of choosing resources. This CAN NOT be done by a “novice”.

It takes a professional librarian to build and maintain a collection, and it’s something I will NOT have time to do, if my position is cut to .5. Historically, once a position is “reduced” in this district, it rarely gets restored to “full time” status. This will be a HUGE disservice to our students, and concerns me DEEPLY.

If my position at my school is reduced to .5, I will no longer have time to do many of the things I currently do. My biggest concern is that I will no longer be able to attend team planning sessions, as I’ll need every hour of my .5 time to teach the lessons that I’ve already written to teach collaboratively with each grade level in the building.

Not being able to attend these meetings is A HUGE disadvantage…if I don’t know what the unit is about, and have no part in writing/rewriting these units, I’ll be back at “square one”…teaching in isolation (as I did in the prep lineup), which makes “authentic learning” extremely difficult.

The suggestion that I work “half time” at one school, and “half time” at the other elementary school WILL NOT WORK for this very reason. If I can’t attend team meetings, I will have NO IDEA what the units contain, and will not be able to teach authentically, or relevantly, in any of them.

I do not know the units at the other school, and there will be no way to find out. Reading the planners is only part of the equation…the collaboration and discussion at the team meetings is where the lessons are truly created, discussed, and refined.

There are over 60 studies, across the United States and Canada, that show CONCLUSIVELY that having a full-time media specialist in the school IMPROVES student test scores.

“School Libraries Work!”, a document produced by Scholastic Research & Results, contains data from some of those studies. In the forward it states “Resource-rich school libraries and credentialed school librarians play key roles in promoting both information literacy and reading for information and inspiration.

When staffed by qualified professionals trained to collaborate with teachers and engage students meaningfully with information that matters in the real world, school libraries become sophisticated 21st century learning environments that offer equal opportunities for achievement of all students, regardless of the socio-economic or education levels of the community.

This research foundation paper, updated from the 2006 edition of School Libraries Work!, brings together position statements from a variety of organizations and findings from nearly two decades of empirical studies that cite the measurable impact school libraries and library media specialists have on student achievement.”

Margaret Spelling, then Secretary of Education, states “one of the cornerstones of NO Child Left Behind is teaching children how to read. School libraries play a critical role by providing children with books and resources so that they can improve their reading skills and achieve at high levels”.

The International Reading Association states:

School Library Programs influence learning outcomes and student achievement when:
- Library media specialists collaborate with classroom teachers to teach and integrate literature and information skills into the curriculum.
- Library media specialists partner with classroom teachers on projects that help students use a variety of resources, conduct research, and present their findings.
- Library media specialists are supported fiscally and programmatically by the educational community to achieve the mission of the school.

The International Reading Association also states:
Library Media Specialists enrich the teaching and learning process when:
- They teach skills and strategies students need to learn and achieve.
- They are partners in educating students, developing curricula, and integrating resources into teaching and learning.
- They teach the skills students need to become effective users of ideas and information. They seek, select, evaluate, and utilize electronic resources and tools, and instruct teachers and students in how to use them.

There is a LARGE amount of information in this document, and I’d LOVE to share it all with you now, but, in an effort to wrap this up, will leave the web address for the document with you, and you can look at it when you have a chance to do so.

So…to conclude:

The first of our district’s “Guiding Principles” states “We must support academic systems that expect continuous improvement from ALL students in terms of academic growth, proficiency, and graduation.” Helping our students succeed is our primary goal. I can’t IMAGINE NOT supporting having a full-time media specialist to help accomplish this.

The media program that I have spent so much time building, and so much time refining, and of which I have so much left to do, will be reduced to a shell of what it is, and of what it can become, if my position is reduced to .5. Our students will not have the advantage of a professional librarian in areas of research skills, reader’s advisory, or any of the other skills previously mentioned.

There are MANY difficult decisions to be made in the coming weeks and months. If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to ask now, or send me a note. I created an e-mail link on the media center homepage, on the district website. You can contact me through that link.

Thank you for your time!


Here's hoping YOUR day didn't involve fighting to keep what you KNOW is a good thing from being taken away!!!!!!!