An Inspiring Tale from Springfield State Journal Register – Springfield,IL, where Connie Potts is working hard during some tough times. A few years ago, during a severe round of budget cuts, her position was reduced to half time. Now, she spends the other half of her day supervising volunteer librarians at the district’s elementary schools – where all librarians were eliminated during the same round of cuts.
While Potts speaks highly of the volunteers elementary schools have enlisted to staff their libraries, she says they simply do not have the skills necessary to build vibrant school libraries. It’s all the volunteers can do to keep track of books that are checked in and out.
“It’s a mess, but I really think they’re doing a good job,” Potts said.
Commendable but….
What she is doing is commendable but it doesn’t help make the case librarians are worthwhile. Working for free or taking less pay than your worth does more harm to the profession.
Think of it from the administrators stand point. Wow we cut the librarians, but we still have them thanks to a volunteer who we only pay part time. Somewhere there is a presentation to other school districts about the benefits of cutting your librarians.
Re:Commendable but….
I have to agree with anonymous (except for the commendable part) it is fantastic for school administrators who are trying to keep their budgets in check.
However it is a disservice to librarians and specifically school library media specialists. To cheapen the profession by working for free, or encouraging untrained volunteers to take over the duties of a professional librarian is shocking.
Would you go to an untrained volunteer because the senior center stopped preparing income tax? Should the school system use volunteers without degrees in education to teach? No, of course not.
But since it is ‘just the library’ volunteers are just as good as masters degreed professionals.
Stop, it is a nice gesture, but stop it cheapens the profession. How is anyone going to take librarianship seriously as a profession if we facilitate our own replacement with untrained volunteers?
It is probably too late anyway.