Wanted: More School Librarians

Andrea Koch writes “The Rochester, New York, daily newspaper’s front page includes a story about the dire need for qualified school media specialists. It is a positive article about the professionalism required and decent salaries paid locally. Here’s the whole story at the Rochester Democrat and Chronicle.”

August 28, 2004 by Uncategorized 2

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2 Responses

  1. rudimyers says:
    August 30, 2004 at 7:18 pm

    lack of librarians
    Unlike teachers, school districts and library associations must actively recruit librarians, Roscello said. There was something else in the article about sharing librarians as well. In our district, I am the ONLY one with any assistants. There are two certified librarians in a 1000 student school fifteen minutes from where I work. Who would WANT to be in a situation like that?

    School librarians are teachers, so their salaries are on the same pay scale. Another problem, we are teachers, but we are also catalogers, technical troubleshooters, collection managementers, budgeteers, PR people, etc. etc. etc. Add disciplinarian to that, and it is no wonder that a graduate from library school would rather be in a public library (which pays less and requires weekend/night/summer work) than work in a school library.

    My last two cents. I work in a school that is TOTALLY deficient technology wise. I can only check my email on ONE computer. Many of the computers are Pentium’s (not II’s or III’s… JUST Pentiums). I have no scanner, digital camera, or LCD panel. My budget is just under $5000 a year for 600 students. With that I purchase books, videos, overhead lightbulbs, paper, toner, etc. So, I don’t even get $7.00 per child to spend on books. The collection age averages to 1986 and is going backwards. I’m sure there are schools in worse shape than me. Who would want to work in that?

    Why am I here? Because I love the kids. But, I am going back to get my master’s plus thirty hours in special libraries. And, I am looking hard to move out of schools. Sorry kids.

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  2. Jimmy Allen says:
    October 10, 2004 at 11:50 pm

    Andrea Koch’s article’s at variance with reality
    I am continually amazed at articles such as the “wanted: More school
    librarians.”
    At which point someone has to ask in an intellectually responsible
    discussion does reality itself matter here at all. When the truth
    becomes a casualty is any intellectually responsible discussion even
    possible. Isn’t it a fact that in the 47 out of 50 states which have
    a shortage of school librarians, that in virtually all of those states
    thanks to pressure from the teacher’s unions, professional librarians
    who hold Master’s degrees from institutions accredited by the American
    Library Association are in fact excluded from applying for school library
    jobs. That is unless
    they’re also certified teachers from that state, (as the teacher’s
    unions want these jobs reserved for their members). Isn’t it a fact
    that this
    manufactured national shortage of school librarians is really and
    truly expressed in the tension between the profession of teaching and
    the profession of librarianship to the detriment of American school
    children. If you’re interested follow these links to learn more.Please remember there are never any right or wrong opinions so please be tolerant of the opinion’s of others if at variance with yours, so everyone’s opinions are welcome. Intellectual freedom is about a diversity of opinions. So please enrich us with your opinion and post today on this very important subject. Thanks.

    LIS discussion National Shortage of School Librarians, another solution

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