Advocating Libraries, Librarians, and Becoming
Visible
1.
Empowering Learning through leadership –
Librarians are the biggest leaders and show others how to lead even though
challenges creep up fast and multiply quickly. Learning has evolved from
memorization to critical thinking and problem solving through collaborative
efforts. Technology has been the biggest change to hit education and
librarianship. If we don’t keep up, we will be left behind in the dust. Librarians must also build strong
relationships with others in their building such as with faculty and
administrators. To build these types of strong relationships, a librarian must
be seen and be active in all aspects of the building and in the community as
well. Librarians need to advocate for the library and put the word out what
they have to offer. Librarians must have good leadership characteristics such
as enthusiasm and creativity. They must always look ahead, collaborate, and be
a part of our global society. (American Association of School Librarians, 2009)
2.
Woolls – Chapter 12 On the Job: Advocacy and the
Media Center – Media specialists must “sell” the library to administration,
parents, and the community in order to keep funds coming in and to not be a
target of budget cuts. In order to do this, the librarian must have something
good to “sell.” They must show what exactly how the library can affect positive
learning outcomes. When media specialists can get teachers and students to use
the library and its resources, they will spread the word to others about what
is available in the library which in turn will encourage more to use it. If
there ever is speculation of cutting funds, these are the people who will speak
up and give proof of why that should never happen. “Selling” a library is a lot
like operating a business. “…it is the bringing together of producer and
consumer.” (Woolls, 2008, p. 190) There are three marketing
traits in advocating libraries. One
includes public awareness to which library staff must be helpful to everyone.
Another is dissemination of information which can be included in the public
awareness portion. Dissemination of information includes showing library
patrons the materials and resources they may be interested in. Lastly,
development of services is researching the target audience to support
curriculum and classroom learning.
Services are the number one facet of the
library that a media specialist must market. After services, comes the
collection. What to market is determined by patrons by what they use most
often, what needs do they have, services that people are not aware of, new
services, new materials and databases, and special collections. School
libraries are similar to businesses in that they have competition, producers,
consumers, products, promotion, distribution, planning, etc. Media specialists
are the producers and patrons are the consumers. Products are the services or
collection the library has to offer. Distribution is how patrons access the
products. There are four steps involved when planning. First, the media
specialist must analyze what the library needs and what funds are needed. The
second step is to build strategies to accomplish what needs to be done. The
third step is to keep track using good records and the fourth step is to
evaluate those records. To show the community exactly what is being used in the
library, it would be good to display the statistics of patron usage.
Communication is the key to promoting the
library. The media specialist can promote through the printed press using
newsletters and newspapers to get the word out. They can also use the intercom
at school. Put notices in teacher mailboxes, present new materials at teacher
meetings, hold contests, give away free samples, create displays and signs,
etc. When preparing presentations, the media specialist should consider the
length, have an outline handy, use visuals, and hand out copies. When speaking,
the librarian should tell the audience what they are going to say, say it, then
go over what was said. (Woolls, 2008)
3.
Woolls – Chapter 15 Leadership and Professional
Associations – Librarians must work to change the way people perceive the
library profession. Librarians that can get across to others the importance of
the library will be able to help teachers by enhancing their classroom
curriculum. They will also be able to help students become better at learning.
One way librarians can help themselves to become better at what they do is to
join professional associations. The National Education Association (NEA) and
the American Federation of Teachers (AFT) are both educational associations at
the national level. Special associations are the National Council of Teachers
of English, the International Reading Association, and the National Council of
the Social Studies. Other organizations are the Association for Supervision and
Curriculum Development and the International Society for Technology in
Education. These associations can help the media specialist with curriculum and
keeping abreast of educational news. (Woolls, 2008)
Library and Media Associations can help
with correspondence with other librarians and to get the latest information concerning
librarianships. Some associations consist of state library organizations which
usually hold annual events. There are national library organizations which help
with lobbying efforts and include the Association for Educational
Communications and Technology, the American Library Association, and the
American Association of School Librarians. There are many benefits in belonging
to these associations such as subscriptions, discounts, awards, scholarships,
and training. There is also an international organization which allows global
collaborations and it is called the International Association of School Librarianship.
(Woolls, 2008)
The librarian must also practice politics.
They must lobby locally for the needs of the library especially when programs
or positions are threatened. Documentation must be kept on how valuable the
library is to the school. They also need to show what would be lost if the
school lost the library. The professional associations can provide help in
these areas with pamphlets, books, articles, and more. When confronting elected
officials, they need to know that they are elected and they also work for us. It
is up to the media specialist to keep the community informed of legislative
actions. When corresponding with elected officials it is best to be brief, be
appreciative, be specific, be informative, and be courteous. (Woolls, 2008, p. 230) It would be best to establish a connection
with government offices before the need arises.
Media specialists need to learn how to
expand globally as worldly communication grows globally. If librarians make
connections in the global community, they can pass along what they learn to
other teachers and students therefore expanding knowledge.
If media specialist expect to be treated
professionally, they need to act and dress like professionals. Author Blanche
Woolls devised “Fifty Ways to Succeed @ Your Library.” This includes ways to
manage the library, of teaching in the library, how to have good public
relations, and putting forth that extra effort. (Woolls, 2008)
4.
The ‘M’ Word – Marketing Libraries – Seth Godin
points out libraries will be changing drastically and although they will
change, he doesn’t want them to be eventually eliminated. He argues that right
now, libraries are a place to house books, the price of eReaders and eBooks
will go down, people can research from home, there will be no need for print,
and future tax payers may not see the need for today’s type of library. As
technology changes the way people need things, libraries need to change the way
they provide these needs. A lot of it will be about connecting and
communicating and libraries need to move forward with those aspects. (Dowd, 2011)
5.
Are Librarians, Not Seth Godin, The Ones Missing
the Point on Libraries? – As Buffy Hamilton states, “libraries should be idea
and learning-driven – that focus and our rethinking what the spaces of library
and where librarians can be embedded in our communities” (Hamilton, 2011) is where the future of libraries will
go. She says we may not need clerks anymore but we will need the librarian more
than ever. She quotes Dr. David Lankes in saying that librarians are moving
from using tangible artifacts to producing the ability to gain knowledge. Buffy
says she feels more like a teacher than when she taught English. She now
questions what it means exactly to be a librarian. She says rather than push
aside what non-librarians have to say, we should listen and keep an open mind
on their vision of future libraries. (Hamilton, 2011)
6.
Transparency is the New Black – Gwyneth Jones
states that educators need to have a web presence now more than ever to promote
what they do. She lists eight tools she likes to use including Wikispaces,
Twitter, Flicker, Facebook, Linkedin, Youtube, Google Apps, and Blogging. (Jones, 2012)
7.
Visibility Works!- Sara Johns gives a report
about a guest (Rebecca Ekstrom) who created a fun way to show others what students
have learned or accomplished in the library. She used Animoto to create videos.
Her administrators loved it so much they allowed more people to have access to
the videos. This type of visibility helped her advocate the library and all
that she does. (Johns, 2012)
8.
Why I belong to ALA/AASL – Doug Johnson
complains about the cost of joining professional organizations such as the ALA.
He also complains about some of the things they do that he disagrees on but he
continues to pay his dues. The main reason he continues is not for what he gets
out of it but rather what the organizations stand for as a profession. (Johnson,
2012)
9.
Why You Need Your School Librarian – Kimberly Shearer
talks about Common Core standards wanting teachers to teach 21st
century skills and how this is very similar to what students already know such
as the use of Facebook for example. She says librarians are needed more than
ever to help students evaluate information, collaborate, master technology, and
to be readers. (Shearer, 2012)
Questions:
1)
From the readings above, we know librarians
should be leaders in the school. How should librarians get this message across
to administrators and other teachers who still believe librarians are merely
circulation clerks to let them step up?
2)
Teachers often say they just don’t have the time
to evaluate new web tools. How can a librarian show them that by using these
tools, they would save time in the future?
3)
As community needs change and even if the media
specialist is on board with those changes, how can the media specialist show
their co-workers, administrators, and board members that if they don’t keep up,
they will be left behind in the dust?
Works Cited
American Association of School Librarians. (2009). Empowering
Learners. Chicago: American Library Association.
Dowd, N. (2011, May 14). The 'M' Word - Marketing
Libraries. Retrieved September 20, 2012, from New Marketing Trends:
http://themwordblog.blogspot.com/2011/05/godin-guttenberg-and-going-forward.html
Hamilton, B. (2011, May 16). Are Librarians, Not
Set Godin, The Ones Missin ght Point on Libraries? Retrieved September 20,
2012, from The Unquiet Librarian:
http://theunquietlibrarian.wordpress.com/2011/05/16/are-librarians-not-seth-godin-the-ones-missing-the-point-on-libraries/
Johns, S. K. (2012, March 9). Guest Post:
Visibility Works! Retrieved September 20, 2012, from Make Some Noise!
School Library Hournal:
http://blogs.slj.com/make-some-noise/2012/03/09/visibility-works/
Johnson, D. (2012, April 14). BFTP: Why I Belong
to ALA/AASL. Retrieved September 20, 2012, from The Blue Skunk Blog:
http://doug-johnson.squarespace.com/blue-skunk-blog/2012/4/14/bftp-why-i-belong-to-alaaasl.html
Jones, G. A. (2012, April 3). Transparency is the
New Black. Retrieved September 20, 2012, from The Daring Librarian:
http://www.thedaringlibrarian.com/2012/04/transparency-is-new-black.html
Shearer, K. (2012, July 12). Why You Need Your
School Librarian. Retrieved September 20, 2012, from Kentucky Teacher:
http://www.kentuckyteacher.org/kentucky-teacher-of-the-year/2012/07/why-you-need-your-school-librarian/
Woolls, B. (2008). The School Library Media Manager
Fourth Edition. Westport, CT: Libraries Unlimited.
