Job Duties Of A High School Librarian
Latonya Huffman
Today's school librarian works with both students and teachers to facilitate access to information in a wide variety of formats, instruct students and teachers how to acquire, evaluate and use information and the technology needed in this process, and introduces children and young adults to literature and other resources to broaden their horizons. As a collaborator, change agent, and leader, the school librarian develops, promotes and implements a program that will help prepare students to be effective users of ideas and information, a lifelong skill.
School librarians are generally on a similar salary schedule as teachers. Salaries go up with years of experience and amount of education in most cases. When transferring from district to district, a school librarian may be given credit for some, but possibly not all years of prior experience based on the teacher contract in the district. Occasionally school librarians will have a slightly extended contract to finish administrative tasks outside of the school year, but this is not common.
Another way to learn about the job is to shadow a school librarian for a day. Contact your local schools or state professional organization to set up a visit. Once you are in a job, connecting with a mentor will help the new school librarian navigate through the challenges of a new career.
Reading tips: Recently, I spoke with my high school students about how cell phones can distract us while reading, and I recommended turning them off when opening a book. Little suggestions like that can help students at least think about ways of becoming better readers.
Nothing can ever replace a school librarian. They are crucial to every school, and educators must stand up for them. As their numbers decrease, however, teachers from every field can step up and fill in the gaps.
Hi guys, I popped over to r/schoollibrarians/ but there is not a lot of activity. I was wondering if you public school librarians could talk to me about your duties and what your average day is like, what kind of things you do over breaks and summer for your job. Trying to get an idea of the workload and how often you have to re-design your curriculum. Thanks in advance.
School librarians perform a number of tasks every day, and as a student interested in enrolling in a library science program, you may want to look at the duties of a school librarian. These duties include working with both students and other faculty members, finding new materials for the library and ensuring that those using the facility understand how to use all materials and resources.
Acquiring new materials and resources is one of the key things a school librarian does. While private schools may have more funds available, public schools often have a very small budget, which limits the new materials that you can bring in each year. You need to know how to identify the needs of the students within that school, evaluate the materials available to you and determine which are best for the student body.
Though you might think that librarians still rely on the Dewy Decimal System and that they spend a lot of time putting books back in the stacks and organizing the library, librarians today use newer forms of technology on the job too. The responsibilities of a school librarian include knowing how to organize online materials, how to keep track of the databases that the school subscribes to and how to help students find materials through those sources. If your school offers online classes or classes taken via satellites, you may be responsible for helping students register and take those classes.
One of the other responsibilities of a school librarian is the recruitment of new workers. While the school itself will usually have the final say regarding who can work there, librarians can help the school board weed through applicants and find those who are most qualified. You may even interview some of those applicants and determine which ones should go further in the hiring process. Depending on the school where you work, you may take over the recruitment and hiring of volunteers. Volunteers can help put books away, clean up the library and do other simple tasks. Those volunteers can include parents who have extra time on their hands or students willing to work during their free periods or after school.
According to the American Association of School Librarians, one of the other responsibilities of a school librarian is the evaluation of sources. When a student comes in and needs help putting together references for an upcoming paper, you need to know how to evaluate those sources and how to find the best materials for each student. Evaluating sources is especially important when looking at online content. While students may know that they cannot use Wikipedia, they may have a difficult time finding helpful and useful sources that their teachers will accept.
AASL also offers Toolkits that gather resources and method suggestions to advise campus librarians and their communities as they work to strengthen campus and district school libraries.
"Parent Advocate Toolkit." AASL. ALA, n.d. Web. 1 Aug. 2016.
"Toolkit for Promoting School Library Programs." AASL. ALA, 2015. Web. 1 Aug. 2016.
Over the past twenty years, perhaps no position in education has transformed more than the school librarian. I spoke with two veteran school librarians to get a better idea just how much their jobs have evolved:
Andrea and Marifran were gracious enough to share the ways in which their positions have allowed them to support teachers and students in this ever-changing educational landscape. Through our conversations, it became abundantly clear just how vital school librarians are and will continue to be to education in the 21st century.
The educational landscape is awash with initiatives to make learning more authentic and problem-based. For these differentiated approaches to work, students and teachers need networks of support to ensure that students can follow their own felt needs for learning. Who better to support that journey than the modern school librarian?
Hello,
The librarians/media specialists in our school district are looking for a book with concrete ideas for the changing role of the school librarian for a group collaboration. Many schools in MA are replacing the positions with a clerk.
JOB SUMMARY:
This position assists a school librarian with daily library operations. Responsibilities include processing new materials, checking books in and out, maintaining library records, and assisting students and staff in research, reference, and assignments.
I am your resource for consultation, assistance, and leadership with school library programs. I am passionate about making school library programs essential, highly valued parts of Wisconsin schools. School libraries, staffed by quality professional school library media specialists, are robust centers for inquiry, collaboration, and literacy, providing equitable access and opportunities for all Wisconsin students. Please contact me using the information below if you have questions about any of the information or links on the school library pages.
She has always been driven to help media specialists to become more connected, both to each other and the schools they serve. As a local library coordinator nearly 20 years ago, she created the first listserv for school librarians in the city, which is still used today. She is dedicated to ensuring her colleagues have a voice in school decisions, even when being supervised by five to 10 principals.
Licensed school librarians teach students information literacy skills, collaborate with teachers on lessons, provide students with individual research instruction, and curate a collection with an eye toward books and databases that support the entire school curriculum. Licensed librarians regularly follow the selection and weeding policies for the district. They are experts in project-based learning, trained to address the information literacy standards in the Digital Literacy and Computer Science Framework, and they provide appropriate resources to meet the needs of all students.
More than 60 studies in 22 states show that the levels of library funding, staffing levels, collection size and range and the instructional role of a school librarian all have a direct impact on student achievement.
The terms school librarian and library media specialist are interchangeable and describe a teacher with a Master of Library Science degree and certification as a Teacher of Library (NYC) or Media Specialist (Library) (NYS). In some New York City schools, teachers are assigned to the library to perform the functions of the librarian.
The librarian integrates the information resources and services of the library media program through collaboration with classroom and content area teachers to accomplish the instructional goals of the school.
A job description for the school librarian position should be constructed around national standards for school library media programs. The three major areas involved in creating exemplary library programs are Learning and Teaching, Information Access and Delivery, and Program Administration.
The school librarian provides instructional leadership for the teaching of information literacy skills, develops and maintains a school library collection that has up-to-date digital and print materials and technology, including curation of openly licensed educational resources, and manages the school library as a flexible, multi-tasked learning environment. Collaborates with school faculty and administrators to develop a program that supports the instructional curriculum.
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