I am currently employed as an elementary librarian. I never really thought I would work in an elementary setting, but I was offered the job and I absolutely love it! Prior to this, I worked in a middle school for 10 years, so the elementary setting has provided a bit of culture shock in my life. I am enrolled in the Masters of Library Science program. I entered this program with dreams of being a librarian. I have dreamed of working in a library since I was a child, only the setting of that dream has changed. When I graduate, I expect job security. Right now, I am working in a library with an emergency certification. This is stressful because my job is not completely secure until I graduate and obtain my certification. I am working with the understanding that if I do not graduate in a certain period of time and pass the certification test, I could possibly be back in the classroom. I absolutely LOVE my job, so I am working hard and determined to complete all of the requirements in time.
I completed the matrix and was, once again, pleasantly surprised. According to the WorkMatrix, I am interested in staying in the first level of service. I love teaching the children, and the first level of service allows me to be with the kids. The features of work that I find important aren't listed in the matrix. Yes, geographic location is important and having money is great. But my love is in teaching. I love seeing kids enjoying literature. I love it when I see a child's eyes grow bright when they have discovered a story they can't get enough of. I want to take kids who don't like reading and help them become lovers of literature. Unfortunately, these features were not in the matrix. Though I do enjoy designing/developing instruction for the kids, I have no desire to become a trainer of teachers or adults. I think I can make more of an impact on younger students. I want remain in the educational sector. Perhaps one day, when my kiddos are grown and out of school I will think about moving on to a public library, but for now, I am blissfully happy in my elementary library.
Based on my desire to be in a public school library working with students, there are many skills that I need. I must, first and foremost, learn how to build a collection that is age appropriate for kids while honoring and including the diverse groups in my community. I need to know how to week a collection for irrelevant or outdated materials. I must learn how to correctly classify the books in my collection. I also need keep abreast of the newest technological resources. Because I am in the public school setting, I have to do all of the library work while addressing the state requirements and teachers' needs. I have learned much of this information from my LIS program. State and teacher requirements I have obtained from the Texas Education Agency (TEA) and my campus. Some electives that might be helpful to me would be courses in children's literature, technology and writing.
There are many professional organizations that would be valuable to join. The organizations that would be most beneficial for a librarian to belong to would be the American Library Association (ALA), the International Reading Association (IRA), and the Texas Library Association (TxLA). These organizations are extremely valuable to librarians. They do offer publications to members such as the School Library Journal. Current library issues are discussed and book reviews are given. I feel that these organizations would be extremely worthwhile to join; however, joining can be costly.
From reading other blogs so far it seems that most library media specialist rated service level one high on the WordMatrix. I guess that should come as no surprise. As educators we are already providing the services of teaching and training to students and staff on our campuses. I am sure if we didn't enjoy it we would have already pursued other careers. I think you have a wonderful opportunity to work in a school library while getting the opportunity to get your coursework and certfication done. With graduation just 5 days away the only thing I feel I need is more informal training in a library setting. Training wheels so to say. If and when I get my a job as a library media specialist I will be on my own doing the library media tasks you mentioned in your blog. It seems daunting but I have asked a lot of librarians if they like their jobs and they have all overwhelming have said they LOVE their jobs. So I am looking forward to someday joining in your ranks. Also, thanks for mentioning the professional organization IRA. It is not one I am familiar with so I plan to look into it. Good luck in your current pursuits. I know you will finish your courses and get your certification on time. :)
ReplyDeleteI do understand your falling in the level one in the matrix. Today's librarians do teach. I remember my gradeschool librarians. They were pretty much wallflowers, behind the scenes. I wish you the best with your schoolwork and certification endeavors.
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