I’ve been traveling to a lot of library conferences this summer, which gives me an amazing chance to see LibraryLand beyond the familiar confines of my university and home environments.

A while back, someone came up to me introducing herself as an excited new school librarian. It was clear she was eager and energetic. But her question knocked the air out of me. I’m paraphrasing below.

“What do I do about all the librarians who tell me I’ve made a huge mistake going into librarianship? What do I tell them when they spew negativity at me when I’m super-excited?”

What, indeed? And sadly, this is not the first time I’ve seen this scenario play out. I’ve seen my own students completely deflated by negative talk from practitioners. But it’s one thing to sit and talk out that idea, perhaps over hours or weeks, with folks you know (we’re a small enough program that all of our school library candidates know each other pretty well) and another to feel you’re alone in this.

I blubbered something about the importance of finding a face-to-face and/or virtual network of like-minded people who would continue to challenge and cheer her on and to whom she can turn when she feels down.

It seems to me that we have three important things to think about here:

1. What is the ongoing responsibility those of us in practice to those coming into the profession at a time of massive disruption and unpredictability?
2. How much unhappiness are we potentially broadcasting to students, teachers, administrators, and parents if those in our profession feel hit-over-the-head with it?
3. How do we balance practical pragmatism with our newest colleagues’ enthusiasm?

What would you have said to the new librarian? What are your thoughts on these three questions?

Image: iSquint Help Menu by Simon Jacquier on Flickr. Used with a CC BY-NC-SA 2.0 license.

I have just sat in one of the most powerful professional development sessions. Here at TASLA 2012 in Austin, programming wizard Marty Rossi pulled together several anonymous elevator pitches written by librarians. The administrators are giving the audience of school library administrators a tremendous gift by responding honestly to the pitches. Some thoughts:

- “We’re about more than assessment” – These admins don’t want to hear it. In their world, it’s only about assessment.

- A statement like, “I can help teachers,” may have the admin thinking, “What do you think is wrong with teachers?”

- If you’re going to ask for money, don’t save the fact that you’re going to apply for a grant at the end. Their mental answer is likely to be no … but hearing the word “grant” changes it to yes.

- In economically struggling districts (and which ones aren’t?), administrators are going to carefully weigh expense (e.g., iPad) vs. benefit. Explain the benefits.

- Don’t overload administrators with data. Use less data, build graphs together, or unpack it bit by bit.

- Be careful with how you talk about data. For example, there was some sample data that was meant to show how libraries impact achievement. The administrator pointed out that the bar graphs could tell a second, contradictory story. In the data shown, the school with the highest gains had reduced its library staffing … that makes it look as if LOWERING library staff correlates to gains!

- Administrators are looking to get the biggest instructional bang for the buck (and the best community relations bang for the buck is also important). Focus on impact.

- An administrator suggests that you be able to answer these questions, “Why do you need it? Where will the money come from? How will I know it worked?”

- Get on the federal NCLB listserv so you can keep a finger on the pulse of federal funding.

When I heard an administrator say, “Librarians as professional development?” and then paused, I drew in my breath. We had just spent 2.5 hours talking about what I feel is essential: librarians reshifting their priorities, teaching teachers instead of trying to reach each student. Was I about to be contradicted? Had I wasted the librarians’ time?

Then she finished her sentence. “Librarians as professional development? HUGE.”

Whew.

I HIGHLY recommend that you pull together a panel like this for your next state conference. Some of the librarian messages — classic messages I have read for years got shot down in moments. You need to know what administrators really think. And while some of the responses made me sad about where we are in education (particularly those in which principals said they couldn’t focus on anything that didn’t impact test results … hard to hear, but pragmatic and TRUE to today’s circumstance), I could see, with razor-sharp clarity, why our classic messages are not being heard. As a principal’s kid, I’d always worried about this … now I know the truth. DO IT.

Check out the TASLA TodaysMeet stream for more.

UPDATE:

We just had a conversation about this at TASLA because word is out that the link to this post hit AASLForum today (hi, everybody). Marty reminded us that part of what made this work was that she had very carefully crafted the audience to be ready to hear the message. The day, up to that point, had focused on empowerment issues — what we can do (validation), not what we aren’t doing (deflation). So the audience was feeling good about options and opportunities. We were primed to be ready to listen instead of defend. Had this session been held “out of the blue,” there was a possibility that the librarian audience and the administrative panel might have become defensive or reactionary. What made this event work was that there was an environment of trust: administrators knew they could be honest because librarians were primed to take in the message.

Image: “Keep Austin Weird” by Miracc on Flickr. Used with a Creative Commons license.

Today, we feature a guest post by School Library Monthly Advisory Board member and AASL President Carl Harvey.

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On Jan. 4, 2012, I posted a petition on the White House website requesting support and recognition by including school libraries in the new reauthorization of the Elementary Secondary Education Act.

Ensure that every child in America has access to an effective school library program.

Every child in America deserves access to an effective school library program. We ask that the reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) provide dedicated funding to help support effective school library programs. Such action will ensure more students have access to the resources and tools that constitute a 21st century learning environment. Reductions in school library programs are creating an ‘access gap’ between schools in wealthier communities versus those where there are high levels of poverty. All students should have an equal opportunity to acquire the skills necessary to learn, to participate, and to compete in today’s world.

We now have until Feb. 4, 2012, to get 25,000 signatures. This is where I need your help. I want to challenge you to find those 5 people and get them to sign the petition. I challenge you to get at least 5 people to sign the petition. The numbers will quickly multiple and we’ll surpass the 25,000 in no time.

The link to the petition is here:

http://wh.gov/Wgd

You will need to create an account in order to sign the petition. Some folks who have troubled have suggested trying different browsers, different computers, or even coming back a few days later.

We need more than the school library community to sign this petition. Anyone over the age of 13 is qualified to sign the petition. Teachers, parents, students, community members are all encouraged to sign the petition. Contact your family and friends and ask them to sign as well. This is a perfect opportunity to spread the word about school libraries by asking them to sign the petition.

We can’t wait or assume someone else is going to do this for us. We have to take action for our programs and for the needs of our students. This petition will help raise awareness to the White House that our country values school library programs.

After you have signed, then please begin to share it with others. Post it online, on blogs, on Twitter, and Facebook. Email it out to your friends and colleagues. Please use all your communication methods to help get the word out.
Thank you for your support of the petition!

Carl A. Harvey II