Plattner

I really enjoyed reading the journals and I learned about many different activities that I could use in the future once I become a Library Media Specialist. I noticed that in many of the journals there were articles that discussed how the library impacts the learning of the students. Some questions that arose were how do you know if the students are learning in the library and how are you impacting student achievement? The main point of all of these articles was about collaborating with the other teachers in the school. Library Media Specialists can greatly impact the learning of all students if they collaborate with the other teachers to find out what they can do to help meet the needs of all of the students.

Another interesting article I read was about recruiting the next generation of school librarians. It started out by telling a story of a boy who had to stay after school to wait on his mother. The boy started to wander the halls of the school until he heard noise and laughter coming from one of the rooms. He decided to enter the room and he discovered it was the library. When he tried to find the librarian he was shocked to discover that it was a young man. This article talked about how librarians are generally stereo-typed as older single women who wear glasses and have their hair tied in a bun. It then goes on to discuss that not only the image of the librarian is changing but the atmosphere inside the library is changing as well. The library is no longer a place where children have to silently whisper while checking out books. Libraries are a place where learning is occurring and children are having fun creating projects and discussing and analyzing literature through a variety of ways. After reading this article I also found out that 68 percent of school librarians should be retiring by the year of 2015. I’m not sure how true this will be but I was excited to find this out because I am hoping this will make it easier for me to find a job! I also found out that there is a low percentage of people who are trying to become Library Media Specialists and that the main cause of this is because of the stereo-type of what a librarian does. Most people don’t think that it is a professional job and don’t understand the responsibilities of what a school librarian does. Even many teachers, principals, and administrators don’t fully recognize the responsibilities of the school librarian. Many people don’t think certified librarians have to be certified teachers. Honestly, I didn’t find this out until I was doing my student teaching and after I realized what the role of a Library Media Specialist was I decided that was what I wanted to become. Also, there aren’t many schools that offer the Library Media Specialist Program so that is another reason why not many people get this degree. Most of the people who want to join this program already have full time jobs and aren’t able to miss work to complete the field experience that is necessary to complete the program.

One of the journals I read had a lot of good lesson plans and activities that I thought would be beneficial. I especially liked the activity where the Library Media Specialists chose some of the students from the school to go on a field trip to their local book store. Instead of having the Library Media Specialist pick out all of the new books for the library, the students were able to give their opinions of what books should be chosen. The students were then recognized in the library for their book selections.

Some other things that were discussed in the journals were how to find volunteers and how to get them to stay in the library. There was a section that gave a good idea of how to get younger students to return their books on time and I also found out about a lot of popular new books that have been recently released. I could go on and on about different topics that were discussed in all of the journals. The main conclusion I came to was that I think it would be very beneficial for all Library Media Specialists to subscribe to some type of professional library journal because it is a great way to keep up on new things that are happening in libraries. It would also help them out by teaching them new activities they could use with their students.

Morgan Plattner


 * Which journals did you read Morgan? Did you prefer one? SB

I like the idea of rewarding students with a trip to the book store to make suggestions on books to order for the library. I'm sure kids would love being involved in the selection. JD

• I really liked what you had to say about the "Librarian stereotype" and how it's changing. I hope that article's statistics were correct too! I would be interested in some of the lesson plans and activities for Library Media Specialsts that you read about. CNR

I also enjoyed the article on finding new librarians for the 21st century; and rightly so, as it applies to us. It is my hope that, all stereotypes aside, that we all can have a chance to gain employment in this field and show what we can do! I enjoyed the activities as well and appreciate the fact that they tied reading with many different subject areas. --Bill Reagle

I think we read some of the same articles. I enjoyed the article about volunteers! Also, I enjoyed that story about the stereotype of the school librarian being an older lady and not a man or younger person. Now that I have done my field experience I can see that students do think this stereotype is true! I think that stereotype will be gone soon as I see all the new people coming into the field. EAS

I agree...professional journals do keep you up to date on best practices and trends in your chosen field. I also hope that all those predictions about the future need for librarians are true! What a neat time to be entering the profession. RL

I also read the article on finding the next generation of librarians. I liked the fact that the author focused on the role of library school personnel in recruiting new SLMSs. In the future, we can be active participants in the recruiting process by producing recruitment materials, participating in career fairs, and educating others on the impact school librarians can have on student achievement. JT

What you wrote about the typical library stereotype is so true! I thought the same thing when I was a kid but now, of course, I see things much differently. It really surprises me how "in the dark" principals, teachers, and administrators still are about what it takes to be a librarian. It is up to us to inform people about how valuable we really are. A good way to prove that we are doing our job is to document everything, and use evidence-based practices. EDT 733 deals with this topic. The statistics you mentioned are great news for all of us, because we will all need to find jobs eventually. I am curious as to what three journals you read, and I agree that it is very important to subscribe to at least a couple of them to stay up-to-date. KE