Michael:
I am a (just recently) retired school librarian with an MLS degree as well=
=20
as a library medial specialist credential (also two other teaching=20
credentials, but they were before I entered libraryland ). I was very=20
satisfied with my choice to stay in the school setting. In a crassly=20
commercial sense, the money I made there was more than I would have made in=
=20
all but the highest positions in a public library or an academic=20
library. I enjoyed working with kids, but equally important, I enjoyed=20
working largely on my own. Literally no one in the district was competent=
=20
to supervise me. I did a observably good job, the library improved greatly=
=20
under my direction, and so I was left largely to my own devices, which=20
suited my style of working to a T. I loathe meetings, and in a more=20
hierarchical setting, I would have been attending those all the time. I=20
rarely had to justify what I was doing on a daily basis, and when I was=20
called upon to justify a project or action, I had done my homework ahead=20
of time, and that made it much less likely to happen in the future <G>. I=
=20
was luck in that respect... some school librarians are micro managed by=20
principals who haven't a clue about library work.
The down side??? Well, in a school setting, your budget will likely be=20
small and often one of the first targets for cuts when they=20
become necessary. Your job may also be a target for cutting. Public and=
=20
academic libraries always have better budgets, and (somewhat) better job=20
security. I was tenured faculty, so my *employment* was taken care; but my=
=20
*position* in the library could have been closed out.
I loved my work, and I continue to work in school libraries (most recently=
=20
in a local elementary library weeding and reorganizing the collection and=20
training staff), and with professional organizations (AASL, ALA, and CSLA).=
=20
I have done work in academic and public libraries for short stints. I=20
prefer school libraries, though if I was part time reference in a academic=
=20
setting, that would be cool, too! Part-timers rarely have to deal with the=
=20
administrative aspects of libraryland. <G>
If you have other questions, you can contact me off list.
Good luck!!
Mark
At 07:50 AM 7/2/2004 -0400, you wrote:
> Hello,
>
> I am a graduate student finishing up my master=92s degree,
>and completing an internship in London. I am contemplating returning to
>the main campus to finish up my certification so that I can work as a
>school librarian (likely in the Southeast, either Florida or Georgia.)
>This would require approximately two extra semesters of full time study
>(with the internship as one semester) to complete=97so, a fair amount of
>additional time after having already completed the basic MLS degree
>requirements.
> Basically I would like to know how happy most of you have
>been as school librarians in your chosen field, and if you had much
>contrasted experience working in libraries other than school libraries to
>compare/contrast your current employment to. What was it that made you
>want to work in a school library other than a public or academic library,
>and what made you end up staying in a school library? (as opposed to
>leaving for a different library environment). Does quite a bit of your
>time revolve around having to monitor the behaviour of and/or discipline
>students who enter your library (or other places in the school that you=92d
>have to monitor as a teacher)? I am thinking mostly in terms of high
>school, or possibly middle school libraries as opposed to elementary
>schools. Is there a high quota of paperwork involved in your positions?
> I know that budget cuts are frustrating. Also, it seems as
>if in other sectors, most librarians (public, academic) often have a
>supervisor that they report to who is a librarian as well. My
>understanding of school libraries, though, is that often you report to
>someone who might not have a focused understanding about libraries, their
>purposes, policies and procedures.
> Any comments that listserv members have, as to what new
>professionals should expect in the field of school librarianship (both
>positive and negative) would be helpful to me. Also, I hope that
>everyone who attended enjoyed the ALA conference.
>
> Best wishes,
>
>
> Michael Furlong
> FSU London Library intern
> London, England
> maf02e@garnet.acns.fsu.edu
>
>--------------------------------------------------------------------
>All LM_NET postings are protected by copyright law.
>To change your LM_NET status, e-mail to: listserv@listserv.syr.edu
>In the message write EITHER: 1) SIGNOFF LM_NET 2) SET LM_NET NOMAIL
>3) SET LM_NET MAIL 4) SET LM_NET DIGEST * Allow for confirmation.
>LM_NET Help & Information: http://www.eduref.org/lm_net/
>Archive: http://www.eduref.org/lm_net/archive/
>EL-Announce with LM_NET Select: http://elann.biglist.com/el-announce/
>LM_NET Supporters: http://www.eduref.org/lm_net/ven.html
>--------------------------------------------------------------------
Mark Williams
Retired Librarian/Library Consultant
markwilliams@makaw.net
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
"The closest thing you will find to an orderly universe is a good library"=
=20
--------------------------------------------------------------------
All LM_NET postings are protected by copyright law.
To change your LM_NET status, e-mail to: listserv@listserv.syr.edu
In the message write EITHER: 1) SIGNOFF LM_NET 2) SET LM_NET NOMAIL
3) SET LM_NET MAIL 4) SET LM_NET DIGEST * Allow for confirmation.
LM_NET Help & Information: http://www.eduref.org/lm_net/
Archive: http://www.eduref.org/lm_net/archive/
EL-Announce with LM_NET Select: http://elann.biglist.com/el-announce/
LM_NET Supporters: http://www.eduref.org/lm_net/ven.html
--------------------------------------------------------------------
LM_NET
Mailing List Home