You might want to join LM_NET, the email list for 20,000 school librarians.
There's also AISL for independent school librarians, but their email list i=
s
restricted to members (it's only $20 a year to join).
That being said, here are some suggestions from my experiences:
Professional Development Goals
- Focus on strategies for increasing collaboration between classroom
teachers and librarians - in planning meaningful research lessons as well a=
s
keeping students interested in reading for pleasure.
- Become familiar with Web 2.0 applications and how they can be applied to
your library.
- Stay current on children's and young adult literature
- Get involved in staff development and training.
The other parts of the assignment are confusing to me - usually we are all
specialists in everything; however, as a Head Librarian, I deal with
personnel and budget as well as technology planning. For challenges and
problems - it's usually money and managing budgets; since tuition dollars
typically make up most of our operating budgets and we are not directly
responsible for grading students, librarians have to continue to prove thei=
r
worth in school settings. Becoming the place all teachers and students
flock to for technology, reading and lesson planning advice ensures our
future. Being involved in all aspects of the school is another way.
I work for La Jolla Country Day School. From 2000 to 2003 I was the Upper
School Librarian. This fall I came back and am now the head librarian. We
have four full time librarians including me and a full time assistant. We
have 1000 students in grades PreK-12.
Hope this helps.
Michelle
On Thu, Jul 3, 2008 at 10:50 AM, Geilfuss, Thomas <TGeilfuss@usmk12.org>
wrote:
> Hello all: I am currently a grad student in library and information
> sciences at the University of Wisconsin Milwaukee. I also am an assistan=
t
> middle school librarian at an independent school in Milwaukee. This summ=
er
> I have to write a paper on school libraries and librarianship. In the pa=
per
> I have to look at school librarianship and discuss the following:
>
> -Assess and articulate professional development goals and activities
> associated with this specialty;
>
> =B7Identify a current skill set (managerial, personnel management,
> technological, etc.) for this profession currently;
>
> =B7 Analyze the challenges and problems facing this specialty; and
>
> =B7 Assess the prospects for this specialty for the foreseeable future.
>
> If any of you have suggestions or specific examples about any of these
> topics, please let me know. My biggest question is what are your present
> challenges, and which is the most pressing, worrisome, etc. ?
>
> If you want to reply, please let me know what school you work at and your
> number of years of service.
>
> I look forward to hearing from anyone willing to help.
>
> Tom Geilfuss
> University School of Milwaukee
> Milwaukee, WI
>
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--=20
Michelle S. Ohnstad, MLIS
michelle.ohnstad@gmail.com
Head Librarian
La Jolla Country Day School
La Jolla, CA
Web: http://www.ljcds.org
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