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At 04:55 PM 1/4/97 -0500, Alice Yucht wrote: >There's been some discussion lately on the Public Library Discussion >Group listserv (publib@nysernet.org)re: School vs public librarians. Dear Alice, Thank you for sharing those postings. I have been on both sides of the street during my career. I understand the frustrations of the public librarians, tho' I think their perceptions of what we do in the schools does not seem to be based on experience. From my experience, I acted more as a "dispenser" of resources in the public realm rather than a "guide" and educator as I do in the schools. I would never have asked a patron in the public library where they have already looked, what key words are they using, what their task was - I would just find what they asked for. I have always wanted to keep our doors open evenings, weekends, and holidays, but there just isn't any money and it just is NOT SAFE to be the only one on campus. I must admit that at one point in time I did work in a small rural library where I was the only person - I was just too young and stupid to be afraid. The public librarian's perception of the students not being able to use the library except during assigned times is a bit disturbing. Perhaps he works near a school which does not have flexible scheduling. My students can come in at any time during the school day plus 1/2 hour before and after. We have a very good relationship with the public library in our district. We have meetings twice a year to discuss mutual concerns and interests. We do some reading incentive projects together. The children's librarian comes to the school sites to do book talks and distribute library card permission slips. We try to notify them whenever there is a project for which we do not have adequate materials. Whenever we are doing a project involving a set of books (such as the California Young Reader Medal program or Battle of the Books) we notify them of the titles, as well as the local bookstores so that they can stock up on them. When the Board of Education recently proposed so program cuts, we were, of course, on the list. The public librarians all came to our defense. They spoke eloquently to the difference in focus, purpose , and collection in our respective tasks, assuring the Board that they could not adequately provide services or resources for the chldren of the district. Having been both it never occurred to me that it would be a them vs. us situation. Resources and money are so tight we should all cooperate to find the best solutions for all our patrons. ______________________________________ Jamie Murphy Boston, Librarian Davis Joint Unified School District Birch Lane Elementary, 1600 Birch Ln. Pioneer Elementary, 5212 Hamel St. Davis, CA 95616 916-757-5395/5413(FAX) & 757-5480/5423(FAX) jamieb@dcn.davis.ca.us Visit the Birch Lane Home Page at http://www.birchlane.davis.ca.us