Re: Combination School/Public library

[Betty Dawn Hamilton <bhamilt@TENET.EDU>]

Ken and the Group,

A friend and fellow librarian, the one I replaced here at high school,
has become a director of 3 county libraries after being in the public
school library for 18 years or so.  I am the contributing editor for
_Texas Library Journal's_ "Profession" section.  She has agreed to write
a 2 part article for us comparing the two positions.  We publish
quarterly, so it will be the Fall or Winter issue, I think.  She should
be able to give us valuable information from a practitioner's point of view.

Theoretically, the combination looks like a cost-saving concept, but *I*
see a big difference in the way the two work with teachers and students.
Although many of the teachers with whom I have worked feel like they know
how to use a library well (and probably do), they still overlook some
valuable information and search strategies as they teach their students.
Collaboration between a person educated in library science AND teaching
and a classroom teacher is much more effective.  I am eagerly awaiting my
friend's article.  I trust her honesty and analyzing skills, so she
should be able to say first hand if the two jobs are truly compatible.

Have any on this network made such a change?  (I mean from being a
teacher>school librarian>public librarian?)  Your opinions as a
practioner would be interesting.

Betty
Betty Hamilton      <bhamilt@tenet.edu>     Voice: (806) 637-4523
Director of Library Media                           701 Cub Drive
Brownfield High School                        Brownfield TX 79316