Re: job description (NOT title)

[Tamah Graber <tgraber@UMD5.UMD.EDU>]

On Wed, 28 Dec 1994, K. Gary Ambridge wrote:

> I feel that the teaching portion of our job is very often overlooked. In
> our school district, it has been said that school librarians are not
> needed. Public librarians can provide the service any student needs.
> However, public librarians are not teachers and can not teach. Therefore,
> we keep documents that show this teaching role.
> kga@umd5.umd.edu, Baltimore, Maryland

Having been a public librarian for five years before joining the ranks of
the school librarians, I must take issue with the statement that public
librarians cannot teach.   Although public library policy regarding
questions, especially reference questions, is that they must be ANSWERED
(as opposed to teaching people how to find the answers), most often
public librarians do in fact teach people how to find information.
Basically there is no choice.  If you do not show people how to find what
they want, there will ALWAYS be lines of people asking for the simplest
types of information.  Public librarians do not have TEACHER written into
their role as do schoo media specialists, but they do in fact teach -
every day.
Tamah Graber
Darnestown Elementary School
Darnestown, MD

tgraber@umd5.umd.edu