My two cents on harrumph

[Patricia Small <psmall@TENET.EDU>]

I got in on the tail end of this discussion, but I think there are valid
points from all groups -- the MLS people without school certification,
the hardworking paraprofessionals, others who see the paraprofessionals
selling themselves short, etc.

I have my MLS and certification.  What I'm seeing in a lot of the small
Texas districts is one certified person and the remainder as aides.  That
certified person is run ragged.  In even smaller districts there is no
professional whatsoever, and the horror stories abound.  These people are
not like the ones we hear from on the net.  One vendor told me about an
aide who received Chapter II funds, opened a new library, didn't know
what a core collection was, wasn't sure what to purchase so bought FIVE of
everything.

I got a call about a district's K-12 library aide last week.  She
wanted to drive over and see my setup and spend ONE afternoon together so
she could learn all about libraries.  After I got up off the floor, all I
could think about was the 48 hours I earned at UT-Austin Graduate School of
Library Science, commuting 213 miles round trip three to four days a week
to learn something about libraries.  No wonder we can't shake our bad
image because this woman would never be allowed in a classroom.

For the first time in my career, I declined and referred her to the
librarian at the Education Service Center.

Patsy Small, psmall@tenet.edu
Bandera HS (TX) Library