Re: new job/first week

[Deborah Chaney <chaney@TENET.EDU>]

H-m-m-m. Seems the opposite is also true. While librarians have left to
become classroom teachers (some in the past to become eligible for career
ladder stipends, which should have been extended to librarians in the
first place),some classroom teachers have also left to become librarians,
seeing it as an easier route to retirement (SOME, I said). I do believe
that the librarians' contracts should be extended by 2-4 weeks (balanced
between the end/start of school). What bothers me is that in some cases,
the librarian who has that luxury STILL manages to eliminate services
before the last day of school (I'm not talking about circulation to
students, which must stop earlier), and manages to delay opening at the
beginning of the year. The best of all worlds??
Librarians ARE teachers. I can not imagine anyone wanting to dispute that
very simple statement.
Librarians who refuse to spend time after school hours handling routine
tasks necessary for the smooth operation of the library can be equated
to the classroom teacher who grades papers on students' time to avoid
taking any work home.

On Thu, 29 Aug 1996, Cathy Louise Roach wrote:

> When do you expect the LMS to enter students' names in the computer and
> assign barcodes?  When would you have them assign and deliver AV
> equipment and computers?  When should they process the new materials that
> have arrived during the summer?  Do you expect them to come back to work
> BEFORE the students and teachers to do everything that is required to gear
> up the LMC for the new year?  When will administrators wake up and
> realize that direct classroom instruction is not the only thing happening
> in a successful school program?  To borrow a phrase, "It takes a village
> to run a school" and all of the villagers do not have the same tasks.  It
> is this attitude of trying to make LMSs the same as classroom teachers
> that has caused many LMSs to return to the classroom.  Why do two jobs
> when you are still paid for only one?  We have a unique position in the
> school and we should be recognized for our contributions - even if they
> are not the same as those of the classroom teacher.  EVERYTHING we do is
> to the ultimate benefit of the students and teachers.  I would suggest a
> different alteration of our contracts - ADD two weeks so we will not have
> to "take care of our library business" on our vacation time.
> Cathy Roach
> LMS
> Dan Rogers Elementary School
> Dallas, Texas
> croach@tenet.edu
>
> On Thu, 29 Aug 1996, Deborah Chaney wrote:
>
> > I was surprised by your last question. Does a classroom teacher wonder
> > what to do the first couple of weeks of school(perhaps!!), and does she/he
> > have the liberty of NOT seeing students during that time period?
> > Perception is reality, and if librarians show that they are not needed at
> > the beginning or end of the school year, then it would seem reasonable to
> > cut back their service contracts by one month (2 at the beginning and 2
> > at the end). The first day of school can be and usually is too
> > hectic-registration/new students/class placements/etc. But why would you
> > not invite classes to your library that first week, to read to them or to
>
> > >
> >
>