Re: new job/first week

[Wendy Stoll <Wendy40@AOL.COM>]

Well, this has certainly been interesting.

One point that has been lacking in this rather judgmental thread is simply
that each librarian's circumstances and situation are different.

I was hired to be the librarian at a small private school two days before
school started this year.  The library was in complete disarray because a
wall had been taken out and moved to add space for another classroom, and
books and fixtures had been put back any which way.  I have no desk, and very
little storage space.  There were almost no supplies; this school hasn't had
a "real" librarian in years.  They gave me a week with no classes, although
I've been happy to let kids check out books.  Was this asking too much?
 Hardly.

I have a friend who, for the last two summers, hasn't been able to get into
her library.  Two summers ago, they were getting rid of asbestos.  Last
summer they decided to take part of the library to house the new
air-conditioning units.  She got in the week before school opened, only to
face shelves all over the place, and workmen still working.

In many schools, the library is used for other things during the summer, such
as daycare.  In some of these schools (we have a big school system here, I'm
not talking about one or two), the librarian may take 25 to 30 classes a
week.  How much "free" time does this leave her/him?

Yes, we ARE teachers....but instead of a classroom of 24-28 children, we are
responsible for several hundred children of various ages.  We are also
responsible for working with the teachers...who are not always interested in
working with us on the curriculum during the summer.  The class list thing
can also be a major headache.  Whoever so blithely said, the counselor should
have those, hasn't worked in a large system where children are bussed every
which way.  At my children's school, after 2 weeks, class makeup is still
changing to try to keep up with new students and the racial guidelines.

I agree that in the best of all possible worlds we should be as ready for
that first class as a classroom teacher.  Perhaps when the library is treated
as our classroom, and not simply as usable or disposable space, and when
profound changes aren't dumped on us the first day of school ("oh, by the
way, you'll be taking the three pre-school classes twice a week from now on")
we will be.

In the meantime, my guess is that we are all doing the best we can with the
resources available to us, and deserve support from each other, not
self-righteousness.

Wendy Stoll