Re: TARGET: Network Support

["Roberta J. Ponis" <rponis@JEFFCO.K12.CO.US>]

Dear Gail,

Your inquiry re: network support in schools is timely.  What we found as
a result of a technology survey among our 136 professional librarians is:
        1.  the responsibility of network support at the elementary level has
fallen most heavily on the librarian with the resulting effect of
burnout, less time on library responsibilities and less time with kids.
        2.  some of the elementary librarians have solicited support from
other staff members to spread the burden around, but if they are
classroom teachers, they have children all day except during their
planning period which is contracted duty-free time.
        3.  the funding for technology, particularly library information
technology came from the PTA and fund-raisers. Our parents are saints and
generous.
        4.  the library information center was the site for more
technology than any other place in the school.
        5.  the librarians who have taken (or been given) responsibility
for network support have not for the most part been compensated for it.
In some cases additional clerical support has been given.  Because our
district is experimenting with additional compensation incentives, I have
suggested that librarians with network responsibilities apply for
additional compensation.  What, unfortunately, it doesn't address is what
happens to the library instructional/management program when at least 50%
of a librarian's on the job time is consumed by technology problems
school-wide. And that's what a majority of our folks reported in the
survey in terms of time spent on all aspects of technology schoolwide.
The library technology they can justify.  Of course,some will say that the
physical library is disappearing... and so we contribute to a
self-fullfilling prophecy when we don't "stick to our knitting".
        6.  At least 1/2 of our elementary librarians also have some
responsiblity for scheduling an adjacent computer lab.
        7.  At least 3/4 of our elementary librarians have total or
shared responsibility for troubleshooting technology in the school.
        8.  They gladly accept responsibility for teaching students and
staff how to use technology appropriately, how to select materials for
different technologies, and how to use technology as a tool for efficient
management.  What they don't want responsibility for is replacing chips,
pulling wires, troubleshooting network problems, untangling printer
screwups and the like.

And so, what is the answer?  I don't believe it is providing compensation
to the librarian although it helps.  (see #5)  I believe that each school
needs a technician or a technical specialist who is the network fixer,
but there should a number of staff including principal or ap who are
network literate, and certainly every staff person, including kitchen
staff, who uses technology should accept responsibility for understanding
it and being able troubleshoot enough for the small daily annoyances.

One of the reasons we have had trouble recruiting dynamic teachers into
our field, or so it has been posited by more than one person here, is
that the amount of responsibility for schoolwide technology has turned
them off- that's not what they want to spend their time doing.  And even
though our district job description sidesteps the issue of network
responsibility, many of our folks have found that, especially at
elementary, they are the natural candidate because they are the only ones
with any network experience - their library network.

And so I'm off my soapbox- thanks for letting me vent.  I see the network
responsibilities, though, as one of those watershed events in our profession.

Will be interested in others' experiences with and thoughts about this issue.

Roberta Ponis
Library Services
Jefferson County Public Schools
Golden, Colorado
rponis@jeffco.k12.co.us