Public vs. School

[Terri Brunner <TBRUNNER@MAIL.CENTRALIA.K12.MO.US>]

I am a school media specialist/librarian.  I have worked in a K-12
library, a 5-8 library, and presently work in a 9-12 library.  I have
been in this business for 15 years.

At the K-12 location, I worked my regular hours 8-3:30 or 4 or 5 and
then came back on the average of 3 nights per week and worked from 8
til Midnight or 1 or 2.  I work over when someone needs something
(often) or when I need to play catch up on some things that I cannot
get finished in my regular day.

I have a BA and an MA and am presently working on another MA in
library science.  I was thinking about breaking into the public
sector after I retire from my current job.

Most professional public library jobs available pay quite a bit more
than I make at the present time.  Of course, Missouri is one of the
lower paying states.

I feel that public and school librarians earn every penny they get.
It is not our intent on this list to slam others.

The discussions on Public vs. School have been very interesting to
me.  I guess the grass always looks greener on the other side.