Re: GEN: Media Certification

[Susan Weiss <sweiss@CKS.SSD.K12.WA.US>]

Hi Laura,

Last year I conducted a retirement survey of our Washington Library Media
Association members (1000+). Over a 6 month period a little more than 200
responded - I was pleased with that kind of response.

More than 50 of them (20%) said there were going to retire within the next
5 years.  I forwarded all the results to the colleges and universities
that are preparing school librarians.  They were most grateful to have
this information - and the anonymous results were tabulated county by
county, public vs private schools, grade level and education of the
librarian filling out the form.

We did this for a couple of reasons.  If we want to have qualified school
librarians then we need to support the colleges and universities that
prepare them.  Also, it helped us think about our association leadership.
With that kind of turnover, we need to involve more new people in
the association now.  We're sending our annual conference
registration packets to schools with 200 or more students and putting
membership forms in those packets.  After all our conference is one of the
best benefits of being a member. Sending them to the schools (in
addition to our current members) will catch the new school
librarians. Another thing that we're doing is offering free student
membership to the first 100 students who attend a region meeting.
They must get the signature of a region officer and  their university
professor.

Maybe your Ohio school library association has already conducted such a
survey and could be persuaded to do so.

Sue Weiss
Ballard HS Librarian
Seattle, WA
http://www.seattleschools.org/schools/ballard/index.html
w - new (206) 252-1121, fax (206) 252-1001
h - (206) 546-2715
sweiss@cks.ssd.k12.wa.us
Immediate Past President
Washington Library Media Association (WLMA)


On Wed, 2 Aug 2000, Laura Brooks wrote:

> Hello,
>
> What is the general consensus out there on returning to library school for
> certification? As an MLS holder with substantial public library experience,
> I've worked with young adults and have become interested in re-orienting my
> career toward a media specialty.
>
> I've read in several places that  there's a "critical shortage" of media
> specialists, but I don't see an over-abundance of job openings. Furthermore,
> I'm skeptical as this "shortage" claim is touted mainly by library science
> programs. I am fearful of putting a lot of time and effort into a career
> re-orientation only to find that I may not be able to make the transition.
> Has anyone else attempted this recently? What have your experiences been? If
> you've made the transition, are you happy with your decision? I also welcome
> any off-list responses from experienced media specialists who might be able
> to help an idealist see things a little more realistically. Thanks.
>
> Laura Brooks, Librarian
> Toledo, Ohio
> lbrooks@toast.net
>
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