[LM_NET] TARGET: Justifying a full time librarian

[Terry Thomas <terry.thomas@CIPLC.NET>]

 know there are questions about this all the time, but I need a shot in
the arm to get started.

My boss just told me that I need to make a presentation to the board to
justify my position, essentially. I currently teach middle school language
arts for 60% of my contract and for the other 40%, I am the school
librarian. We are a small PK-12 school of about 120 students.

After much begging and pleading on my part, my boss has agreed to reduce
my middle school classroom teaching responsibilities to 40% so that I will
have more time to devote to the library. This is where he needs
justification. What am I going to do with all that "extra time"? I guess
the answer "I won't have to come in on weekends so often to get caught up
on cataloging & administrivia" is not adequate. 

Currently I teach each elementary grade PK-5 once a week for about 30 or
40 minutes. When I am not in the classroom teaching lang. arts, I am here
in the library available to help students and teachers (in other words, I
take my preps in the library). 

As a first-year librarian with another 60% position, I haven't felt like
I've been able to do a great job in the library. My thinking is that next
year, I'll do the same things, only I'll do them better (teaching library
skills, finding great books for kids, assisting with I-search and research
projects, locating good resources for teachers, and so on). I want to do
more librarian-esque duties, too, such as arrange for guest speakers to
come to our school, organize book orders, and so on. However, it seems
like the board already expects all that-- so I need to convince them that
giving me more "free time" (as they see it) will add up to some benefits
for the students. 

Anyone who can point me in the direction of some good studies or who has
some ready-made answers for me? 

Thanks,

Terry Thomas
School librarian/ Middle school Language Arts teacher
Colegio Internacional Puerto la Cruz
Venezuela
terry.thomas@ciplc.net

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