Re: [LM_NET] Because I'm a man?

[Shonda Brisco <sbrisco@GMAIL.COM>]

After spending the past week working on the "tech end" of Athena
because our technology department no longer trouble-shoots any of the
library programs---an agreement that was demanded by the previous
District Librarian) ---- (and "putting out other fires" that spring up
with library technology in our district), I agree with many of the
comments that suggest---- the more YOU do, the more THEY will ask you
to do!  Because my library assistants do not have the technology
skills to trouble-shoot many tech issues, I'm always on call to "fix"
their problems and if a teacher catches me, I troubleshoot any
problems that they have with their systems (and even show them how to
use a specific software application).

Because many of us are self-starters when it comes to technology,
because we are not afraid of technology, because we are first-adopters
(or early, early adopters), we know how these things work.  However,
being taken advantage of is an entirely different issue.  I do know
that this happens in other professions too---even when I was growing
up I watched my father (an auto mechanic who was employed by a large
company in a nearby city) being called by EVERY person in our small
community to work on their car over the weekend.  The calls became so
frequent that he eventually quit his job with the large company and
started his own business in the smaller community.  Even then he found
that he was on call 24/7---but he was always a "service
provider"....he rarely said "no" if he knew he could do the job.

I've decided that part of our job is as a "service provider"....a
"Mother Theresa of technology," to be perfectly honest.  We evaluate
these problems, hold hands, work to fix them, and do a lot of praying
that this person will eventually seek the help of a Higher Power  (and
attend a technology class) to learn how to do this themself!!  But in
the meantime, we will continue to do what we can to make things work
because deep down we know that "our bottom line"...is the student who
benefits from our services.

-- 
Shonda Brisco, MLIS
District Librarian
Peaster ISD
Weatherford, TX 76086

Currently reading:  "Burned" by Ellen Hopkins

Digital Bookends wiki / blog:
http://digitalbookends.pbwiki.com
http://shonda.edublogs.org/
sbrisco@gmail.com

Resources for Texas School Librarians:
http://txschoollibrarians.ning.com/
http://txschoollibrarians.wikispaces.com/

"Digital Resources" columnist
School Library Journal

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