6/21; Woolls Chapter 6 &7, Empowering Learners Chapter 3

Empowering Learners Chapter 3:
Efficiency, to me, that’s what this chapter was all about. The library is a growing organism that needs to be flexible, is always changing, and it’s the librarian’s job to make sure that aspects of that are covered. Where the superintendent is the boss of the district, the principal is the boss of the building, the librarian is in charge of the library. It is that person’s responsibility to make sure that the learning environment is operating at full capacity. In order to do that there are several aspects that have to be constantly monitored. One of the most important is obviously the learning space. The area needs to look aesthetically pleasing, provides sufficient storage, resources based learning, and the librarian has to be flexible for scheduling. There are other things that fall into this category as well, making sure that appropriate resources are available, which in today’s age includes a fair amount of technology. Something else that’s very important to librarians, and educators, is budget. Since school’s (at least public) are ran on tax dollars it is very easy to over plan or run out quickly for the amount received. Librarians have to be willing to set up fundraisers, write grants, and ask for donations in order to cover any amount left over that they need. Staffing within the library is something that the head librarian is also in charge of. Many elements need to be looked at when considering staff; appropriate patterns, training, applicable job descriptions, and once the person is hired a mutual respect and collaboration. What most people see as the librarians ‘main job’ is actually only part of the career, collections. In today’s times collections doesn’t only mean books; it’s a plethora of items that need to be accounted for, online resources, web catalogs, print resources, workstations, and online databases that include interlibrary loan.
Wools, Chapter 6:
I enjoyed reading this chapter because it let you ‘dream’ a little about what you think your perfect library might be. However, you’re then snapped back into reality at the end of the chapter when they start talking about building and new construction. It left me wondering, how often can librarians walk in and say, “This is not going to work!” and then a team of construction workers walk in ready to do her bidding. My guess is, never. so therefore that leaves you with working with what you’ve got. This chapter provided a lot of ideas for that as well. Obviously the first step is to figure out how much room you have and what materials you have to work with. One thing I wouldn’t have done, that this chapter recommends (and makes sense) is to map it out with a grid. The chapter recommends keeping the ‘noisy’ spaces separate from the quiet places. However, this is not always an option, in our library it’s one big room, so there are no separate areas. Also, I don’t think this mends well with the idea of a learning commons, ideally the whole area would be available for cooperative work, with a small area set aside for quiet or individual projects.
Chapter 7:
Being boss is something I’m used to-in my classroom, over small children. However, being in charge of adults and making sure they do their jobs correctly is something that overwhelms me a little. I was the manager of our local pool for a few years, but then I only had to worry about unruly teenagers, not a school library. This chapter really helped me overcome the idea that being ‘over’ someone would be a worrying experience. The advice offered ways to stay professional, but still make sure your point got across. I learned how important it is that the librarian is included in the hiring process and writing the job description for anyone hired to work within the library. Securing qualified personnel, making sure they are adequately trained, and evaluating are all measures to make sure the library flows the smoothest. As head librarian it will be necessary to evaluate staff, and the best practice for this is through observation. The text talks about how this might be an uncomfortable position for the staff or even the librarian to be in. As a teacher I’ve experienced observations countless times. I’ve pretty much gotten over it, if you’re doing your job you really have nothing to worry about if someone is watching over your shoulder. I found the advice on how to deal with students and administrators helpful as well, and with already working in the school system I plan on adapting a few of these new techniques into my collaborations.