[aisle] Elimination of Full-Time Librarian In Our Two-School District

Mon Apr 4 12:57:20 CDT 2022

You may also want to enlist parent and student support.

Joni Darby

On Mon, Apr 4, 2022 at 12:39 PM Joni Darby <jdarby at oes141.org> wrote:

> I am sorry you are dealing with this issue. We had to advocate a few years
> ago for two library assistant positions.
>
> I compiled circulation statistics and classes seen at each school each
> week. Then we met with all the principals and talked about the data and
> each librarian voiced student impact stories. We also met with some of the
> school board members and did the same in a separate meeting. I looked up
> advocacy research and reports on why school libraries matter and the
> benefits of school librarians at each school.
>
> I am the only certified librarian and we have four assistants at each of
> the other schools. They wanted to cut two assistants which would have left
> two schools sharing a part-time librarian. Not feasible to fit all the
> classes each week. You need Io focus on the impact this will have on
> students. Make it about the students.
>
> We then went to a school board meeting where the change was being voted on
> that night.  I gave a speech and talked about how this would impact reading
> and student futures etc. and gave some statistics to support all of it.
> Fortunately, when it was put to the vote, the board members did not agree
> to change our staff numbers. We were very fortunate.
>
> It will take a lot of work and preparation on your part, but this was very
> worth it in the long run.  AISLE has advocacy tools and the American
> Association of School Library Educators. I really focused on access to
> books with an emphasis on how reading impacts all areas of a student's
> education and future success. Back it all up with statistics and
> references. ALA has information too. Stay impassioned but calm. I wish
> librarians and libraries were respected just as they are and we did not
> have a need to advocate.  It still boggles my mind that we need to
> advocate. I did not know that advocacy was a thing and we had to defend our
> positions before I became a librarian and dealt with it firsthand.  We are
> worth it. Good Luck!!
>
> AISLE <https://sites.google.com/aisled.org/advocacy/resources>advocacy
> AASL <https://www.ala.org/aasl/advocacy>
> ALA
> <https://www.ala.org/advocacy/frontline-advocacy-school-libraries-toolkit>
>
> Joni Darby
>
> Shepherd Middle School
> Library Information Specialist
> Ottawa Elementary 141
> 815-434-7925 Ext. 5008
>
>
>
>
>
> On Mon, Apr 4, 2022 at 11:35 AM Rebecca Morgan via AISLE <
> aisle at list.railslibraries.info> wrote:
>
>> I saw this infographic recently and thought it did a great job
>> showing how multifaceted a school librarian is.
>>
>> [image: The Many Hats of a School Librarian.jpeg]
>>
>> On Mon, Apr 4, 2022 at 11:20 AM Karrie Fisher via AISLE <
>> aisle at list.railslibraries.info> wrote:
>>
>>> I am a full-time librarian in District 31, Glenview, a two-school
>>> district.  I am in the K-5 building.  We have a full-time librarian in our
>>> middle school. We are a suburb located north of Chicago.
>>>
>>> We were told that next year library classes will *no longer be part of
>>> the schedule*, and we will have ONE full-time librarian and one
>>> full-time assistant for both buildings.  The librarian (our MS librarian)
>>> will travel between the two buildings, as will the assistant.
>>>
>>> The eliminated librarian -- me (K-5) -- will be reassigned to a
>>> classroom teacher position.
>>>
>>> To fight for our students and our library programs, we are gathering
>>> information and research that we will present to our superintendent,
>>> principals, and BOE.  I know this has happened in other school districts.
>>> Does anyone have any specific research or antidotes that we could share?
>>> Has anyone successfully fought for their full-time librarians, students,
>>> and programs, and gotten a decision reversed?
>>>
>>> Any help we can get will be greatly appreciated by us!  Our BOE meeting
>>> is April 19.
>>>
>>> Happily Ever After,
>>> Karrie Fisher, Library Media Specialist
>>> [image: Bitmoji Image]
>>> *Winkelman Library Resources: Click HERE
>>> <http://district31.follettdestiny.com/> for the Card Catalog!*
>>>
>>> Winkelman School * 1919 Landwehr Road * Glenview, IL  60026
>>> 847-729-5650 * Fax 847-729-5654
>>> MAILMAN_MIMEDEFANG
>>> _______________________________________________
>>> AISLE mailing list
>>> AISLE at list.railslibraries.info
>>>
>>> For list archives and subscription options, visit:
>>> http://list.railslibraries.info/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/aisle
>>>
>>> To unsubscribe, send a message to:
>>> aisle-leave at list.railslibraries.info
>>>
>>> https://www.aisled.org/
>>
>>
>>
>> --
>> Becky Morgan, MLIS
>> Library Media Specialist
>> Half Day School
>> 239 Olde Half Day Road
>> Lincolnshire, IL 60069
>> rmorgan at d103.org
>> (847) 634-6463
>>
>> Miss Morgan's Virtual Classroom
>> <https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1O0Lwzft1jwbXfN0DNgM087JEqXVJOfb1uzsqwssGqec/present?slide=id.g95673502d4_0_0>
>>
>> *Confidentiality Notice*: *This message and any attachments may contain
>> confidential and privileged information that is protected by law. This
>> information contained herein is transmitted for the sole use of this
>> intended recipient(s). If you are not the intended recipient or designated
>> agent of this recipient of such information, you are hereby notified that
>> any use, dissemination, copying or retention of this email or the
>> information contained herein is strictly prohibited and may subject you to
>> penalties under federal and/or state law. If you received this email in
>> error, please notify the sender immediately and permanently delete this
>> email.*
>> MAILMAN_MIMEDEFANG
>> _______________________________________________
>> AISLE mailing list
>> AISLE at list.railslibraries.info
>>
>> For list archives and subscription options, visit:
>> http://list.railslibraries.info/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/aisle
>>
>> To unsubscribe, send a message to:
>> aisle-leave at list.railslibraries.info
>>
>> https://www.aisled.org/
>
>
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://list.railslibraries.info/pipermail/aisle/attachments/20220404/5774fa6e/attachment.html>
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: The Many Hats of a School Librarian.jpeg
Type: image/jpeg
Size: 625243 bytes
Desc: not available
URL: <http://list.railslibraries.info/pipermail/aisle/attachments/20220404/5774fa6e/attachment.jpeg>