Over the past few weeks, I’ve noticed that my supervisor faces many different challenges each day. These difficulties ranges from a simple paper jam in the printer to working around full schedules to meet the needs of the school. My conclusions? School Librarians must be prepared for anything to happen. They must be adaptable, diplomatic, and level-headed to face the challenges of the day. While I have yet to deal with overly trying situations in the library, I would like to share a small portion of what I’ve experienced.
My goals project, which I will discuss in greater detail in an upcoming post, involves providing students with available resources they can consult when writing papers and conducting research. My product is one I wish to leave with the school, but I am meeting with a Junior English class to measure the project’s overall effectiveness and impact on learning. During this project, I have tried multiple times to communicate with the collaborating teacher, but my attempts have received limited response. It seems I’m getting to a point now where we are reaching a mutual plan (it’s only taken three months). However, this experience has allowed me to understand what to expect when working on some collaborative activities. I’ve learned it takes much communication, persistence, and time to ensure both the teacher and librarian are on the same page as far as instruction and purpose of the activity, and often, these three keys to success are not always easily attainable. I’m interested to see how this project concludes, as it’s taken many changes to my original plan to get to this point.
My First Experiences in a School Media Center 