Patricia Riordan

Lis 725
Reflective Essay

Hearing and seeing the term Library Information Specialist, in all

honesty, raises my anxiety level. However, reading, What defines an
exemplary school librarian by Jami Jones and Gail Bush and Charlotte
Danielsons, Enhancing Professional Practice: A Framework for
Teaching quells my anxiety somewhat. Reading through each of these
articles reminded me of some of the positive aspects of my role as an
elementary school librarian.
However, in reviewing the Library Information Specialist Matrix I had
to keep reminding myself about the fact that I am somewhat the
pioneer of the role of a school librarian in my school. Before me there
was only a certified librarian for one school year. She replaced a noncertified teacher who only read or told stories to the different classes.
The previous librarian began enhancing the program, going between
our two campuses but left after one year for a high school position.
As an elementary classroom teacher, with a love of literature and a
background in reading, I expressed an interest in the position. They
allowed me to transition into the role with the caveat that I would
pursue my MLIS at Dominican. I was so excited!
Additionally, the school administrators hired the part-time assistant,
which the previous librarian had brought in to assist her, to be my full-

time assistant. This person had worked as a page for years at Chicago
Public Library and was experienced with basic library operations and
somewhat familiar with the Follett cataloguing system which we had.
He was hired to work full time in the library that summer to catalogue
our library collection, which, at the time, was organized by themes.
This was a huge undertaking but I returned to school in August and my
new assistant had accomplished this.
My assistant and I were told that he would be responsible for
circulation and cataloguing and I would be responsible for the lessons.
This actually was a relief to me at the time. This was the infancy of my
role as school librarian and I knew I had a long way to grow in to it.
I would quickly realize however that he saw his role as more involved
than the administrators (and I) had. He certainly had the experience of
working in Chicago Public libraries and being an assistant in our school
library. However, I felt that spending the summer cataloguing our
collection gave him the notion that he had the keys to the kingdom. He
also was not a fan of change and I frequently heard from him that
the previous librarian did it differently. I also had heard that the job
was overwhelming for her as a new certified librarian going between
two campuses.
Another example was related to my behavior expectations of the
students. I am very confident that I have good classroom management
skills. I made my expectations clear to the students from the

beginning. My assistant however, was not an educator and thought

that in the library classroom students should be seen and not heard.
He was frequently getting up to quiet students who were being
completely appropriate, in a very stern manner as well. I gently tried to
remind him of what my expectations were for the students. However, I
began to feel that he saw me more as his assistant rather than the
other way around. Thus began my journey into understanding the
complexity of relationships as it relates to library leadership. My
assistants position was eliminated after four years.
I teach at a very diverse urban Catholic elementary school which
consists of two campuses. Since our population has grown so much,
the campus I am at is now Pre-K to 3rd grade. In the eleven years I
have taught there we have expanded greatly to the point that we now
having four classes of every grade except 8th. Unfortunately, because
of our expansion and shortness of space, we lost the computer lab at
the lower school campus and the library at the other campus.
Computer classes were eliminated. And I lost my technology comrade
as she retired.
In the meantime the other campus has been rolling out 1:1 iPads into a
new grade or two each year under the direction of the IT director who
has no education background. All IT personnel is at the other campus
for the most part as is the Head of School which greatly benefits the IT
director in terms of technology. Two years ago the administrators hired

a former middle school teacher turned Apple consultant who finished

her masters last summer in a technology program. She teaches media
literacy classes with fifth grade students and last year began
collaborating with teachers at both campus on integrating technology
and media in their classrooms. Since the technology specialist (as she
now goes by) is at the lower elementary campus once or twice a week
now I was looking forward to having a kindred spirit that I could
hopefully work with at implementing technology and media more
successfully at the lower school campus.

STANDARD 1- Information Access and Delivery

I am very confident about some aspects of this standard and definitely
feel frustrated regarding other aspects of it.
I have always been a firm believer that students should see their own
reflection in the books and materials that are available to them.
Since our student population is very diverse the first thing I looked for
in my new role as librarian, and happily discovered, was that our
library collection did in fact have a pretty diverse collection of books
and materials.
At the end of my first year as school librarian I was given a fairly
generous budget to spend on library materials that I chose. The
professional journals for teachers, student magazine subscriptions and
Follett software was part of the library budget. This left a good amount

for books, materials and furniture. Additionally, there was an

allowance for materials from Scholastic book fair profits. My first year I
mainly went on intuition and any wisdom from my classroom teaching
to purchase materials.
Our relatively brand new school building and library was a large space
with beautiful hardwood furniture, floor to ceiling windows, a few open
areas, fairly ample storage and some counter areas as well.
I looked for soft furniture to offset the hard furniture to give the
library a more cozy feel and places for students to huddle together
reading. A bright oval rug made an attractive area for storytelling and
group lessons. When our computer lab closed down at the end of my
second school year as librarian and the PCs were being put into
classrooms I was proactive about getting a few more to add to the
library space. Since the afterschool students use the library space as
well they appreciated the cozy places and use of computers. I did
discuss with my principal at one time the idea of acquiring a set of
laptops for the library. She liked the idea. However the IT director and
Head of School did not agree to it. Decisions about technology needs
and acquisition happen with the Head of School and IT director and I
have not been included in those decisions. I would like to have some
input into it but there have only been rare opportunities.
Over time I have worked on increasing our collection of books and
materials that reflect our diversity. I also created an area for students

to listen to books on tape or CDs and an area for the preschool and
kindergarten to use puppets and flannelboard materials. I added some
plants, attractive seasonal decorations, and soft stuffed animals.
As librarian I worked with the same assistant for three years. The
cataloguing of new books was all his domain. Honestly, I was fine
with that until I took cataloguing and took an interest in it. I thought
my curiosity and questions about cataloguing would build a bridge
between us. It did not. He was only mildly interested in explaining
things to me and eventually I learned he really had only a basic
understanding of cataloguing.
I began learning about collection development first in 704 and also as I
began reading School Library Journal and other library periodicals and
resources. My knowledge further evolved as I took LIS 721, LIS 722 and
LIS 773. I communicated fairly often with teachers informally or
through e-mails regarding new materials and resources acquired in the
collection and recommended resources for their classroom libraries as
well.
My weakness within this standard is that there is not an instructional
materials policy in place. My school had been part of the Archdiocese
but we are no longer under their governance since we are becoming
ISAAC accredited. We have a Board of Trustees but they have not
created a policy. I have recently become aware through LIS 725 that it

is necessary and I intend to have that discussion with my principal

after the winter break so that we can have a policy in place.
STANDARD 2 Information Access and Delivery
My first year as librarian at my school there was no formal library
curriculum in place. I intuitively reached out to the different grade
levels to get a sense of what they were studying and looked for some
materials to support the curriculum and expand the library collection. I
became acquainted with our only database, World Book Encyclopedia,
and taught students and teachers how to use it effectively. I also had
an orientation in the library for teachers to acquaint them with the
library materials.
STANDARD 3 Teaching and Learning
All of the teachers in our school discretely share information about
specific students learning styles, behavior issues and any possible
accommodations necessary. This helps to anticipate what is needed in
planning lessons. LIS 725 and LIS 764 increased my awareness in this
area.
My school removed all PCs from the classroom two years ago in an
effort to transition to iPads only. As of last school year each classroom
has 6 and so I have the students bring the class set to the library and
we can sometimes use another classrooms. The 6 PCs still in the
library are an added resource but logistically it is still difficult. This
standard was an area that I struggled with until I took LIS 724. I

learned so much about creative media products in that class. My slow

evolution of media skills impedes my effectiveness at times but I
continue to learn new strategies and have become more confident in
my skills. I also have learned that it is okay to have some students be
more skilled than I. It is also logistically a challenge for me to manage
since my administrators eliminated my assistants role. I now rely
solely on a wonderful but sparce volunteer staff.
The iPad rollout at my school was not smooth but the students are
definitely making progress in their skills. Unfortunately, I feel really out
of the loop with regard to some new school-wide technology endeavors
since I had an extensive medical leave from the beginning of the
school year. I have a lot of catching up to do.
In LIS 724 we also learned about copyright and intellectual properties
and I have integrated these components into the library classes.
I have had many informal conversations and a few workshops with the
new technology specialist since last year but I intend to have more
formal sit down meetings with her about collaborative projects. She is
attempting to do that school-wide this year. Our school is implementing
Common Sense Media and next week our K-8 classes are participating
in Hour of Code. I am looking forward to participating as well.
STANDARD 4 Teaching and Learning
This is probably one of my strongest areas. I fairly regularly discuss
students interests, strengths and weaknesses so that I can help them

access appropriate materials to enhance their reading ability and

deepen their interest in reading. LIS 721, LIS 722, LIS 718, and LIS 723
increased my knowledge of childrens literature and materials,
storytelling strategies and implementing a successful story program
which I adapted to use with my preschool classes. The audio collection,
flannelboard stories, Big books, puppets, and other resources
addresses different learning styles. I regularly assist students,
teachers, administrators, and support staff in finding and developing
resources when they ask for help.
STANDARD 5 Teaching and Learning
I struggle with certain aspects within this standard. Although I regularly
attend all staff meetings, professional development, and workshops,
grade level meetings take place during the day when I either have
classes or possibly a duty. Last year my administrators started freeing
me up to attend the grade level meetings every so often. The plan was
to increase it this year. Since I have been out on medical leave this
school year and because of other school issues that impacted
schedules I have yet to be able to meet with the grade levels. Needless
to say I have fallen short meeting this standard.
I did learn about the IIM research model in LIS 725 and after I increase
my familiarity with it I intend to approach my principals about
implementing it in our school.
STANDARD 6 Teaching and Learning

I have had conversations with the technology specialist with regard to

the students lack of keyboarding skills. The computer lab and
program was eliminated and technology was to be integrated into the
curriculum. This has not gone very well at our school. I suggested a
specific keyboarding program to enhance keyboarding skills that
students could access in the library but work on mainly at home
independently. The parents could purchase the software. The
recommendation was never pursued or implemented. Our students are
not proficient in keyboarding and I think this constrains their
productivity.
I did discuss the adoption of the Encyclopedia Brittanica database to
the technology specialist who suggested it to the Head of School and it
was adopted last year.
STANDARD 7 Teaching and Learning
I feel that I am becoming more competent in this standard as I share
information, resources, and articles that I have learned about in my
classes through e-mails and informally with teachers and support staff
fairly regularly. My challenge is in attending grade level meetings on a
regular basis to collaborate and plan. We are all working on our yearlong plans. LIS 773 and LIS 725 contributed to my understanding of
the LIS standards and the resources available, including ISAIL and ISTE
standards. LIS 764 enhanced my understanding of both using and
creating rubrics. I shared this resource with teachers as well.

STANDARD 8 Communication
I realize now that I was very comfortable being under the radar and
content not to step out of my comfort zone while I progressed through
my library program. Recently, I am working to enhance my
communication with parents, administrators, and other school
community in general and through a library blog. My goal is to
increase the information and learning about library skills, developing
good reading habits, etc in the blog. I usually meet twice a month with
my administrators and often share information from my classes.
Our school community does have a relationship with the main branch
of the Chicago Public library. Every year I ask the childrens librarian to
come and talk to the students about their summer reading program.
Many of our students do participate in their programs.
I feel comfortable that I maintain a positive teaching and learning
climate in the library and I receive that kind of feedback from students,
families and administrators. My school also has implemented the
MindUp curriculum for social and emotional learning. There is a high
expectation from administrators that our school community create a
climate of respect and I feel that our school does this well.
STANDARD 9 Communication
I feel comfortable that I have learned strategies for eliciting
information needs from students from my years of teaching experience
as well as from LIS 704, LIS 723, LIS 773, LIS 724, and LIS 725. Since I

also spend a lot of time in public libraries I find I am always listening to

other librarians as they interview patrons so that I can improve my
own skills.
STANDARD 10 Communication
As I so often hear from my instructors at Dominican, Its all about
relationships. This standard is a challenge for me this year. The
library used to house a printer but it has been moved to another
location. This has decreased the number of opportunities to have
informal talks with other teachers and given me somewhat of a sense
of isolation. I have been so busy since I have been back in school that
I have frequently been taking working lunches. My goal in the new
year is to eat in the lunchroom, step out of my comfort zone, and
increase my conversations and collaborations with teachers in any way
I can. I realize this is the only way I can be an advocate for the library.
I also need to get to team meetings more often and I think teachers
always appreciate the ideas and resources.
STANDARD 11 Communication
I feel fairly competent in this standard. I try to absorb all important
information, educational trends that I have learned about in every one
of my LIS classes as well as professional development workshops and
conferences that I attend. I do feel that I am a life-long learner and
want to always be enhancing my understanding of the latest
technologies, books, materials, and resources. I am, by nature, a

reflective teacher and I think this attribute informs my teaching and

ultimately helps me be a better librarian.
STANDARD 12 Administration
Again, I feel comfortable that most of my LIS classes prepared me with
relevant information to take on a leadership role in my school, however
I do not feel that my administrators fully comprehend the information
and resources that I can offer at grade level or school-wide meetings. I
do try to have relevant conversations related to trends in library and
media curriculum, the common core standards, parent education and
other relevant topics. But I realize that it is my responsibility to
educate and advocate for the library. LIS 773, LIS 701, LIS 723, LIS
725, and LIS 716 increased my understanding of the importance of
advocacy for the library. This is an area that I intend to work on over
the remainder of the school year. I try to keep in mind that small
changes can make a big difference in the end.

RESOURCES:
Bush, G. & Jones, J. (May-June 2009). What defines an exemplary school librarian? An
exploration of professional dispositions. Library Media
Connection, 27: 10-12.
Danielson, C. (2007). Enhancing professional practice: A framework for teaching (2nd ed.).
Alexandria, VA: Association for Supervision & Curriculum Development.
IllinoisState Board of Education. (2002). The Illinois State Board of Education
library information specialist professional standards.

http://www.isbe.net/profprep/CASCDvr/htmls/pcstandardrules.htm (Links to an external

site.).