Master of Library Science: Final Exam Portfolio

Professional Development Plan

Denise Brewer
Texas Womans University
Spring 2015

Contents
Library Program Goals....................................................................................................................2
Professional Development Goals.....................................................................................................3
Professional Associations............................................................................................................3
Webinars.......................................................................................................................................5
Professional Books.......................................................................................................................6
Local Workshops..........................................................................................................................8
Social Media................................................................................................................................9
Conclusion.....................................................................................................................................10
References......................................................................................................................................11

My aim, as I enter the library profession, is to be the very best school librarian I can be. I
want to perform exceptionally in all of the roles set forth by Empowering Learners: Guidelines
for School Library Programs. As such, I will take the necessary steps, in terms of professional
development, to maximize my full potential in my roles as a teacher, instructional partner,
information specialist, program administrator, and leader (American Association of School
Librarians 2009, 16-18). Doing so will enable me to establish goals and objectives that will
propel my library program into excellence throughout my career.
Library Program Goals
I have created the following goals for my library program that I believe will set me on the
right track at the beginning of my career as a school librarian and will ensure that I continue on a
path of excellence throughout my career. First, I will create and maintain a diverse collection of
materials and resources in a variety of formats that meets exemplary criteria according to Texas
standards and guidelines by developing a mission statement and goals for the library collection
as well as policies that will guide the building of the collection. Next, I will position the library
as the central learning resource for students, teachers, administrators, and others in the school
community by utilizing a cycle of strategic planning that drives library programs, modeling
desired learning behavior through collaboration with the school community, and sharing
resources, research, and library data with the community. My third goal is to create a climate of
collaboration among all members of the school community, beginning with increasing librarian
and teacher collaboration. These goals and objectives will guide me in creating a library program
that raises student achievement and fosters life-long learners.
Although I have presented work products that show different professional competencies
and have described the strengths that I will bring to my career, I realize that to think that these

strengths will guarantee an outstanding library program is idealistic and false. I must
continuously hone my skills and practice my craft throughout my career so that I will leave a
mark on the profession and significantly impact my students.
Professional Development Goals
In terms of professional development, my goals address identified areas of growth that I
will need to overcome and ways to capitalize on my strengths. I plan to continue my education
by joining professional associations, participating in webinars, reading professional books about
school librarianship, attending local workshops, and following library-related social media.

Professional Associations
Professional Development Goal #1: Stay abreast of current trends and resources in the
school library field by joining professional associations before obtaining a position as a
librarian.
First, I will join at least three professional associations before I embark on my career as a
librarian. The benefits of being a part of a professional association are numerous, and they will
help me to achieve my program goals outlined above as well as any further goals I develop
throughout my career. Despite the fact that I will soon have a Master of Library Science degree, I
realize that I am far from being an expert in librarianship. Becoming an expert will be a goal I
continuously strive for throughout my career as a school librarian. Participating in professional
associations will aid me in this challenge and allow me to stay up-to-date on current trends and
recent developments in the field.
Membership to professional associations, in general, notify members of job opportunities,
and provide avenues to participate in special interest groups, conferences, and continuing

education activities. Professional associations also serve as advocates for library programs and
enlist members to aid in advocacy efforts.
As a student, I am already a member of the American Library Association (ALA) and
Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA). An added benefit of these memberships is
that I receive a variety of journals periodically that provide research, best practices, marketing
and information resources, and ideas from librarians in the field that I can incorporate into my
own program. YALSA, aimed at librarians who provide library services to young adults,
highlights books for teens, research-based practices to employ in a library serving teens, and
notifications of events for librarians who serve teens, while ALA provides the same type of
information aimed at all library types.
Within the next month, I will also join the Texas Library Association. I plan to attend the
annual conference in Austin this April with my practicum supervisors from my district and yearly
thereafter. Looking through the content preview bulletin, I find many sessions that are relevant to
my library program goals. Communicating with School Faculty: Be the Solution covers
communication techniques and details collaborative projects that support instructional success
(Texas Library Association 2015, 4). Since I am naturally introverted, I find it a challenge to
communicate effectively when I am not afforded the opportunity to compose my thoughts. In
other words, face-to-face interaction leaves me feeling unprepared and nervous, although I have
learned, as a teacher, to appear confident when speaking. Most professional communication I
participate in results in extensive reflection on how I could have said certain things more
effectively. Attending this workshop will help me toward achieving my goals of positioning the
library as the central learning resource in the school and creating a climate of collaboration by
giving me strategies to become a more effective, confident communicator. The session entitled

How to Handle Censorship Challenges will provide strategies to assist me in policy creation
that will lead me to my goal of building a relevant collection that supports student learning and
their intellectual freedom (Texas Library Association 2015, 6). Many other sessions highlight
authors and literature of various genres and describe how they fit into an exemplary collection.
Other sessions that focus on technology, evaluation tools, teaching strategies, and even an
unstructured session that is open to any topic will all provide me with new knowledge that I can
draw from to reach the goals for my library program.
I also plan to attend ALAs annual conference within my first two years as a school
librarian. Due to cost of both time and money and the fact that its scheduling and location will
take me away from my duties in my early learning years as a librarian, my hope is that I can
attend at least every other year. I plan to utilize the tips found in Making Your Case to Attend,
found on the annual conference website (American Library Association 2015). These tips will
guide me in seeking support from my principal by devising a written plan that will communicate
the potential benefits of my attendance for the library and its patrons. Attending the conference
will allow me to network with other librarians from across the country, explore my interests, and
acquire new skills that I can apply to meeting my program goals.

Webinars
Goal #2: Refine the professional and interpersonal skills that will enable me to work
toward my program goals by participating in at least one web-based seminar per month.
Membership to ALA, YALSA, and TLA allows member access to current and archived
webinars online. YALSA has the following archived webinars (free to members) that will assist
me in creating a diverse collection: Serving LGBTQ Teens and Reaching Reluctant Readers,
as well as several dealing with Knowledge of Literature (Young Adult Library Services

Association 2015). AASL has the following free archived webinars that will help me to position
myself and the library as the central learning resource of the school: Coaching the Leader
Within, Flipping the Switch: Everyday Advocacy for Your School Library Program, and The
Power of Data (American Association of School Librarians 2015). My professional
development goal is to peruse these archived webinars, beginning in May 2015, and create a
prioritized list of those that will help me to meet the goals of my program. The list will lead off
with those webinars that address my areas of growth that are vital for my success as a librarian.
Any that deal with leadership will be placed at the top. I can visualize myself as a leader from
my experience as a teacher; I have led hundreds of young people over the past ten years.
However, when dealing with professional adults, I find it difficult to convince others to do things
they might not want to do. I am non-confrontational, which could be seen as a strength in that I
listen closely to what others have to say and have great respect for my colleagues. On the other
hand, it is also a weakness I must overcome. I will need to be assertive in order to convince my
administration, teachers, students, and community members of the value of my program.
Due to their online accessibility and cost, I can work webinars into my professional
development activities at my convenience. Following a flexible plan, I can adjust the order and
content of my webinar list to participate in those that first address leadership and also on an as
needed basis. For each monthly webinar, I will reflect on my learning and determine how to
incorporate this learning into activities that will lead me to my goals.

Professional Books
Membership to ALA includes a semiannual catalog of new and best-selling books
relevant to librarians. I can also browse the ALA Store online by subject to find and purchase
books that will assist me in reaching my library program and professional development goals.

Goal #3: Reinforce prior learning and gain new knowledge by reading and reflecting on at
least one professional book per quarter.
I will read professional books to gain in-depth knowledge about various aspects of
librarianship. The following ALA publications will help me to reach my program goals as
described.
To assist me in reaching my program goal to create and maintain a diverse collection of
materials and resources in a variety of formats that meets exemplary criteria, I will begin
by reading the following two titles:
Multiethnic Books for the Middle-School Curriculum (Jones and Petty 2013)
Young Adult Literature: From Romance to Realism (Cart 2010)
To help me reach my goal of positioning the library as the central learning resource of the
school through strategic planning and leadership I will begin by reading the following
titles:
Say it with Data: A Concise Guide to Making Your Case and Getting Results (Dando

2014)
Communicating Professionally, Third Edition: A How-To-Do-It Manual for

Librarians (Sheldrick Ross and Nilsen 2013)

Managing in the Middle (Farrell and Schlesinger 2013)
Finally, to help me reach my goal of increased collaboration, I will read the following
titles:
Enhancing Teaching and Learning, Third Edition: A Leadership Guide for School

Librarians (Donham 2013)

Transforming Information Literacy: Instruction Using Learner-Centered Teaching
(Kaplowitz 2011)

I will alternate my quarterly choices in the following category order (which reflects my
analysis of personal areas for growth): strategic planning and leadership, collaboration, and
collection development. I will continue to be on the lookout for professional books throughout

my career that address program goals and areas in which I need to develop and will give me a
broader knowledge base by which to inform my decisions as a school librarian.

Local Workshops
Goal #4: Meet school and district expectations by attending all relevant staff development
seminars provided locally.
I will attend district and regional training as it becomes available to ensure that my
library mission, goals, and objectives are aligned with those of the school and district. The
district in which I am currently employed and hope to obtain a librarian position in holds
monthly meetings for all librarians in the district. I was allowed to attend the November 2014
meeting as part of my practicum experience. These meetings provide librarians with the
opportunity to discuss current issues, celebrate successes, and address weaknesses of each
others programs. They are also a venue for training and vendor presentations.
Region One provides staff development for school librarians throughout the region. I
will check postings throughout the year and attend workshops that are relevant to the goals of my
program. Currently, Region One is planning a technology conference to be held at the end of
May 2015. Previous conferences have provided educators with opportunities to integrate
educational technology and have showcased new technologies. I plan to attend this workshop in
an effort to integrate the latest technology into my collaborative teaching efforts.

Social Media
Goal #5: Obtain up-to-date information about all aspects of the school library program by
building an RSS feed of blogs, listservs, and other social media subscriptions that I will
peruse at least once per week.

I currently have a Feedly that provides library information from a variety of sources. I
also follow these sources on Twitter. While the information provided is brief, it notifies me of
current library trends and news and provides an opportunity to explore items of interest further.
My subscriptions are composed of blogs from practicing school librarians as well as professional
organizations, including Buffy J. Hamiltons The Unquiet Librarian, Gwyneth A. Jones The
Daring Librarian, Kirkus Reviews, The Horn Book, YALSA, and School Library Journal to
name a few. I will continue to add to and modify my feed sources as needed throughout my
career. These blogs provide information that will help me to reach my specific goals regarding
collection development, the library as the central learning resource of the school, collaboration,
and teaching as well as future goals for my library program.
I also subscribe to PUBYAC (Public Libraries, Young Adults, and Children) and will
continue to refer to and participate in postings on this listserv as I begin my librarianship.
Although the listservs target audience is public libraries, it provides a forum for discussions on
policy issues, administration, programming, collection development, and professional
development that are relevant to school libraries as well. TLC (Texas Library Connection) is
another listserv I follow in which school librarians and others discuss library issues relevant
throughout Texas. Participation in these professional forums furthers my ability to network with
other professionals and ensures that I am in the know about what issues are significant.
Conclusion
Following this professional development plan faithfully, adjusting my goals and
objectives based on my professional needs and the needs of library stakeholders, and unceasing
reflection on my continuing education will ensure that I obtain the knowledge and skills
necessary to perform in my career as a school librarian. I will wear many hats and must make

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sure that my professional development activities address all of the roles I am tasked to fulfill.
Although this plan focuses on my first five years, it provides a framework from which to plan
professional development activities for the remainder of my career that will be a part of the
legacy of student achievement I wish to leave behind.

References
American Association of School Librarians. 2015. Complimentary Content. Accessed March 7,
2015. http://www.ala.org/aasl/ecollab/complimentary.
. 2009. Empowering Learners: Guidelines for School Library Programs. Chicago: American
Association of School Librarians.

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American Library Association. 2015. ALA San Francisco. Accessed March 7, 2015.
http://alaac15.ala.org/steps-in-making-the-case.
Cart, Michael. 2010. Young Adult Literature: From Romance to Realism. Chicago: American
Library Association.
Dando, Priscilla. 2014. Say It with Data: A Concise Guide to Making Your Case and Getting
Results. Chicago: American Library Association.
Donham, Jean. 2013. Enhancing Teaching and Learning, Third Edition: A Leadership Guide for
School Librarians. Chicago: American Library Association.
Farrell, Robert, and Kenneth Schlesinger. 2013. Managing in the Middle. Chicago: American
Library Association.
Jones, Cherri, and J.B. Petty. 2013. Multiethnic Books for the Middle-School Curriculum.
Chicago: American Library Association.
Kaplowitz, Joan. 2011. Transforming Information Literacy: Instruction Using Learner-Centered
Teaching. Chicago: American Library Association.
Sheldrick Ross, Catherine, and Kirsti Nilsen. 2013. Communicating Professionally, Third
Edition: A How-To-Do-It Manual for Librarians. Chicago: American Library
Association.
Texas Library Association. 2015. "Preview of the Texas Library Association Annual Conference
Programs for School Librarians." Texas Library Association. Accessed March 7, 2015.
http://www.txla.org/sites/tla/files/conference/docs/2015_TLA_Programs_for_SchoolL.pd
f.
Young Adult Library Services Association. 2015. Webinars on Demand. Accessed March 7,
2015. http://www.ala.org/yalsa/onlinelearning/webinars/webinarsondemand.