Illustration by Jean Tuttle

After 20 wonderful years as a teacher librarian, I’ve gone over to the dark side. I’ve become a suit—an administrator—and the very worst kind, a district IT administrator! (Cue Darth Vader’s theme song.) Before you turn away in horror and disbelief, here’s a quick tell-all from the Evil Empire. I’m going to share some shocking (and instructive) secrets from the Death Star of Administration, explaining why principals should be your best friends and colleagues. I’m also going to stop using Star Wars metaphors.

My fade to gray didn’t occur overnight. I have worked as an instructional technology facilitator in Vancouver’s (WA) public schools since 2008. During the first three years, I was also Skyview High School’s full-time teacher librarian. Then, in 2011, my role changed: I spent half of my time in the library and the remaining half in the IT department. Depending on the day of the week, I was either “The Man” or I was working for him. And despite enjoying the opportunity to blame myself for whatever was wrong either with management or with teachers, in 2012, I was finally asked to make a choice between those two options. I think you’ve heard about receiving an offer you can’t refuse….

While I still see myself as a teacher librarian, last July, I became a real-live administrator with a spiffy title—manager of instructional technology and library services. During the last few years, I’ve been able to reflect on many of my own beliefs and assumptions about working with administrators. As a former teacher librarian, I’m also well aware of other perceptions that teachers have regarding management. Speaking now as a teacher—and not as a manager—I’ve come to realize that the reality is far more complex than a simple equation of us vs. them. Teacher librarians have far more in common with principals than we realize. I’d like to share some ways to find common ground with our friends in the corner office.

When I was in grad school, Joyce Petrie, my wise and now long-departed professor at Portland State University, explained in detail how library administration and building administration are a lot alike. She was right. Now, speaking from experience, I teach my University of Washington graduate students that school librarians often have more in common with principals than with their fellow teachers. Why is that? Like principals, we manage budgets, purchase materials, evaluate employees, and make executive decisions, ranging from selecting materials to determining instructional outcomes. Unlike many teachers, we know virtually everyone in the school by name and maintain positive working relationships with all of them. We also excel at putting a wide variety of district policies and programs into practice. Most importantly, like principals, we’re often the only ones in our schools who do the jobs that we do. I often hear teacher librarians say that they feel misunderstood, isolated, and even lonely in their positions. Empathy check: Do you think principals just might feel the same way?

If it hadn’t been for my many wonderful teaching colleagues, I wouldn’t have been the 2012 Washington State Teacher of the Year. But it all began with my Skyview High principal, Kym Tyelyn-Carlson. Over the course of five years, our professional friendship evolved beyond library advocacy and became a two-way exchange between educators who both cared deeply about the success of our school. We discussed everything from staff socials to strategic planning. When she called me into her office in May 2011 and told me she was nominating me for teacher of the year, it was less about my librarianship than it was about her perception of me as an educator. Well beyond my library role, I had become a trusted confidante, consigliere, and colleague. Kym isn’t an exception. I’ve enjoyed good and frequently great relationships with the six principals I’ve worked with during the last two decades. I’ve always seen them as allies rather than adversaries.

Before addressing the opportunities for media specialists to connect with principals, I’d like to dispel some common misconceptions. First, there’s a widespread belief that building and district administrators always think the same way. More often than not, that couldn’t be further from the truth. Get a principal to talk off-the-record, and you’ll find out for yourself. Despite the mysterious district meetings and the inscrutable binders on their shelves, principals struggle with translating district policy into practice as much as we do. In more than one meeting, I’ve heard them express frustration, uncertainty, fear, and powerlessness in the face of the same issues that teachers confront. Like other educators, building administrators are concerned about daily challenges such as poverty, student readiness, literacy, fear of violence, and assessments. In addition, many district policies and programs are often created with insufficient input from or consultation with building administrators. Like many teacher librarians, principals are the ones who must explain and train faculty in the policies and practices created by managers like me.

And what of the conspiracy theory that administrators are “all in it together”? Ask any superintendent: they’d retire and die happy if they could only get their administrative leadership teams to plan, work, and lead based on an authentically shared set of values and priorities. Even the highest-functioning educational administrations grapple with issues of nurturing and maintaining social capital—communication, relationships, leadership, and sustainability. Just like individual schools, district programs and departments work with specific challenges, leadership models, and cultures.

Are there bad principals? Yes. And bad teachers? Of course. Are there tyrannical administrators and administrations? Yes, probably. Do administrators circle the wagons when challenged? Yes, in the same way that teachers and librarians do when they’re threatened. Do administrators meet in secret to devise evil plans? Unlikely. I have found that most district conspiracy theories are often conflated with honest mistakes, incomplete planning, imperfect implementations, and/or poor communication. Speaking for my district, our leadership team cares deeply about students and it respects and values teachers and staff. We work very hard to get it right. Sometimes we do. Sometimes we could have done better.

This is where teacher librarians come in. By cultivating strong relationships with principals and even district administrators, we can strengthen library programs, not to mention improve schools and districts. I am wearing a suit because of relationships with both teachers and administrators, built on shared work, planning, and success. Here is a quick list of ways to create those relationships, even when you’d think it might be impossible.

Seek out win-win opportunities. Identify what keeps principals up at night and then offer to help. Right now, three big trains are barreling down the tracks—Common Core, new teacher and principal evaluation systems, and 21st-century student skills. In addition to running a school, principals are accountable for these vaguely defined and game-changing reforms. Choose one, learn as much as you can about it, and then offer to help your boss. Join them on district or regional teams. Offer to provide leadership in your building. You’re likely to be surprised at just how enthusiastically they say yes.

Give before you receive. Teacher librarians often conceive their relationships with principals as quid pro quo, beginning with the question “What will you do for me?” rather than, “What can I do for you?” Pay it forward with the goal of building trust, rapport, and a valuable relationship. Many years ago, I took up an offer by our former chief information officer to lead our district’s library automation project. I had a vested interest in the job being done right, and she wanted the implementation to go smoothly. Thanks to our partnership, the project was a success. A few years later, she asked me to join her team as an instructional technology facilitator.

Bridge the gap. Because of our hybrid roles, teacher librarians can effectively bridge the artificial divide between teachers and administration, and promote communication, collaboration, and advocacy between and across various roles and functions. In the same way that my recent leadership role blurs the definition of “The Man,” teacher librarians can provide unique building and even district leadership. Teachers often grapple with crossing a line by appearing too supportive of administration. As a teacher librarian, I never saw a line because my job was different. I necessarily had to see things from a systems perspective that included not only building administration and teachers, but also district interests. That’s why some of our teacher librarians currently lead a district task force to develop a digital citizenship program. They are working with administrators to develop a systemic digital content strategy, and they’re participating in state and district groups connected to the Common Core. Like principals, the best teacher librarians see the big picture and can build partnerships that ensure success.

Identify successes. Most teachers hesitate to call attention to their work or to be praised for it. But principals always want to be able to share good work with parents, peers, and their bosses. When teacher librarians see innovation, creativity, and greatness in the classroom, they should share those stories with the principal. Principals appreciate the ability to see and value success in others. More importantly, they value hearing about good things beyond the library program. In addition to building rapport with your principal, everyone wins. Teachers get the recognition they deserve. The principal better understands the great work that’s going on. And the school may well get some praise at the district’s next meeting. As a proponent of creativity in the classroom, I made it a point to highlight innovative teachers who dared to emulate Apple and its slogan “think different.” More often than not, Kym would nod in agreement. In those moments, we were of one mind, not about libraries, but about great teaching.

My friends and colleagues keep checking up on me and asking how I like my new job. I tell them it tastes like chicken. To me, the only significant difference between what I’m doing now and what I’ve done for years as a teacher librarian and an instructional technology facilitator is that there’s a different title below my name. Sad as it might seem, that changes a lot in my relationships with others, both among teachers and administrators. To many teachers, I’ve gone over to the dark side. To some administrators, I’m now part of the club. But here’s the reality—there’s no dark side; and there’s no key to the executive washroom. Thankfully, my teacher librarian colleagues still see me (and themselves) for what we are—occasionally lonely, frequently misunderstood, and loving the jobs that we do. Just like principals.

Mark Ray (Mark.Ray@vansd.org) is the manager of instructional technology and library services at the Vancouver (WA) Public Schools.

Arriving on the scene together—and even worse, on the tails of declining budgets for schools and libraries nationwide—these two factors present a real challenge. Fortunately, we also have some real opportunities ahead thanks to collaborative, solutions-focused thinking at the Summit. The gathering brings together school librarians, publishers, aggregators, and vendors to talk about vital issues and, more importantly, to discover the answers to today’s big questions.

A key question relating to the perfect storm of collection development is, of course, funding. Where will the money for new CC resources come from? How will we pay for new digital resources? Likely not from a new pot of money. But that doesn’t mean we can’t access funding that’s “new” to the library.

One approach is to look for existing funds within your school and district that can be redirected so that your library can purchase CC resources for the classroom. Eric Fitzgerald, Capstone Publishing’s vice president of direct sales, encouraged Summit attendees to seek out this kind of “blended funding.”

Blended funding means asking the English department to kick in some classroom or textbook money to help support that new literary criticism resource. Blended funding means pointing out to the elementary school principal that many of the new interactive ebook series are replacing science and social studies textbooks… so maybe they should be partially funded by the textbook budget. Blended funding isn’t a foolproof solution, but it’s a solid tactic. One challenge: it requires that you market your expertise in resource selection and collection development so that your value is obvious to others.

You also must, as they say, have skin in the game. Before you go asking for additional funds from departmental, textbook, or classroom budgets, make sure you’re ready to talk about the percentage of the cost that will be covered by the library budget. It’s a lot easier to sell someone on splitting the cost than it is to ask them to pay for the whole shebang.

When crafting your appeal for blended funding support, the other key component to address is efficiency. Remember, the library budget isn’t “our” budget; rather we’re centrally managing funds to enable more efficient purchases of resources to support classroom teaching and learning. Given the widespread need for new CC-aligned resources, libraries can work with publishers and aggregators to deliver wider access to content by going digital. One of our most powerful arguments is that we can save our organizations money by sharing resources and purchasing in larger consortia to reduce costs and increase access. The science teachers in a district or region aren’t set up to leverage group purchasing, but librarians are.

From my perspective as a school administrator, this is the perfect solution to a perfect storm. Everyone is desperate for content; now it’s our time to step up and deliver. We have the infrastructure, business relationships, and great publishers and aggregators to work with us. We just need to apply blended funding to make it happen for everyone.

Christopher Harris (infomancy@gmail.com) is coordinator of the school library system of the Genesee Valley (NY) Educational Partnership.

Mark Ray speaking at the SLJ Summit

Mark Ray sounds the call for librarians to step up to a larger role

What can school librarians bring to the table? Plenty, says Mark Ray, a presenter at SLJ’s 2012 Leadership Summit, October 25–27, in Philadelphia. But to do that, Ray says they’ll need to define their roles more broadly and make sure they’re leading the way in schools.

Ray, the manager of instructional technology and library services at the Vancouver (WA) Public Schools, is no stranger to the challenges that today’s media specialists face. As a former teacher librarian who was named Washington’s 2011 Teacher of the Year (the first time a librarian received that honor), he’s experienced many of those headaches firsthand, and he wonders if the word “library” is part of the problem and if media specialists may be facing extinction because of “internal and external forces beyond our control,” such as shrinking budgets and unsupportive administrators.

But just because Ray’s 45-minute presentation, “Don’t Hate Me Because I’m a Librarian: Leadership Beyond the ‘L Word,’” reflected on school librarians recent woes, doesn’t mean he’s not bullish on the profession.

“I love the library, and I firmly believe in it,” says Ray, a 20-plus-year veteran of the Vancouver School District. “But what I also think is that we can redefine perceptions on the part of administrators and decision makers by not necessarily wearing the library on our sleeves.” Media specialists, he says, need to take a tip from his teaching heroes in Washington State and “be informed but not defined by their librarianship” and do “some of their best work outside of their librarians,” which means reaching out to those in the classroom.

As for trying out those new, more expansive roles, Ray says that school librarians need to become digital strategists (who advise administrators on the best choices for tech programs and mobile devices), data and metadata mavens, teaching pioneers (who are “the first ones to adopt Common Core” in their schools), technology whisperers to make the user experience understandable and manageable, virtual administrators, and innovation integrationists that excel at making connections between various organizations.

And that’s not all. Ray drew a knowing chuckle from the afternoon crowd of 240 media specialists an vendors when he suggested that media specialists also need to be “blended-learning baristas—using technology and teaching in fluid ways.” If librarians can do that, says Ray, “You can provide services to teachers and to students that’s personalized and powerful.”

Upper Merion High School Librarian Sharon Nardelli assists ninth-graders with research. Photos by Stuart Goldenberg

Story update October 26, 10:11 AM.

Access to a full-time school librarian increases student test scores, closes the achievement gap, and improves writing skills, according to a new study of Pennsylvania public schools conducted by the Colorado-based RSL Research Group.

The results of the first comprehensive study of Pennsylvania school libraries in a decade was presented at an October 25 press conference, kicking off School Library Journal’s annual Leadership Summit.

Garnet Valley Elementary School Librarian Tracy Nelson reviews research techniques with a pair of 5th-grade students.

The research, focusing on students in grades 3 to 11, was also the first to examine student writing, according to a press release. Outcomes were analyzed in relation to five factors: staffing, collections, digital resources and technology infrastructure, library access, and funding.

Debra Kachel, Pennsylvania School Librarians Association Legislative Chairperson, advised librarians to take the necessary steps to further the cause, making themselves visible to administrators, the chamber of commerce, the teacher’s union, school board members, and the community at large. “It’s time to stop talking to ourselves,” she said, and instead “create champions” by reaching out to state legislators in the Senate and the House of Representatives. Dr. Mary Kay Biagini, who analyzed the data, reminded those present to utilize the language that principals will listen to: “Here’s empirical evidence that you can use. Every administrator is looking to raise those scores.”

In this struggle to get heard by school and government, persistence is key. When denied the opportunity to present the study’s finding and the project’s goals at a three separate associations of school administrators, school board and curriculum organizations, the group’s head researcher, Dr. Keith Currey Lance, suggested that PSLA be present at the event as an exhibitor, which gave them access to a large group of administrators.

Also at the press conference, Eileen Kern, PSLA’s current president, said that the state’s urban school districts are the most lacking in resources and staff. Out of the 458 school buildings in those cities, only 135 of them are equipped with a librarian. “It’s about equitable access. We have to answer to the students. They are our future and we can’t leave them behind.”

Unity within the profession and with parents and teachers was also an element emphasized by the partnership. Ludy Soderman, director of the Multilingual Family Support Office in the Philadelphia school district, stirringly stated, speaking to librarians: “You are too polite. This is too urgent. The numbers will continue to decline and the kids will continue to fall through the cracks. Time to get into the streets. We need parents’ involvement. Let’s not wait months to dialogue. We have to raise our voice together.”

Sandra Selzno from the Education Law Center, concluded the briefing with a startling observation: In the state of Pennsylvania, “access to libraries is mandated in private schools and prisons—but not in our public schools.”

The findings were part of a year-long project led by the Education Law Center, the Health Sciences Library Consortium, and the Pennsylvania School Librarians Association. The collaboration was established when dire budget cuts made to Pennsylvania’s school funding in 2007 spurred several organizations to form a coalition that addressed the issue. At the briefing, Selzno encouraged school media specialists to seek out and create non-traditional partnerships.

Hempfield School District Library Department Supervisor Cathi Furman assists a pair of Hempfield High School seniors with a writing assignment.

Some key points from the study:

“Students who have access to a full-time, certified librarian scored higher on the PSSA Reading Test than those students who do not have such access. This finding is true for all students, regardless of their socioeconomic, racial/ethnic, and/or disability status.”

“For several student groups that tend to experience achievement gaps—economically disadvantaged, Hispanic, Black, and those with IEPs (Individualized Education Programs)—Reading and Writing results are markedly better when those students attend a school with a librarian and library support staff, according to the research. In fact, they benefit more proportionally than the general student population.”

“Nearly twice as many high school students who have access to a full-time, certified librarian scored Advanced on the PSSA Writing test as those students without access to a full-time, certified librarian, according to the report.”

“Considering all students, those students with access to a full-time, certified librarian are almost three times as likely to have “Advanced” scores on the PSSA Writing Test as those students without access to a full-time, certified librarian.”

More information can be found at the project website.

The Capitol Hill Public Schools Parent Organization (CHPSPO) has spent the past seven months pushing Washington, DC, to open its coffers to school libraries to replenish shelves, upgrade library spaces and hire more librarians for K–12 students.

“We wanted to get librarians restored but also get District of Columbia Public Schools to make a commitment to get school libraries on their feet,” says Peter MacPherson, a member of CHPSPO and a parent of a 10th grader in public school.

MacPherson and his cohort are reacting to a decision last spring from the District of Columbia Public Schools (DCPS) to pull dedicated funding from schools with fewer than 300 students and also allow schools with 300 or more students to divert funds for librarians to other purposes. That led to 58 of the 124 schools in the DCPS to start this fall without librarians — nearly double the 34 from the 2011/2012 school year. (DCPS did not respond to a request for information.)

Parents pushed back, asking for a meeting with Chancellor Kaya Henderson, who agreed to form a task force, says MacPherson, which is to be co-chaired by Barbara Stripling, former director of library services with the New York City Department of Education and current president-elect with the American Library Association. (Stripling did not respond to an interview request by press time.)

And CHPSPO has found other allies, namely Council Member Jack Evans (D-Ward 2) who has proposed a bill, “The Public School Librarians, Art and Music Teacher Act of 2012,” requiring every DC public school to have a full-time librarian, art and music teacher. However a hearing has not yet been scheduled for the bill and if not set by early January, when the council period ends, the bill would have to be re-introduced next term, according to Council Member Phil Mendelson’s office, who chairs the committee considering the bill.

A $140 million budget surplus announced by D.C. finance officials last month is also cause for hope. CHPSPO would like $23 million of that surplus to be used for school libraries, to restore high school and middle school materials, purchase new ereaders, magazine subscriptions, and 40,000 ebooks, upgrade school library and hire 57 new full-time librarians.

With 2,758 signatures on their online petition demanding for a minimum of part-time librarians in each school, and a second protest scheduled in front of the Wilson Building at City Hall this Friday October 19, CHPSPO expects to bring more energy to the effort to restore school libraries for the betterment, they say, of student learning.

“We hope to have teachers, students and parents come to support our effort,” says MacPherson.

Illustration by David Flaherty

Principals value their librarians. They also want them to be more visible leaders.

Those are just two of the interesting findings from a recent survey of 102 media specialists and 67 principals. In fact, 90 percent of the administrators that we surveyed think we have a positive impact in schools—and a large number also feel that our jobs are important. That’s great news, considering only 65 percent of librarians in the study thought their bosses would recognize the valuable role we play.

Tech respect

When asked about our tech contributions, not only did 90 percent of principals say that we encourage its use, they also ranked dealing with technology as one of the top 10 important tasks that we perform. In fact, our bosses highlighted three technology-related activities—sharing our tech expertise with students and teachers, offering tech leadership, and providing tech equipment—as being among our most important job functions.

“The evolution of the ‘library’ into the ‘media/technology’ center is a reality,” says one administrator. “The librarian needs to be current on new and emerging technologies, and assist others in their use.” Another explained that our “teachers are not technology literate, but the librarian is doing her best to change that problem.”

One principal even went as far as to say that technology and the library go hand-in-hand. “As the information landscape continues to evolve, the librarian is the rudder guiding the school toward the new or unknown, while at the same time melding ethical use and appropriate application in the school environment as well as life outside of school.”

Not surprisingly, we’re keenly aware of the crucial role that technology plays in our professional lives—and we like being called the “tech expert.” Some 95 percent of media specialists surveyed agree, or strongly agree, that technology is an essential component of our work, with one librarian saying it was “vital” to her library and another saying she pushes it all the time.

“Technology is my baby! I infuse it into each lesson,” says one respondent who’s also part of her district’s tech team and offers tech training to her colleagues in newsletters and emails. “I present with it and teach it. It hooks the students and the staff.”

Every librarian who responded to the survey said they embrace and encourage technology in their schools, with many adding that they’re one of the few people in the building who are up to date on the latest and greatest technology available, in addition to having in-depth knowledge of web design, prezis, wikis, blogs, and the hottest educational apps.

While some media specialists—especially the veterans—admit to fearing technology at times, they say they still push themselves to help teachers see its value and how it’ll make learning easier in the long run. Several, for example, mentioned getting creative with their Kindle Fires and iPads to teach students about online resources. The only negative comments were about funding—or more specifically, the lack of it—for keeping up with the fast-paced tech evolution.

What are other areas of our jobs that scored high with our bosses? The bulk, 93 percent, strongly agree that we’re helpful in “reinforcing concepts learned in the classroom” and that we assist teachers by making resources available. Plus, 90 percent of administrators think our rooms are inviting. Meanwhile, 90 percent also feel our professional development efforts with teaching colleagues are effective. This is an area of opportunity for librarians: as more than half of librarians surveyed report working with teachers on a one-on-one basis, and express a desire to do more professional development and collaboration in the future.

The big disconnect

Of course, there are areas where school librarians and their principals simply don’t see eye to eye. One that stands out has to do with the promotion of recreational reading. A whopping 98.4 percent of librarians agree—and 81.3 percent strongly agree—that they encourage reading for pleasure, which, according to researcher Stephen Krashen, “is the major source of our reading competence, our vocabulary, and our ability to handle complex grammatical constructions.” Simply put, those who read more show superior literacy development, and as Krashen explains, literacy and language growth are “clearly attributable to free reading.”

Yet only 48.8 percent of principals strongly agree that the librarian encourages recreational reading. It’s quite possible that the question was misunderstood, or that of more concern, principals just don’t understand that it’s a significant—and important—part of what we do each day.

This may help explain another disparity we uncovered: when asked to list the activities that librarians perform daily, media specialists provided a list that exceeded 100 tasks. On the other hand, principals listed 20 items, which, when we eliminated redundancies, were narrowed down to a mere 10. The good news is that both pretty much agree that the top tasks performed by librarians include helping students to access books and information, teaching students and teachers research and tech skills, and collaborating with teachers.

Looking for leaders

So why do so many librarians complain about not feeling the love? Our survey found that some of the negative stereotypes that we’ve been fighting all these years still persist. A lot of principals continue to view librarians as unfriendly shushers who are more concerned with keeping their books in order than encouraging kids to read. One administrator said that courtesy and customer service were important but lacking in his librarian, with another adding that a smile wouldn’t hurt. And when asked to identify the visible leaders in their schools, most of our bosses simply don’t think of us. Only 24.4 percent of administrators view media specialists as visible leaders. And the sad news is that we agree. When posed the same question, only 28 percent of school librarians say they strongly see themselves in a leadership role.

A very likely explanation is that school librarians don’t feel comfortable labeling themselves as leaders—but it doesn’t mean they’re not acting like ones, says Marcia Mardis, associate director of the Partnerships Advancing Library Media (PALM) Center at Florida State University. “Leaders are as leaders do.”

Mardis makes an interesting point. As our survey shows, media specialists perform dozens of tasks each day, but they don’t necessarily feel the need to stand up and shout about it to the world. Some feel that librarians would have taken district-level or managerial jobs if they wanted to be identified as leaders in the traditional sense of the word.

“Labeling yourself a leader can require a lot of chutzpah in an environment that very clearly labels its leaders as principals, assistant principals, and curriculum directors,” explains Mardis. “To stand in the face of that formal recognition and say, ‘I am a leader, too—even if you don’t call me one’ is a professional risk. It’s much less professional risk to act like a leader than it is to call yourself a leader.”

We’re trying to overcome this exact problem with our MLS students at Sam Houston State University, where I train teachers to become school librarians. When asked to rate themselves on key areas that are important to the role of a media specialist, my students consistently rank themselves low in leadership potential and high in the areas of literature expertise, tech ability, library administration, and teaching. Since these future librarians don’t seem to know how to lead—or don’t have a natural affinity for it—our faculty has developed several assignments to teach them how to lead through collaboration, by providing training, teaching technology, and by encouraging them to be the go-to person in the school and community. We’re even teaming up with our school administration department to offer a Ph.D. program in school administration, with an emphasis on library science. By training our students to lead before they enter the media center, we hope these future school librarians will consider leadership and advocacy as important as ordering books and teaching kids how to do research.

Indeed, formidable obstacles to leadership exist in the real world. While many librarians who were surveyed say that they feel like visible leaders with their students and want to be leaders outside the library, it’s a different story when it comes to standing out among their teaching peers. The roadblocks range from fear of rocking the boat and being spread too thinly among different schools to jealousy from classroom teachers and a lack of support from administrators.

“I have been an advocate in my district, which has earned me a few gray hairs due to the lack of interest,” says one respondent. Another says she’s never invited to faculty meetings, despite raising repeated requests to her administrator. “It’s hard to be a visible anything—let alone leader—when you aren’t even seen.”

Lisa Hunt, a media specialist at Apple Creek Elementary in Moore, OK, concurs. “The first year my principal arrived, she rarely came into the library. It soon became clear that she not only thought I wasn’t leadership material, she wanted to ignore my existence.”

One high school librarian in rural Alabama says she wasn’t even allowed to accept an invitation from a student to a banquet honoring academic excellence among the top 10 seniors at her school because “my principal said, ‘No, she’s not a teacher.’”

Lorraine Calabrese, an elementary school librarian with the Northgate School District in Pittsburgh, PA, inherited both the legacy of a former librarian who possessed few leadership qualities and the difficulty of splitting her time between two buildings. “I have two schools, two principals, often with very different styles of management,” she says. “I have my hands tied somewhat by teaching seven out of nine periods a day. Students are dropped at the door, [and I’m] lucky if I see the teacher. When technology came in, I grabbed the chance to be a leader and was… until they hired a technology teacher.”

Taking the lead

Although most administrators don’t see us often taking the lead, about 50 percent of respondents say they’re receptive—and in favor—of the idea. And while some media specialists say they’re waiting for an invitation to lead from their principals, a majority of administrators say librarians should take the initiative themselves.

“This position is the best of both worlds,” wrote one principal. “Students work in project-based learning environments without the threat of failure in the library, and actually, failure in the library is incentive alone to continue learning.” Meanwhile, another administrator said, “An effective librarian could be as important as an effective principal, given his/her ability to impact teaching and learning in the school.”

At the same time, almost all librarians agree that achieving success without their principal’s backing is impossible. “It is vital,” says Gerri Ellner Krim, a media specialist at Brooklyn Collegiate in New York and a 2007 winner of the School Library Journal/Thomson Gale Giant Step Award for the most improved library.

What advice do librarians who consider themselves leaders have to offer? Advocacy ranks at the top of the list for all of them—and it can come with huge payoffs. Alice Yucht, a retired school librarian and the creator of the widely read Alice in Infoland blog, describes the need to be “assertively courteous” by offering timely and useful resources to teachers and administrators. But she cautions against complaining. “Always be positive, even if you have to fake it,” she says, adding that it’s important to promote the library, not yourself—and to know the difference between promotion and advocacy. “You cannot self-advocate. You need to create satisfied customers and users who will then advocate for the library.”

Learning the language of administrators and even dressing like them was key for Rose Luna, a librarian at New York’s Freeport High School. “When you wear a suit, people perceive you a certain way. If you’re wearing a holiday sweater with a pumpkin on it, you aren’t going to be perceived as a leader or as a part of the leadership tribe.”

After giving numerous presentations and workshops to teachers, parents, and other community members—sometimes on weekends and after school—Margaux DelGuidice, a librarian at Garden City High School in New York, says she and her co-librarian were asked by their superintendent to present at a Superintendent’s Cabinet Meeting to administrators from across Long Island. The topic was a librarian’s dream: the importance of a research curriculum and the link between school librarians, research skills, and the Common Core Standards.

For Pamela Jackson, a teacher-librarian at East Wake High School in Wendell, NC, social media played a big role in her success. “I’ve Twittered with educators globally for over three years, and this has led to exponential professional growth,” she says. “I’ve participated in numerous free online webinars, boot camps, edchats, virtual cafes, classroom 2.0, and unconferences. I’ve attended board meetings, advocating for librarians, information literacy, and student success; and I’ve shared with business leaders what librarians do.”

The best advice that Maureen Schlosser offers is to attend every meeting possible, especially the ones at grade level. “Bring to every meeting some little tidbit from the library, whether it’s a great book that will support a lesson, or a website that will help teachers or administrators in some way,” says the librarian at Colchester Elementary School in Connecticut. “When presenting the tidbits, think of it as a quick commercial, and you are the star of the commercial, and the cameras are rolling. If the audience sees you excited about whatever it is you are bringing to the table, they can’t help but be excited, too. Especially when they see that you truly want to help support what they work so hard at doing every day. Who wouldn’t appreciate help?”

Schlosser also says to stay current. “Read all of the current information out there about what is new and relevant. Go to any classes or workshops that will not only help you in the library, but also teachers in the classroom.”

She routinely follows “revolutionary” librarians such as Joyce Valenza, Michelle Luhtala, Buffy Hamilton, and Gweneth Jones on Twitter to see what they’re doing.

“With the Common Core being implemented next year, you can’t help but see library media skills written all over those standards,” says Schlosser, explaining that her goal last year was to team up with her school’s ed-tech teachers on lessons using the Common Core Crosswalk and the Inquiry Model developed by Barbara Stripling, the former head of school libraries for the New York City Department of Education, and to share the lessons with everyone. “Because of our efforts, our administrators are asking all social studies teachers to work with school librarians on research projects.”

Nicole Knott, a media specialist at Connecticut’s Watertown High School, sums it up best. “If you promote the image of the media center as the hub of the school—for staff, students, and the community at large—it will inevitably become such, and the person in charge of such a vital place is bound to be sought out as a leader.”

EVENT DATE AND TIME: Thursday, March 29, 2012, 3:00 PM – 4:00 PM T

Dive into the data from the most recent SLJ school library spending survey and learn how to use it to strengthen your advocacy work in this free webcast on Thursday, March 29, at 3 p.m. (EST).

Featuring informative presentations from Dr. Lesley Farmer – professor, author and international school library advocate and extraordinaire, and Sara Kelly Johns – former AASL president, advocacy expert and author of the all new SLJ Blog Make Some Noise!

Presenters

Dr. Lesley FarmerProfessor, California State University Long BeachDr. Lesley Farmer, Professor at California State University Long Beach, coordinates the Librarianship program. She earned her M.S. in Library Science at the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill, and received her doctorate in Adult Education from Temple University. Dr. Farmer has worked as a teacher-librarian in K-12 school settings as well as in public, special and academic libraries. She is active in the Education Section of the Special Libraries Association, and is the International Association of School Librarianship Vice-President of Association Relations. In 2011 she was selected for the ALA Beta Phi Mu Award for contributions to library education. A frequent presenter and writer for the profession, Dr. Farmer’s research interests include information literacy, collaboration, assessment, and educational technology. Dr. Farmer’s most recent books include Youth-Serving Libraries in Japan, Russia and the United States (Scarecrow, 2012),Instructional Design for Librarians and Information Professionals (Neal-Schuman, 2011), Using qualitative methods in action research: How librarians can get to the why of data, with D. Cook(American Library Association, 2011).

Sara Kelly Johns Librarian, Lake Placid Middle/High School, NYSara Kelly Johns has been the 6-12 school librarian at Lake Placid Middle/High School since 1999 and taught at Beekmantown (NY) Middle/Senior High School before that. She is an instructor for Mansfield University’s School Library and Information Technologies and was an adjunct professor for the Library Research Methods through Technology course at SUNY Plattsburgh from 1990-2006. The recipient of the 2011 New York Library Association’s Presidential Lifetime Achievement Award, she also won the Excellence in Teaching Award for Adjuncts in 1999 as well as the sixth annual Award for Excellence in Library Service from the North Country Reference and Research Resources (3R’s) Council in 1996. One of the writers of the National Board of Professional Teaching Standards Library Media Specialist standards, she served on the New York State Regents Commission on Library Service for the 21st Century and is a current member of the Regents Advisory Committee on Libraries American Association of School Librarians’ (AASL) Legislative Committee, the ALA Committee on Legislation’s Grassroots Advocacy Subcommittee and is the AASL Division Councilor for the ALA Council. She is a speaker and author of several articles on advocacy.

Register now to access the on-demand archive.