School Librarians

School Librarians

Emily Nelson

Lei Ye

Whitney Olsen

What School Librarians Do

Primary/Secondary

• Act as information source for the school
• Provide and direct reading programs
• Order, process, catalogue, and update books
• Assist students in locating information
• Assist teachers with core curriculum requirements, lesson plans, and unit ideas
• Teach students how to successfully use computers to discover resources, programs, information, etc
• Provide audiovisual materials and equipment to the students and teachers
  

University/College

• Maintain digital and physical catalogs
• Facilitate faculty use of library resources like Digital Commons
• Assist students in accessing digital databases like EBSCO and Academic Search Premiere
• Build LibGuides for individual classes (like English 1010, English 2010, etc.)
• Assist students in Distance Education and Regional Campus programs with accessing library resources

USU Merrill-Cazier Library

Famous Members

• Nancy Pearl
  
  • Seattle Public Libraries, publishes Book Lust and Book Crush recommended lists
  • Reads on NPR
  • Contemporary librarian
• Jessamyn West
  
  • Combining library sciences with information sciences and technology
  • Contemporary librarian
• Laura Bush
  
  • Holds a Master's in Library Science from University of Texas at Austin
  • Promoted librarian recruitment initiatives to hire qualified librarians
• Mao Zedong
  
  • Librarian at Beijing University, chief librarian was communist and converted him

Nancy Pearl

Education and Requirements for Librarians

Primary/Secondary

• Varying Requirements
• Most require a teaching degree, sometimes with an endorsement in Library Media

College/University

•  Master's degree in Library Sciences (MLS) from accredited institution
• ALA (see below) provides lists of accredited and "Top Ten" programs
• PhD degrees exist; attained primarily to teach in MLS programs
• Some programs require two Master's degrees: one in MLS, one in subject area of reference
  

Professional Organizations

ALA: American Library Association

• Subgroups: ALSC, ALCTS, ASCLA, LITA, LLAMA, PLA, RUSA, YALSA
• AASL (American Association of School Librarians)/ALA
  
  • $115 first-time fee, $140 to renew for a second year, $180 to renew for a third year
• ACRL (American College and Research Libraries)/ALA
  
  • $120 first-time fee, $153 to renew for a second year, $185 subsequent year

ULA (Utah Library Association)

• $20 Category I membership (First-time member, Student, Half-time library employee,
  UELMA member, Retiree, Trustee, General Public)
• $40 Category II membership (Persons employed in a library or library related setting
  more than 20 hours per week)
• $1,000 Category III membership (Lifetime)

MPLA (Mountain Plains Library Association), twelve-state library association

• Dues based on income or institutional budget
• $15 student membership
• $40-$65 personal membership
• $50-$125 institutional membership

UELMA: Utah Educational Library Media Association

• $20 Full Year Membership
• $10 Half-Year MembershipQuarterly Newsletter
• Annual Conference
• Exposed to new information, ideas, and tools. 
• Educational opportunities
• Motivational and informative speakers
  

Benefits of joining professional organizations

• Presenting at conferences
• Pursuing tenure track
• Attending leadership training
• Publication opportunities
• Networking
• Discounts (publications, book purchases, conferences, etc.)
• Funding

Employers

• Government-sponsored institutions like public libraries and the Library of Congress
• Public institutions like universities/colleges and primary and secondary schools
• Private institutions like universities/colleges, corporations, law libraries, special libraries (SLA)
• Most librarians at universities and colleges follow a tenure track.  Utah State University's tenure track is six years.

Libraries and Instructional Technology

• Utah State University
  
  • Digital Commons: faculty and graduate candidates upload materials for courses or thesis/dissertations
  • Library Catalog: materials can be found by computer and internet
  • Databases: from very general (Academic Search Premiere or EBSCO Host) to very specific (PsycINFO or ERIC), many resources are available to students and faculty online
  • LibGuides: Librarians design dynamic materials and instruction for students across the curriculum
  • BARN: has the capacity to both enhance space/expand resources and limit casual browsing
  • Library Stats: librarians record every reference question asked by patrons, over 15,000 questions have been recorded so far