I love my job. I began my career as a university librarian and soon realized that the part of my job I liked best were the student and faculty interactions, but I was not able to spend as much time as I wanted in those areas. I became a school librarian almost by accident and can honestly say that it was the best move that I could have made. The connections that I make with colleagues and students genuinely bring me joy. After a tough couple of years (professionally), I am thrilled to have this feeling again in my work life.
As I shifted to serving in the middle school building full time, collaboration with faculty was a primary focus. After several years of me only being a part-time presence in the building, the faculty was not used to having a librarian available daily. Last year was a building year that is paying off in 2024-25. During the first quarter, I collaborated with 7 teachers and taught a total of 60 class sessions. In addition to a few one-day introductory classes, I spent multiple days with sixth grade English and Science classes laying a foundation for larger projects in future months. One major success is working with a social studies teacher who has been convinced that they did not need any assistance from the library regarding resources or information literacy skills. For the first time in my 8 years working with middle school staff, I finally scheduled a one-day collaboration with this teacher – and it was a success!
I also count my connections with students as a success. During my time in the middle school, three of my children have been students in the building and I do my best to be sensitive to the potential embarrassment of having your mom as one of your teachers. As a member of GenX, I find myself moving into the “get off my lawn” phase of life and am trying not to become too curmudgeonly. In one of my recent English lessons, I jokingly used GenZ slang to open the lesson – to the slight embarrassment of my current 7th grader. The students called me on the cringe factor of using their language, but also valiantly attempted to teach me the correct syntax and phrasing. As I walked through the hallway later in the day, I overhead a couple of students say that I was the G.O.A.T and that they couldn’t wait to see what I do in my next lesson. During lunch duty yesterday I was informed that my “drip is slaying today!”, which I understand to be a compliment. 😉
As I continue to build the library program at the middle school level, it is easy to focus on the disappointments or the times that administration does not understand my duties. Refocusing my attention on the connections that I am building with staff and students reminds me of the reasons I chose this career. I remain thankful for all of these connections built through learning.