The original intent of this blog was to chronicle a year in the life of an SLS director. Well, a year has passed and the SLS at Capital Region BOCES continues on with the mission – sharing resources. That’s what it’s all about. What started with interlibrary loan and grew into consortia purchasing and staff development has morphed even more broadly. A School Library System is really all about building community.
The schools and the people in our region are as diverse as any can be. Each has different needs and resources. Being part of a system helps each library media specialist learn:
1. that they are not alone.
2. that they have a multitude of resources at their fingertips just for the asking.
3. that everyone, no matter how small or large, has needs to be met and also has something to offer.
4. that they can best meet the needs of their local learning community by participating fully in the network that the SLS can bring to them.
This year we implemented the curriculum, worked with librarians and teachers to delve into inquiry based learning and stayed on top of things with our Tech Camps. 2008 will bring more of the same at a “stepped up” level.
More importantly it has been a joy to watch our library media specialists grow and learn together. Some of our most reliable and consistent librarians moved smoothly into the life of retirement. That allowed us to meet some fresh and energetic new folks with a whole different set of skills and expectations.
We celebrated when one of our own, Joanne Shawhan, was selected for a position at the State Education Department. We wept together when our Micki Nevett passed away abruptly, her work in the world of children’s literature unfinished and her school bereft.
We are a professional community- learning and growing together.
If you wish to consider the role of SLS director as a part of your own career path, you must know and abide by the Commissioner’s Regulations. But you must know more than that. You must know that you are in a leadership role where you can make a difference for students through that most important program – their school library. And the way you do that is by building and fostering community among the librarians, administrators and teachers that you work with.
As with all library work – this position is not about the books or the information. It’s all about the people. Those who figure that out soonest will be the most successful in the profession and the happiest in their jobs.
I love my job – but only because I love the people I work with. It’s that simple and that complicated.
Happy 2008!
