Final Post

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!

Thanksgiving Thursday

Here are some of the things I am thankful for:
I’m thankful for a day off to spend with family.
I’m thankful for all of the wonderful librarians and teachers that I get to work with.
I’m thankful for my colleagues across the state and in my own organization.
I’m thankful for collaborators like Mary Ratzer and Anne Sayers who work with me to expand the vision.
I’m thankful for my supervisor who supports my work and lets me go at it!
I’m thankful for a supportive husband and family.
I’m thankful for meaningful work. It provides therapy, relationships and just plain joy.
I hope all of you have a wonderful Thanksgiving!

Bog River Falls

Because, sometimes, you just gotta get out of town!
This is Bog River Falls in Tupper Lake, NY.
Beautiful! Relaxing!
And no where close to the office!

Happy New Year!

January 1 is just a holiday. In BOCES World, July 1 is New Year’s Day as we roll over the fiscal calendar. So the last week of June and the first weeks of July are busy, busy. Completing end of the year reports, setting up budgets and purchase orders to purchase goods and services in the new fiscal year, completing contracts and finalizing requests from schools.
Here’s a picture of the top of my desk this morning. You can see that it’s all about the paperwork! Nothing like forms in triplicate to remind you that you are just a cog in a vast and ever-moving wheel!
Still, it all needs to be done so that you can go back to concentrating on your program – which is why you took this job in the first place, right?
So it’s all paperwork all the time this week and next.
Happy New Year!

Fran Roscello Retires

After so many years in any career, it is inevitable that the people who have mentored and guided you will move on to another adventure in their life. Unfortunately it is not until they are about to leave that you realize how much they have led and shaped your own career. Fran is one of those people. I have know her for many years and her work at the New York State Education Department has shaped my own work in many ways.
What a pleasure it was for me then, to be able to celebrate her career at this reception in that beautiful Education Department Building. Here I am with (to my left) Fran Roscello, Mary Ratzer and another of my mentors, Pat Webster.
Unfortunately I have no idea who the woman in the flowered skirt is – but she was at the reception too so she must be a friend and colleague of Fran’s!

Martin Luther King Jr. Day

Today was the MLK holiday in mid January. We honored Dr. King this year by staying indoors by the fire and listening to the trees pop in our neighborhood. This was the view from my back window! Ice everywhere and I was happy to be home today!
My position here is a 12 month administrative position. This means that I do not work the school calendar. We have all of the national holidays off, of course but during the February break, the spring break and Christmas break we are working. While that may not sound like a good thing to you, there are certain advantages. We do, of course, accumulate a certain amount of vacation time that we can use pretty much when we want. So we can take our vacations at OUR convenience rather that at the dictates of the school calendar. If you think you might like to take some time off in, say, October, rather than trying to beat the crowds during February break, this may be the job for you. If you have little ones and need to be home when they are home – then now may not be the time for you to consider being an SLS director.
If, however, you prefer a little more flexibility AND off-peak rates, this may be for you!

Budget time!

It’s January and so it is budget time. This is the time of year when we set the budgets for the following fiscal years in the cosers. So Library Automation, Non-Public Textbooks, Database Consortium and Instructional Media budgets have to be done NOW! Adjustments have to be made in salaries and benefits, retirement, social security – all that good stuff. This is what they call a “time sucker”. It literally takes hours with a spreadsheet and a ruler and pounds of paper. But once it is done – I feel good about the plans we have made for the following year. It also give me some practice with my math skills – the ones I said I’d never use! Ha!
School Library System budgets get done in April or May – so I’ll be back at this again in the spring.

School Library System Director – It’s not a job, it’s an adventure!

Hello!

My name is Linda Fox and I am a School Library System Director in upstate New York (Albany, to be specific).

The job of SLS director is challenging and rewarding. I love my job, but in 5 – 10 years, I will retire. The purpose of this blog is for others to get a glimpse of the details of the job, rewards and frustrations. It is my hope that a school library media specialist with lots of energy and leadership skills will be interested in taking on the challenge – when I’m ready to give it up , that is!

I will try to write frequently and include those WOW! moments as well as the mundane. My friend Stephanie Wilson says, “Work is work!”. Being an SLS director is work. No doubt about it. I look forward to your comments.