As many of you experience, you often hear of libraries around you being compromised and with this happening all around you - it feels as if you are standing by as these events happens. Here is one example:
"An ELA Interventionist was asked to come into the Georgetown Middle School. Recently she was tasked with ordering books for the school library and weeding the library because they do not have a school librarian on staff. I saw her two weekends ago and she informed me that teachers will be checking out books to their students when they visit the school library. I was completely stunned and upset that this is what the school decided to do rather than have a certified school librarian."
This is one of three events that have been occurring over a 3-4 month period and as a School Librarian Association, each one of these occurrences makes you stand back and wonder, the following questions:
When books are being weeded, I am wondering if all of them, being weeded, are actually needed weeding, and then also, where are they going? The dumpster? Should I reach out to the Georgetown Middle School and ask what help they need? I do not want to put the people informing me of these things in jeopardy or in a hard situation, so handling and approaching these things, without being intimidating and rather looking as here for assistance seems to be the largest barrier. I always hear these second hand - rather than people/schools, etc feeling comfortable to ask for help from DASL, etc..
So let me know what you think - advice and how you approach such events as they are occurring - it is difficult to be everywhere and already, we are posting, reaching out via emails to schools, utilizing Facebook communities, attending conferences, and doing every possible avenue to reach as wide an audience as possible - but in the end, if libraries and access to materials are left to those not aware of the impact of approaching a collection properly, the permanent loss of a library viewed as a hub well, is permanent. :(
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Harry Brake harrybrake.com
Library Media Specialist/DASL President
Woodbridge High School
Greenwood, Delaware
He, Him, His
harry.brake@wsd.k12.de.us------------------------------