reflective journal

Reflect on the semester's readings, discussions, assignments, etc. Has your vision changed? What are you looking forward to implementing in your school library program? What worries you about the profession? What are the challenges?

It has been so interesting to take this course at the same time as I began work as a school librarian. Already I can see both ways that topics raised in our course apply to the real world of librarianship, as well as obstacles that come up when theory starts to get put into practice.

A theme that I've considered often over the course of this semester is the dynamic nature of librarianship. This seems like a profession that is continuously changing and evolving, or at least has the potential to. I know from my years as a classroom teacher that routines are necessary in schools, but that it's easy for a routine to become a rut. I'm wondering about how I will stay on top of developments and new ideas in the field, once I'm out of library school. I also wonder about collaboration. It's been great to have classes full of colleagues and professors who are all interested in school librarianship, who are available for brainstorming with and bouncing questions around. How will the nature of collegiality change if I'm the only librarian at a school? What are some other avenues for collaboration and professional affinity?

My worries:
-finding a (full-time) job at all
-budget woes
-getting to know a collection well enough to be able to match books with all sorts of readers (how do librarians do this? it seems like magic to me)
-getting to know hundreds of students instead of one class at a time, and wondering if relationships with so many kids at once will be as fulfilling as those were with my first grade students

Budget and job searching issues notwithstanding, I think that my other worries will be resolved just by having more time and experience actually working as a librarian, and bridging that theory-practice divide. I appreciate that many of our assignments have focused on practical tools that could be used in a real life library setting (particularly the tech tools).

Overall, I feel hopeful about the potential for school libraries and excited (if sometimes intimidated) about getting further into the profession. I think it's important work. I hope I'm up to the task.