Librarisition? Seriously? Bear with me.

The below comment given by a librarian in another state hit home with me. I have been employed where certified librarians were made to feel as if they were a mascot. Luckily, I am in a school, and previously was in a school, that does/did not view it that way, a priceless gift, but many are.

Okay so yes, whether you realized it or not, April 4th was National School Librarian Day, and yes, three amazing faculty members of my school reminded me and told me thanks.

That felt good.

BUT – to the amazing and talented certified school librarian who wrote this above- I feel you, I truly do but KNOW THIS -Our professional ALWAYS ALWAYS is usually deemed less than the roles of nurses and counselors which are required to be in schools, and of course be certified. To the dismay of certified librarianship NOT so much BUT….

…We know what we do every single day is just as valuable as any profession, knowing we pave the way forward for futures. Many take that for granted, deny deny deny, or choose to ignore that fact.

BUT get this, the things we do EVERY SINGLE DAY, not just ONE day, (or month) speak louder than the multiple days spent removing certified school librarians from schools.

Organizations believe in us.

Students, senators, and state representatives and teachers and yes, admin believe in us.

Students and faculty believe in us – look at a typical day!

It is vital to remember, the administrators that do not acknowledge the value and merit of a certified librarian, the parents who choose to ignore literacy is a factor to all success, the individuals who choose to take the path of a degree in Information Science is not needed – they continue to struggle to find ways to succeed, and we all know, the best-kept secret and not best-kept secret but those to know, one of the very important cogs in the educational system is a certified librarian in every school.

It is so easy to believe a certified librarian alone is the key, teachers, administrators, and certified librarians with paraprofessionals change the landscape of education forever. It has been proven time and time again. Once others begin to take blindfolds off, more successes will be heard and seen.

Together, we all realize, it does not come down to one day, even one month, but the collective and countless hours, patience, and behind-the-scenes work we do EVRY SINGLE DAY? The privileged individuals who WANT to know, know more. It always seems to work out that way and togetgherm we work better.

Last note to let you know you are not alone – I did a Component Five experiment with students, on what they knew about certified school librarians and then what they did know after receiving a little information about certified librarians being present in our schools in Delaware. You are going to be amazed at the results, but it settles well with me that students are the first to be enlightened about the status, value, and presence of certified librarians in Delaware. Many times I was asked, “Why did I NOT know this about the profession, the lack of certified librarians, their absence across this state, and why do not more people outside of school know this?” All good questions. I do believe National School Librarian Day and National School Library Month, single, powerful tools, are meant to answer those questions.

Keep the faith. All bets on one single day is a losing Libraristion. 🙂

P.S. We have another day / opportunity too- April 16th – National Librarian Day 🙂