redefine the librarian profession

I want to redefine the process a masters student in library science has to go through. I am in my final final semester of the program and I have to rewrite my agenda and professional development plan. I am not the only student who has to redo this, but I feel like I am. The professional agenda relates to the profession of librarianship, not to the position and the professional development development plan is how I will learn to do what my agenda calls for. Straight forward right? This is all pass or fail.
The agenda must flow with intent of my resume and work products, cover at least five years, and make major points to include contributions, responsibilities, and opportunities to the profession. The development plan has to flow the resume, agenda, and work products. It has to align with the major points and goals in the agenda and supports the documentation and/or examples of how the agenda will be accomplished.
I guess that I am fairly studid or non-thinking, because I did not pass the first time.
I do not know what they want!!

I am going to miss the children the most!
Since the Duhrector is not an employee advocate,and the board will never request from the City Council Full time status of any employee… It is now my turn to leave for a job in the real world. 5 others have left.
I will be a Special Education associate/Vice Principal Administrative assistant in an inner city school that has an extended year round schedule.
I will be full time, and I will have complete health benefits!
This will also double my hourly wage!
Until The Public Libraries of this country are seen to be a vital Part of a cities infrastructure,employee retention will always be an issue.
When Librarians with “just” a certificate are valued as much as as one with a MLS, This will continue to happen.
One can not pay the doctor with reader advisory,Dewey knowledge,or a cheerful outlook. respectfully submitted by a sad
but health care covered Interlibrary loan librarian.

. . . travels the world with a library of lost & forgotten poetry, installing the library & librarian and recording the sounds & poetry of the people, cities & countries she meets. The Itinerant Poetry Librarian lives wherever her library is. Come Join!

”” the PLA Executive Committee… that the word “librarian” is defined as a professional possessing a Master of Library Science degree””.
Excuse….. ME.
I’ve done my job as a “non-Librarian” for 7 years now.who was to know.

a little over a Year ago I had a student come to me for the “compass Test”study book. I knew about the book because my son had to take the test prior to college because of his sketchy attendance at school,and alot of other crapola. ( too much to go in to here)
the test is for students that very much want to go to college,BUT have not taken the dred SAT ACT ETC>>>>>
average grades,spotty school records what ever..
Being the interlibrary loan goddess that i am i said sure!!!
when i went in to the system there was only one public library in the WHOLE state that had it! what an outrage… this is a book just as important as the study books for the other glorified test.
I a lowly ILL person requested the book to be purchased for our collection. i stated my reasons clearly and yes with a bit more passion than for a mere book of popular fiction.
I was decided that we should have the book.. this student was the first to receive our copy.
I am proud to know that this book has never remained on our shelves longer that one week since the time we purchased it.
Young people have been requesting it and it is the one book that flies off our shelf.
this is such a grand tool for those challenged in the education process to take the test and get the extra guidence they need to make the college/university experience come true.
This test is not for the faint of heart it is just as demanding as the SAT<ACT and all the others that are out there.
It just gives me a real thrill to know that Ï WAS RIGHT!
the other book i advocated for was the ASVAB…
Don’t know it?, get a hold of a copy and see how you rate… then know that the young people that are defending our great nation are well and truely Able.
Enough Ranting… Life in Library land is WUNDERBAR!

Gads, we planned for 40 kids and assorted parental units for the Do last night. what we got was over 100 kids and parents!!!
in the middle of it all the childrens librarian comes out with this deer in the head lights look on her face and says….”” we need more books”” as she franticly looks in the empty petty cash box, she turns to me and asks”” do you have your card on you tonight”” yeeeeessss , i answer slowly, we need more books.
so i loose my space in the parking lot because it seems every one is at the library tonight and i go to the store and purchase 25 more books for santa to give out. drive back and have to park my car at the park ,walk back get the books on the work table and no amount of picking gets the price tags off, thank the powers that be that robin says “we could put christmas stickers over the tags!!! YA baby get those stickers…. we had them in santa sack toot sweet!
looked at the daily stats 1/2 hour after closing while we cleaned up..all day just a trickle then BAM! the 90 minutes that santa was there we had 277 books go out,
Man, I LOVE LIBRARY LAND!

The Weeeding is over and the books are all on tables in the conference room!
this year it is a self managing book sale.”Donations are encouraged”but a few kids went in and and then came out and said”I don’t have any money now, can i have you hold the book i want till later”?”
Honey, take the book! put money in the donation jar later!
..... I want the kids and anyone else that wants the books to have them, Its good karma, just READ. I have pulled books for patrons that i know would enjoy them, i even pulled a book that no one else would want for a retired teacher. Watergate papers vol.1! boxes and boxes.bags and bags have flown out of the room!
we have already cleared close to 500$! people are more generous when they can give what they want then when we put a price on the book. we’ve learned the hard way.one elderly lady got a bunch of books for her grand kids,3 Elem. teachers got books for the classroom library.read read read…..
getting the books out of here and in to the hands of some one that wants them is more important than whether we get 25 cents or a dollar.
When its all said and done that is what really counts for me.
on monday the books that did not find a new home will be boxed and shipped free of charge by a local business( ie. a national fruit and veg distributer)to a school/library in tennessee that is in a very poor region of appalachia( did i spell that correctly?) Anyway, again the books will get in the the hands of those that can use them, It’s a wonderful thing!
As for the Duhrector, she is on a decoration jag and will leave the rest of the collection alone for at least 18 months.
for a library in a town our size we have a collection that should be for a town half our size, we are now down to 27k books and the average is 44 k , but you know we have to have the shelfs look pretty! with only 12-15 books per shelf! non fiction looks so incedibly bare. I go to get a book that i know was there only to find it comepletely GONE.
I went and purchased kleenex for the library,tis`` the season, in the first 30 seconds upon delivery of said nose wipes i had one patron with her books checked out,and had 2 other patrons come get me to help them find the right books that they wanted,the coworker that was on desk didn’t have a clue how to help these people and just sent them into the collection to fend for themselves. one patron saw me and said Oh’she’s here and came over to me for help. this is not unusual,thats why on my day off i don’t usually go anywhere near library land.people at the grocery see me and want info on books.people at church see me and remeber that they have over due books…etc
I am the library to most patrons, a position that i take SeRiOuSLy! really! i do! i’ve worked hard to make people welcome,to make the library a friendly and inviting place to come to.After being gone a month, I see how this job defines me,
it’s not a bad thing at all. Ah.. Life in libary land continues, the land of the surreal and sublime

we have a circ # of 10,984! that equals one third of our collection that has been checked out and its not even the “end” of the month!
we have topped 600 daily for the last 4 days.It’s crazy but in a good way.Programs and events every day.all the wee ones coming up to get prizes for the reading they have done.cookie coupons to subway,ice cream cones to mc’d’s,red rubber bracelets,swimming passes, zoo passes,tshirts,swimming pool party tickets.we have the best prizes and run the longest of any metro program 10 wonderful weeks of insanity.
the fish bowl still has not tipped over on to me the children are very respectful.the turtles hank and bill are silently keeping vigil on the return bin/book drop.
the new help keeps asking “is it always like this”. YES between the last day of school and the first friday after school starts this is the center of the universe as we know it and as the kids know it. we are the IT place to be.can one think of a better,safer place for kids to be in the summer?one mother anounced that this is the loudest library she had every been in. IT”S SUMMER!Kids make noise! all year they have to do this and do that and betold what to do,geez let them enjoy the one true asset that this town has.a long time ago(8 years in fact) the library in this town was a dark and dismal place no one went there. the women that worked there were old grouchy and scary!we only have one of those left.thank heaven! the kid know that we will advocate for them at every turn. there will be time to shhhsshhshhshh’d when they get to go to a school library or a college library,now is not the time, now is the time to instill in thier young and tender hearts that a library is worth going to . that a library is THE place to get information,not GOOGLE!that a library is FUN. man, did i just put that there, FUN.Yah,not a museum of books but a living thing to be cherished. we loose a lot of kids to other activities when they are in middle school and that is the age bracket we are targeting.last year I had 87 total for the teens sign up, about half participated, this year i have 190 and 1/2 are coming in and doing the program, and asking for readers advisory help, it’s a good thing i preread the YA’s.I haven’t had one turn away my suggested reading so far.since i’m the one that does the teen program it makes me proud.I will be in Europe for the last 5 weeks of the program,I know i will come back to a complete mess.Knowing that information in advance makes it easier for me to let go and GO.the interlibrary loans will be a mess,the lates and returns will be many.who really cares what is important is that for 10 weeks this summer we had children here and they love the library and will make memories form that time that will stay with them how ever faint for a lifetime and in the end that is what is really important.

we lost a gold fish,boo hoo, marie went to fishy heaven.
thats what a 4 year old told me.
the cataloger quit today.great,Now we will be stacking the beheamouths offerings on the shelf until we get another worth participant in library land.37 days till I make the “GREAT ESCAPE” I leave for Europe for 30 glorious fun and sun filled days.They all knew i was going for over a year. that i would not be there for the peak of Summer reading month.some body else will do circ and ILL ,I will probably come back to a complete mess but I’m not worring i’m counting down the days.
Oh ya, July is National Hot Dog Month, Go eat a Weiner!!!

goldfish,turtles,and now a visiting spider monkey!
we have registered 8 over last years total we are with in sight of our goal of 700 kids registered,100 of which are the 5th grade and above age range!
and in the middle of all this the director decides to rearrange the reference section! like we don’t have anything else to be doing.
it is not even the official middle of the month and we have already topped the 6000 mark for circulations! 8 years ago we would pray for a 1000 circ month . we’ve come a long way since then. BIGGER BETTER FASTER MORE!
the center of the universe this summer is library land!
next week magicians and dogs.State wide ICN interactive programs for the wee ones, Comic book corner my fav.
I told a few boys that Librarians are super heros,they looked at me like”where’s your cape”!
Keep em’ guessing! hAH!