Posted on by hildaweisburg

Do They Know What You Do

Guest Poster: Rona Gofstein

It’s always nice to be appreciated. Hopefully you hear from students, teachers and your administrators how important your work is. ALA knows, too. In a recent American Libraries Magazine article, “Thank You, School Librarians,” ALA Executive Director Dan Montgomery celebrates the work school librarians do every day. He recognizes our role in providing equitable access, personalized learning opportunities, technology, digital and print materials, and programming that helps students become lifelong readers and informed citizens.

He also notes a troubling statistic. He states: Too many schools have underfunded and understaffed libraries, even though research shows a positive correlation between high-quality school library programs, with a certified school librarian at the helm, and higher student achievement and stronger literacy outcomes. In 2019, the most recent year for which ALA has data, the US had roughly 90,400 K–12 public and private schools. Of those, 91% had school libraries, but only 61% had full-time librarians.

We know school libraries—and school librarians—matter. ALA knows it. Research supports it. But here’s the question: Do the people in your school know what you do?

Not what they think you do.

What you actually do.

Does your administrator know about the teacher you helped find resources for a new unit? Do they know about the student who finally found a book that made them want to read? Does your school community know you are teaching students how to evaluate information rather than simply find it? Do they know about the technology support you provide, the collaborations you initiate, and all the ways you make the library a safe and welcoming place?

If they don’t (or if you’re not sure), you need to look for ways to change that. I have written about advocacy many times because it is an essential part of leadership. Advocacy is not bragging. It is making people aware of the value of the library program so they understand why it is essential to student success.

And you don’t need a major advocacy campaign to do it. Start small.

Share what’s happening. Use your newsletter, website, social media, faculty meetings, or whatever communication channels are available to you. A photo with a sentence or two about what students were learning can say more than a lengthy report.

Make a connection. What are your administrator’s priorities for the year? Look at your school’s Mission and Vision. Where does the library support them? When you talk about your program, make that connection visible. Reach out and show your administrator what you have to support them.

Invite people in. Is there something happening in your library that your principal or teachers or parents should see? Invite them. Better yet, give them a reason to participate. The more they experience what happens in the library, the better they understand its value.

And make sure you’re connecting with the teachers in your school(s). They can become some of your strongest advocates, especially if they’ve experienced firsthand what collaborating with you brings to their students.

Montgomery describes the school library as the “hub and heart of the school.” It’s a perfect image. But being the heart of the school doesn’t happen simply because the library is there. It happens because of what you bring to it. You know how much you do. You know the many hats you wear and the difference you make.

This week, choose one person who may not know. And show them.

Posted on by hildaweisburg

When Plans Change – Leaders P.I.V.O.T.

GUEST POST – Written by Rona Gofstein

Graphic showing an arrow with a change of direction leading to a lightbulb suggesting this is the better idea. The caption reads: When things go in an unexpected direction, you may need to P.I.V.O.T.

It’s the beginning of a new school year. You had plans. Great plans. Perhaps you were going to start a new collaboration with a teacher, introduce a program you spent the summer developing, reorganize part of your library, or finally make progress on a goal you have been thinking about since the end of last year.

And then something happened.

Life—and school—doesn’t always go according to plan. An administrator has a different priority. A teacher you hoped to work with is suddenly unavailable. A budget gets cut. Or something happens in your personal life that changes how much time and energy you have to give. What do you do when the plan you carefully created is no longer possible?

You P.I.V.O.T.

Pivoting doesn’t mean abandoning your goals. As leaders, we need to recognize when circumstances have changed and find another way forward. Here are five steps to help you do that.

P – Periscope – Several years ago, I wrote about the idea of using periscope to look beyond what is immediately in front of you. A submarine’s periscope allows those below the surface to see what is happening above and around them. We need to do the same. When something disrupts your plans, your first reaction may be to focus on the problem. Instead, raise your periscope.

What else is happening? What has changed? What are you not seeing because you are focused on what went wrong? Talk to colleagues. Connect with your PLN. Look outside your library or even outside education. A different perspective may show you possibilities you couldn’t see before.

I – Initiate – Now that you have changed your perspective, start generating ideas. Don’t worry yet about whether they will work. Make a list. Could you modify your original plan? Could you work with someone different? Can you make the project smaller? What are other ways to achieve the same goal?

As librarians, we are good at finding information. Use that skill on your own problem. Ask questions. Do some research. Reach out to someone who has faced a similar situation. At this stage, you aren’t looking for the answer. You are looking for possibilities.

V – Vision – You know how often I write about having a Vision for your library. There’s a reason for that. Your Vision tells you where you are going. When circumstances change, your Vision is what keeps you from getting lost.

Look at the ideas you generated. Which ones are aligned with your Vision? Which support your Mission? Which reflect what you believe is important for your students, teachers, and school community?

Your original plan was only one route. Your Vision is the destination. When you remember that, changing the route doesn’t feel quite so much like failure. It’s leadership.

O – Options – Once you reconnect with your Vision, look again at your list of possibilities. Now see which ones become Options. Which are realistic given your current circumstances? What resources do you have? Who could help? What can you change? What can’t you change?

We sometimes get so attached to the way we planned to do something that we overlook another option that could work just as well—or perhaps even better. Leaders don’t need to have only one answer. They need to be able to recognize which option works best for where they are now.

T – Take One Action – This may be the most important step. When plans fall apart, particularly when several things seem to be going wrong at once, it’s easy to become overwhelmed. Suddenly you have to create a new plan to create along with everything else you already have to do. Don’t try to fix everything today.

Send one email. Make one phone call. Ask one person for help. Rewrite one part of the lesson. Schedule one meeting. Do one thing that moves you toward the option you chose.

Then take the next step when you are ready.

We tell our students that mistakes and setbacks are part of learning. We need to remember the same is true for us. A plan that doesn’t work isn’t a failure. Things can change. Sometimes we learned something we didn’t know when we made the plan. And sometimes we simply need a different route.

The school year may have only begun, but that doesn’t mean everything will begin exactly as you planned. Raise your Periscope. Initiate new ideas. Reconnect with your Vision. Consider your Options. Then Take one action. You don’t need to have everything figured out. You just need to P.I.V.O.T.—and keep leading.