How involved are you in decision-making?

I am shameless. I think the best librarians are (although I have a long way to go before I am part of the "best"). On Wednesday, I had a couple of architects wander through the library. My school is up for modernization and, up to this point, it was unclear if the library would be included in that effort.

It is now more clear. On Wednesday I discovered that the proposal for the school would be presented in November and then put out to bid. The library will be part of that presentation.

I asked them what the thoughts for the library might be. It sounds like the usual: new paint and carpets (the carpet is the original from 1973), new cabinet faces and lighting fixtures, and a new circulation desk (!). I asked if there was any thought to enclosing part of the library for a computer lab and there was not. At one point, that had been discussed, but that vice principal is gone now.

Why is this important? This past spring I convinced my school to fund the insides of a computer lab. Sitting in my office I now have 25 laptop computers, keyboards, monitors, and more. I purchased knowing that I might not get the lab enclosed.

So the answer on Wednesday was no.

However, that architect and her boss (?) came through again today. I talked a little with them and then I said, "So, there really is no possibility of a lab?" The boss asked about it, I responded, we walked over to take a look, and now it is a possibility. He will be presenting it as part of the proposal. Will it get approved? Who knows, but I am certainly closer.

Remember that part about being shameless? I'm okay with that. :)

Quote of the Week

"Cutting library funding is irrational. Study after study shows that better school libraries (more books, better staffing, the presence of a credentialed librarian) are related to better reading. It is hard to understand how this evidence can be ignored when we are so concerned about test scores and the use of scientific evidence as the foundation of school practice."


--Dr. Steven Krashen,
University of Southern California