Week Four Reading

Speaking of the boundaries of librarianship, this week's reading focused on various perspectives of our roles within schools.  The article by Ballard featured a thorough job description, which included the responsibilities of librarians within their various roles-- leaders, information partners, information specialists, teachers, and program administrators.  I agree with all of these, but this seems very assertive on the part of librarians to say, "We know that you think that we only check out book to kids, but now we think we are administrators."  When did this change occur within the world of librarianship?  We have been through the history of outside support for libraries, but how has our view of our own profession changed over time?

The article by Zmuda & Harrada was written in a similar vein, except I found this article to be a bit pushier.  There are actions that are lower on my own priority list that I will absolutely have to deal with (Bad Business), but I will still do it.  I want to work with traditionally underserved populations, so I know that, wherever I am, school resources will be tight.  I will not get a paraprofessional to take on any of the Bad Business from this article.  I will end up doing both Good and Bad practices (according to the authors), but I don't think that this will reduce the impact that I can have on my school nor will it disrupt the progress of my profession as a whole.

Speaking of priorities, The Bill of Responsibilities for School Librarians really reflected the priorities of our class from discussion last week.  Ideas highlighted the importance of inquiry-based learning, collaboration, and curiosity.  I think that it did a good job of proclaiming what we are, instead of saying what we are not.  Maybe that's what is so difficult to determine in school librarianship.  Our profession represents too many different situations and too many different personalities to say what we aren't.

Final thought: why are ethics always mentioned last, almost as an afterthought?  It's like, "We do ____, _____, and _____.  Oh yeah, and ethics (whatever that means)."  It sounds really nice to say that we are in charge of teaching information ethics, but what does that really mean in this day and age?  Citing sources, yes.  What about trolling?  Using pirated material?  Philosophy behind open-source material vs. traditionally commercial material?  The responsibility of creation and participation?  Seriously, what do we mean when we say ethics?