Are you one of those people who saves for a rainy day, invests in a retirement fund, or stashes cash in an empty ice cream container in your freezer for emergencies? Or are you one of those people who thinks you’ll always have enough cash, no matter what comes your way? Are you one of those people who loves to shop, and will purchase something on sale even if you don’t need it right then, but with the idea that you might need it one day? Or are you one of those who only goes to the store if you absolutely have to buy a particular item right then? If you are a school librarian, do you advocate your program and your position on a daily basis? Or only when your program is in crisis?
Having been raised in a family that stressed living within your means and saving money, and having been a Girl Scout, I have always thought of myself as one of those planners, savers, looking ahead to the future and long-term kind of people. I have a savings account, a money market account, an IRA and a 403b. I don’t hit the mall every week, but I regularly look at sales racks and good deals for clothes that I could use next season or next year if it’s going to save me a lot of money to purchase it now. When managing my library collection, I take into account what needs to be weeded now and how that will affect student and teacher needs, what type of budget requests to make of my administration to be able to improve the collection not only during the current year, but down the road. For example, it’s unlikely that I’m going to get funding for 35 new overhead projectors – not that I need that many right now because I don’t – but it’s more likely that I could get funding for 5 if I have a long-term plan to replace those that break or go to AV heaven each year.
However, this past week I realized that I am guilty of not having been a planner, a saver, an investor that I should have been. I man on occasion “toot my horn,” but I haven’t been doing it to the right people or with the full force that I should have.
For a brief moment (which seemed to last forever though it was really only a few days), there was a proposal being discussed to eliminate 40 media specialists from my school district. Of course I’d heard of the Crisis Toolkit from AASL, even looked at it once or twice when trolling AASL’s website. Did I ever think I might need it? that my district might need it? Ha! Of course not! I work in one of the largest districts in my state, one that has at least in my lifetime (because I am a true native) has been supportive of school librarians, and even when the principal said cuts were made, it usually meant fewer reams of paper for the copy machine.
I was happy to see many media specialists in my district started piping up, sending emails to each other, to the school board. Some even went to the school board meeting to speak. I realized that I needed to get involved as well, and wrote my own letter to the school board. I also sent an email to my school’s PTA president and president-elect, who immediately sent out an email to our entire PTA membership. Several parents and staff members mentioned to me they saw the PTA’s email about the proposed cuts. Only one said they took action and wrote the school board.
So I’m not the investor I thought I was. I should have been advocating to parents, staff, the school board, the county commissioners, the state legislature and the governor before now, before the crisis came. That doesn’t make me feel good, especially considering I want to be a “mover and a shaker,” an investor, save for a rainy day, prepared for anything that comes my way. Guess I’m going to have to change, because budget crises and cuts to programs and personnel must be dealt with, met head-on. I, and other media specialists must become forces to be reckoned with. We must fight! We must advocate! We must build support for our programs, our students, our schools, our positions.
I am inspired by my colleagues in my district – their letters to the school board and local newspaper. I am encouraged by my staff and parents. I am encouraged by Jamie Greene’s testimony to the US Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions. But mostly what encourages me, and should be, or rather is my motivation for advocating for school libraries and certified personnel are my students. They are the ones who will suffer without us. They are forces that must be reckoned with. They are the leaders of our future. If we are not there to teach them, to guide them, to prepare them for the world and responsibilities of tomorrow, what will our world look like?
I’m still working on my plan of action, but be sure my voice will be loud and clear. I hope you are doing the same. Don’t wait for a snow storm to try to buy a snow shovel. Prepare. Invest. Advocate. Toot your horn. Let others know why it is so important for your students, our students, our future to have well-funded school libraries and certified school librarians. Be the voice heard even if your program, your district, your state isn’t facing reductions in force or cuts to programs and services. By doing so, if and when that time comes, the decision makers will hopefully take into account all that you do; because it’s easier to cut things – programs and people – that they know nothing about. Be the moving force, the force to be reckoned with and just maybe “they” will listen, fight with us and for us, and keep us around to impact our students’ lives today and tomorrow.
