The Taft Education Center (Taft School, Watertown CT) offers a summer week long introductory course in school archives.
Crossroads School Library Service Model(pdf) (Santa Monica) A library service model is a bird’s eye view of service in your school library. Your library’s service model is a cross between a strategic plan and a curriculum map.
by Aquita Winslow-Tyler Crossroads School for Arts and Sciences (formerly) Santa Monica CA
I was the Director of Learning Resources for Crossroads School. I have been a professional Librarian for fifteen years. I also hold a B.A. in Legal Studies and Philosophy from U.C. Santa Cruz, a Masters in Library Science from Simmons College, and a Juris Doctor from Loyola Law School, and I am also an adjunct faculty member at Pasadena City College, teaching bibliographic instruction in the Shatford Library.
ESSAY ABSTRACT
School libraries have gone through a major transformation in the last twenty years. Always a hub of student learning, 21st century school libraries need to support student learning, and student life. The new library needs to be open 24 hours a day in a virtual world to support students who prefer a free flowing schedule while they still engage in traditional modes of learning. Independent schools are accepting the challenge, embracing their libraries and even expanding their services.
Librarian Job Description • Collection Development: Actively shape the library collection based on classroom curriculum and a commitment to valuing personal as well as academic reading which includes reviewing publishers, reading review and advanced copies of books, and writing reviews, and evaluating potential sources.
• Teaching: Teach library skills, research, and information literacy classes to student and faculty. These classes teach patrons general to specifics techniques for doing research in a school or academic library. Most librarians develop a specific curriculum over time that becomes progressively more difficult as students get older.
• Library / Collection Maintenance: Catalog book and other library materials Librarians manage library serials, ordering and purchasing of books (which includes discerning appropriate vendors and prices), and processing those materials to shelf availability.
• Technology: Evaluate and purchase educational databases and library software, and regularly teach students to use the Internet and other on-line resources for research and evaluation. Troubleshoot computers.
• Administrative duties: Advocate for library services and support from faculty and staff. Librarians develop library polices with school Administration. Librarians manage library budgets, purchase educational databases, run book-fairs, or book sales, and work with library software. Librarians create end of year reports, and receive money for fine and book replacement costs.
• Student Support: Book talk interesting books, advise student clubs, create displays and attend field trips. Generally, know the students well enough to provide individual reader’s advisory and research skill support.
• Teacher Collaboration: Collaborate with classroom teachers on their individual curriculums, as well as the library’s information literacy curriculum. Librarians’ participate in academic counsel, act as student advisors, and attend faculty meetings.
• Supervision: Supervise library staff members, volunteers, students and the libraries physical space.
