I'm not sure when it was decided that school libraries no longer needed library assistants. I think in some areas, it's a budget issue. In others, money got reallocated to other programs (probably more directly related to testing). Some people might even say that librarians are lucky to have jobs at all with all the budget cuts around the nation, so we shouldn't complain about a lack of library assistants. I agree with that to a point, but if you've been on my site long, you know I feel that school libraries are critical for 21st Century learning. With that in mind, I can tell you that it's very difficult to do my job the way it should be done without an assistant.
If you have a library assistant, be thankful. A few of the larger schools in my district have them, and I have to say I'm just a little jealous. Just having someone available to correctly shelve my unending supply of returned books would make my life a lot easier. If I had a library assistant, I would be able to spend more time planning and implementing reading incentive programs and less time updating bulletin boards, changing letters on the outdoor sign, and many of the other labor intensive tasks that take up most of the rare moments when I don't have classes. I might actually have time to plan activities for my classes during the school day instead of at home. Not that I'm bitter or anything... 🙂
Since I don't have an assistant, I am always trying to come up with creative ways to get things done in a very limited amount of time. I thought I would share some of them with you today.
Suggestions for Solo School Librarians
1. Enlist the help of parent volunteers. This one can be very tough, but can really pay off if you can find a couple of good ones. I've had the most luck getting volunteers when I only ask for about an hour of their time and tell them exactly what they'll be doing. For instance, I normally say something like, "Could you help me shelve books from 2:00-3:00 on Monday?" Take the time to show them how to properly shelve the books. What seems obvious to you can be confusing to someone who doesn't work with books all day long. If the same person sticks with you for a while, it would be nice to give them a small gift to say thank you. I think a book fair gift certificate or coffee shop gift card would be a great way to show your appreciation.
2. Find student volunteers for small jobs. I'm really torn on this one because I have not been able to find great student volunteers yet, and I've been doing this several years. The good news is that the students LOVE to help. The bad news is that they just don't do a great job most of the time. I like things to be done a certain way (a.k.a. I'm a control freak... yes, I admitted it), and they just don't do things to suit me most of the time. However, there are many times that I'm in a time crunch and I have to have something done right away. I choose a few of our very best students and let them help me out. Students are great for delivering Accelerated Reader reports to classrooms, changing names on my bulletin board, and doing other odd jobs on occasion. I've found that a lot of times, the younger students work more carefully than the older students, so I'll often choose 3rd or 4th graders to help out. For students who help out a lot, you could thank them by buying them a little something from the book fair or giving a special library helper certificate at the end of the year.
3. Sort your books during check in. I started doing this a couple of years ago and it really makes makes the shelving process go a lot faster. As your students check in, sort your books into logical piles based on the way your library is organized. In my library, I sort them into three piles: easy books, chapter books, and nonfiction. Next, place all the easy books on the cart together, all the chapter books on the cart together (or another cart), and all the nonfiction books on the cart together (or another cart). This way they're presorted and you don't have to dig through every book to find what you're looking for. If you're really ambitious, you could also alphabetize the easy and fiction and put the nonfiction books in number order on the cart, but I don't have time for that. When I'm putting my books away, I just grab a few that go on the same shelf and put them away at the same time.
4. Make lists. I know it sounds simple, but it works. Make a list of all the things that need to be done and cross things off as you go. I find that if I don't make lists, I get extremely overwhelmed by all the tasks of the day. I also have a tendency to forget things (probably because I'm trying to cram way too much information in my overloaded brain). Making lists helps me prioritize what I need to do and lets me see where I may be able to enlist the help of others.
5. Learn to say no. This one is a tough sell, especially for new librarians. We all want to do the very best job we can do for our schools. Making yourself indispensable to your principal goes a long way toward making sure you'll have a job for the upcoming school year. However, there's a fine line between lending a helping hand from time to time and being taken advantage of (because for some strange reason people get the impression that we have tons of time on our hands - ha!). Take on extra duties when you can, but make sure it's not at the expense of the school library program. If you're not able to properly do your job because you're working on an unrelated project, it probably isn't worth it. If you find yourself in that situation, you could say something like, "I would love to help with that project, but I really feel like it would take away from (insert student-centered task) because I wouldn't have time to do both." Make sure your library program is always at the top of your priority list.
Do you have a library assistant? How does he/she make your life easier? If you don't have an assistant, what would you add to my survival guide?
P.S. Lesson plans for March and April are available on the Library Lesson Plans page! May's lesson plans should be completed soon as well!
DeAnne Luck says
I am also with out an assistant. To handle shelving, I have student "Library Assistants" who come in each afternoon. The sort the books from the day - Fic and Easy on a shelving cart, and the non-fic on my "To be shelved" shelves (I am fortunate in having enough room for that). I have one shelf for 000-400, one each for 500, 600, and 700, and one for 800-900. This is very useful because one, when the shelf gets full I can throw them all on a cart and they're all one section; and two, I can point students looking for drawing books or whatever to a single shelf instead of a giant cart full of books. After the student assistants sort, they shelve the Fic and Easy. They're not always perfect, but the books are uaully at least in the general area and I fix them when I can. Another idea I haven't implemented yet is to give each assistant a range to shelf-read and keep straight on their day.
Expectant Mama says
I am a part-time pseudo-media specialist at the school where I had formerly been a teacher. I left to earn my Masters/certification in library science, but after a year, my school asked me to come fill the role of their librarian, So now, I take classes and work part-time. I was also under the impression that I would have an assistant as the librarian before me did. I didn't find out until after I accepted that I would be on my own. Additionally, because I'm not there every day, they asked the science resource teacher to play the role of librarian on Fridays. He is great with the kids and reading stories to them, but relies far too much on a parent volunteer to run the library for him on Fridays. She takes far too many liberties with her volunteer role.
I have had a revolving door of parent volunteers this year, and so it's been really difficult making progress, when I'm stuck completing all the mundane tasks. I'm training students during library time so that in the future they can be helpers, but right now the most I can ask of them is to straighten the books on the shelves.
Additionally, there has been a rotation of non-trained "assistants" filling the role of librarian in the last 5 years, so there is no consistency in how books are cataloged, shelved, or labeled. The catalog itself is a mess. Half the books in the library are not in the catalog, while many that are in the catalog are missing or lost. There are a ton of books from the 70s and 80s that don't belong in the library any more. Weeding is a huge job. I could go on and on!
I do sort books when they are checked in the exact way you do - picture, chapter, and nonfiction. I also have an early reader and middle school section. I try to shelve those myself, because they are not all labeled correctly. There are book in the middle school section that belong with chapter books, and the early readers had been shelved either in the picture or chapter book sections depending on the whoever was cataloging books at the time's fancy. Needless to say, a competent assistant would be a godsend.
I'm currently expecting my first child in June, so now I have to make the decision of whether to put this giant project aside for right now and focus on baby and grad work, or whether I keep one foot in the door to oversee that the progress I've made doesn't go to waste after I leave. I'm currently working on a Library Handbook of policies and procedures because none currently exists. Hopefully, that will help whomever steps into my role next year.
Jackie says
I am like Jessica in the comment above--a library assistant without a librarian. I am in my second year, working full- time in a school with almost 600 students. I see 25 classes each week and am incredibly overwhelmed. I have often wished I had a regular assistant to help me just get books put away. I have great volunteers, but not on a consistent basis. I'm usually the one who puts the books away. I struggle with knowing the kids need lessons, but at the same time not having enough time to teach a lesson, AND...not being paid to do teach. I teach mini-lesson when I can, but overall the kids are missing out on so much.
Elem_Librarian says
Jackie, I feel the same way. I do the best job I can with the teaching, but the truth is it's hard to get much substance in when you have such a limited time. Hang in there! You are doing great.
Shannon says
What type of lessons do the TA teach?
Kim Patton says
I have an assistant, though she has been half library & half technology. This year, her library time has been cut even further as she now has 2 1/2 hours of MTSS groups she works with on a daily basis. It has been frustrating and I have made my opinion clear from the beginning, but this is now our reality. I am lucky that she does still have time to shelve the books (not as timely as she used to) but that is really about all she does have time for in the library. I have tried parent volunteers for shelving and that has failed on many occasions. I haven't found the right person! Parents have been helpful in checking books out to students and helping me prep materials for teaching. I've started using student volunteers over the past few months as well. One of my sixth grade teachers "rewards" her kids for being ahead of their math goals by letting them come help in the library. I can always find things for them to do!
Jessica Esperanza says
I am a library assistant in an elementary school library that has no Librarian! I am it, just me working part time in a 700 student school. They left that little detail out of the hiring process, so my first day I expected to come into a running library to help the librarian. I got there and was handed the keys to a library that had not been open in over a year. I love it dearly and this job has prompted me to go back to school to actually become a librarian, but the reality is that the situation is really unacceptable. I happen to be good at what I do, and am able to juggle many tasks at a time, but there is no way that I can do all of the things that I need to. So many things fall to the wayside and I have to utilize students for shelving which is not at all ideal.
The amount that can get done in a library with a librarian and an assistant would be huge, and a great asset to the school as a whole. I hope more districts figure this out.
Thanks for the tips, I can use all the help I can get!
Elem_Librarian says
Thanks for your perspective, Jessica. I admire you for taking on the huge task of librarian, basically, on a paraeducator salary. That would be a tough pill to swallow. Kudos to you for taking the steps to become a librarian. I'm sure you'll be a great one! 🙂
brooke w says
I am interviewing for a librarian assistant job next week in a school where there is no librarian, just the one librarian assistant. I am on the fence as to whether I should accept the job, if offered. Any advice?
Jocelyn says
Brooke, This is a tough call. If you're going to be expected to perform all the duties of a certified librarian on a classified salary, I'd say run far, far away. It's not worth it. If they just want you to check out books and put them away, it might work out for you, but with no librarian, I'm sure it will turn into much more than that. There's no way I'd teach classes with no librarian if I were you.
Angie says
I know your reply is old but I'm in the same situation ...been 6 years and I have a great routine now, but oh if I could work more than 20 hours I could do SO much more!