What Does an Elementary Librarian Do?

Every week, people land on our site website while searching for some variation of "What does an elementary librarian do?" Sometimes they might search for elementary librarian job duties, or even elementary librarian job description. If you've been wondering what's involved with being an elementary librarian, you've come to the right place!

When a lot of people think about school librarians, they think about someone who checks books in and out at a desk all day. Someone whose favorite sound is, "Shhhhh!"

Clearly those people have not stepped into a school library any time in the past decade or more! The truth is: checking books in and out is one of the things a school librarian spends the least amount of time doing in the library. And most of the time? The library is far from quiet!

Are you serious?

The 21st Century library is a very different place than the library you may have visited in elementary school.

The big card catalog case with the tiny drawers got kicked to the curb years ago in favor of computerized systems. Fewer manual processing tasks made time for more interactions with students and more time to promote reading programs... in theory. Unfortunately, some school districts didn't get the memo. To them, less manual processing for librarians meant more time to pick up additional duties related to today's laser focus on standardized testing.

That brings us to today's elementary librarian. It's a pretty safe bet that no two elementary librarians have the duties and job expectations these days. We know this based on the emails we get from our readers. Most days, school librarians have a stressful and often frustrating job. There's never enough time to do all the things we need to do and do them well.

Hold it!

I thought the librarian had the easiest job in the school?!

Where do people get this idea? If your librarian stops moving for more than a few minutes a day, he or she either isn't doing their job properly, or they have vastly different responsibilities than most librarians. It's true that librarians have a slight advantage of not having a homeroom to attend to, but it's usually more than made up for by additional duties they have.

School Librarian Job Duties

This is just one example of an elementary librarian's schedule. This librarian has checkout days and class days in her library. She doesn't have library classes on checkout days, and she doesn't check in/out on class days. This, however, can vary from library to library.

Typical Librarian Schedule - Monday (Checkout Day)

7:30-7:45      Bus duty with principal (every day)
7:45-8:15      Open library - check in/out, free reading, AR tests
8:20-9:20      Teach 3rd grade reading group
9:20-10:20    Teach 1st grade reading group
10:20-10:40  1st Grade homeroom checkout
10:40-11:00  2nd Grade homeroom checkout
11:00-11:30  Lunch
11:30-11:50  4th Grade homeroom checkout
11:50-12:10  Kindergarten homeroom checkout
12:10-12:40  Reshelve books
12:40-1:00    3rd Grade homeroom checkout
1:00-1:20      3rd Grade homeroom checkout
1:20-1:40      5th Grade homeroom checkout
1:40-3:00      Work on website, reshelve books, check e-mail, run Accelerated Reader reports, pull teacher requested books and materials, various other duties assigned by principal
3:00-3:30     Afternoon primary pickup duty

Typical Librarian Schedule - Tuesday (Class Day)

7:30-7:45     Bus duty with principal (every day)
7:45-8:15     Open library
8:20-9:20     Teach 3rd grade reading group
9:20-10:20   Teach 1st grade reading group
10:20-10:55  Teach 5th grade library skills class
10:55-11:30  Teach 4th grade library skills class
11:30-12:05  Lunch
12:05-12:40  Teach Kindergarten library skills class
12:40-1:15    Teach 1st grade library skills class
1:15-1:50      Teach 2nd grade library skills class
1:50-2:25      Teach 3rd grade library skills class
2:25-3:00      Teach 3rd grade library skills class
3:00-3:30      Afternoon primary pickup duty

As you can see, elementary librarians do much more than check books in and out. In fact, some even let their students check their own books out because they simply do not have time to get everything done if they don't.

Ok, that doesn't seem so bad. What are some other duties of an elementary school librarian?

In addition to taking care of the library's collection and teaching duties, a librarian may also be responsible for coordinating the Accelerated Reader program, coordinating quarterly Family Reading Nights, teaching drama skills related to arts education (which they often have no experience or training in, by the way), updating the school's website, updating the outdoor marquee sign, and helping coordinate the school's Program Review.  Every now and then, if the librarian has a few spare minutes, she might attempt to collaborate with teachers and think of new ways to get students excited about reading.

Of course, none of those things would be possible if the librarian didn't work on library lesson plans at home.  It's nearly impossible for school librarians to fit in lesson plan writing into their time at school. Having lesson plans finished ahead of time can make a huge impact on what they're able to get done every day.

Should I become an elementary librarian?

That's probably what brings many people to ask the question "What does an elementary librarian do?" and possibly what brings many people to our site. The answer is simple. If you're looking for an easy job in the school system, the answer is no. You'll be very disappointed. If you're interested in promoting student reading and helping your school in any way possible, it may be a good fit for you.

If you're an elementary librarian, what would you add to the question, "What does an elementary librarian do?" Please share with us in the comments.