Classes

This week, someone (a roommate who shall remain nameless) mentioned that they cannot understand how becoming a librarian requires graduate work since it seems that all they do is check out books. If there's anything I've learned from school, it's that being a librarian doesn't just involve sitting behind a desk, being a hermit that occasionally checks out a book. I think it was CNN this week that mentioned what a stark difference there is between our current First Lady Michelle Obama and the "conservative librarian" Laura Bush. Eek! It seems that there are many stereotypes in terms of what librarians do or look like. If you've seen me, I am sure you can tell by my dress code that I am not the "stereotypical" librarian. I'd also like to discuss what I'm learning about because I have yet to learn how to check out a book at this point, and I'm almost halfway through the program.

One of my favorite classes this semester is called "Internet Fundamentals and Design" - which is essentially a class about web building and the internet. I am learning how to make my own code to create webpages. I decided to take this class because as a school librarian, I may be in charge of updating my library's website (hopefully I will have one to update) and that is information that will surely come in handy. Librarians' jobs highly involve technology. In fact, the one major concept I've learned from library school thus far is that librarians' jobs constantly change, and if you are not fond of change or technology, this job is not for you.

Another class I am taking involves young adult materials. School librarians need to stay updated in terms of what materials are available for their students. So, I spend about 30 hours per week reading 4-5 books for this class, learning about the different styles of teen books and judging how it may appeal to young adults. I've read some really great books thus far, but all of them, I most recommend "Pretties" by Scott Westerfield and "Upstate" by Kalisha Buckhanon.

I'm also taking a class simply called "School Libraries", which is going over many of the things that I'll be doing on a daily basis as a school librarian. Also importantly, the class is teaching me many of the concepts I'll need to know on one of the three tests that teachers must take before teaching in Illinois. Luckily, I have already taken two of them. I still have to take the Content Area test, which is a test on your subject area that you must pass before student teaching.

Last semester, my classes pertained to the general field of librarianship. This semester, taking my four (mostly school library-related) classes, I'm quickly realizing that not only is there a lot to know in terms of being a school librarian, but the information you need for your job is endless. Next week, I sort of get to go out in the field! I am visiting my former junior high school to complete some pre-clinical hours there (around 8 of the 40 that are needed). So, I'll get an even better sense of what it is that school librarians do on a daily basis, and that is definitely awesome!