Recently, while out to dinner with my husband's coworkers and their spouses, the topic of my graduate school course came up in conversation. The responses were interesting to say the least, but more than one were along the the lines of "Oh wow! Aren't librarians starting to fade away? What with Google and everything?" As my husband ever so slightly began to nudge me under the table, I took a deep breath and began to formulate my response...which was detailed, lengthy and may have consisted of a soap box. It was on our way home however when I started contemplating who or what is to blame for the perceptions that people have of school librarians. Furthermore, how many teachers or students will we encounter with those same misguided ideas and what can we do to change them?
It all comes back to marketing. We must market our libraries to our customers-the teachers, students, parents and administration that we serve. We need to promote our libraries and ourselves and we need to do so in an effective manner. Understanding your target audience, formulate plan and most importantly follow through and follow up. Reading promotion plans such as Banned Book Week, Author Visits, and Book Clubs can help draw students into the world of reading and once they become library users the possibilities are endless.
Collaboration is also an excellent marketing opportunity. By making the case for collaboration we show our fellow teachers the value that we can add to their curriculum and the effect that our involvement has on student achievement. Students can learn the proper way to do research projects and papers, how to cite and identify quality sources, and how to apply those skills to other areas of their lives. The power to change the misguided perceptions is in our hands!
P.S. For those who are curious as to my response at the dinner party...I simply asked if they had ever heard of the Pacific Northwest Tree Octopus.
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