Beginning

Now that I've finished my first major assignment for our service learning project, I feel like I can reflect on the experience so far.  The community analysis for my service learning project at Wentworth Elementary school library was very enlightening.  Mainly because it gave me - a teacher at the school - insight into the make-up of our student body and our school goals.  I wasn't sure before I started how the county's demographics and economic situation would affect the school's library but it actually has a profound effect.  My analysis was actually a little long because I had a hard time eliminating information.  I felt like everything that I came across about the community, the school district, or the school itself could possibly affect some decision later on down the road about the users' needs and the library's collection.

It was also very cool to be able to sit down with Kim, the librarian at our school, and really talk to her about her job.  Last year was my first year in the school, actually in the education realm altogether, and I was immediately drawn to Kim and the library.  She seemed to have the coolest job (and only partly because she didn't have to teach classes all day long).  I saw her teaching technology workshops for the teachers and students, working on big projects with individual classes, helping teachers plan really cool integrated lessons, and being a real leader within the school.  I found out, through doing my project, that she does all those things and SO many more.  After talking to her about her ability to collaborate with all the teachers on their planning, I honestly don't understand how school librarians do it without a flex schedule in the library OR without an assistant for that matter.  Kim is stressed this year because her library assistant has been taken away during the mornings to do guided reading, leaving Kim without the ability to sit in on the K-2 teachers' planning times.  Everything that I read pertaining to libraries (especially school libraries) emphasizes the importance of collaboration.  It scares me a little that Wentworth doesn't see that taking away the librarian's ability to meet with some teachers during their planning is a bad thing.