Librarian title

So in my last blog I mentioned that the ALA has a title for the professionals in charge at a school library. Well, this was a huge controversy. A couple months ago the ALA made an OFFICIAL statement that this professional will be called a "School Librarian". The ensuing fire storm from school librarians was amazing.

So here are the schools of thought. The first school says that our jobs entail so much more than what the term librarian evokes. It is antiquated and makes our jobs look so much simpler than they really are. This side thinks that the title "School Library Media Specialist" is more appropriate. It encompasses the entire scope of what our job entails. Ironically enough, that is what my teaching certificate says.

The second school of thought is that our title should be "Teacher/Librarian". This sides says that we are still teachers and should be treated with the same respect as a classroom teacher. It also still lets people know that you work in the library or media center (again another controversy). There is actually a professional journal that is titles "Teacher Librarian". They think the teacher part of the title is the most important.

In my opinion, School Library Media Specialist is too much of a mouthful. No student will call me that, nor do I care if they do. I'm pretty happy if they just call me Mrs. Erickson. I get a lot of Mrs. Library Lady, hey you or Miss????. Because most students don't have contact with me on a daily basis, they may or may not know my name. What they do know is if they need to find a book, that I will help them. If their computer is acting up, I can help them. If they have a project due tomorrow and they haven't started on it, I can help. To me, that is what is important. My title does not define me as a professional. How well I do my job does.