I graduated from Taylor University in ‘96
with a BS in Social Studies Education and then taught every subject I
was licensed for at various levels, grades 7-12. I completed my
MLS from IU SLIS
program in 2007. I left the classroom in 2006 to work as
Media Specialist for grades 9-12.
Due to attrition I served grades 5-12 as Media Specialist - 3 buildings
- during ‘10-’11 school year. This is my second year as K-12 Director for the
entire corporation. A strained budget and 1:1 implementation in my district has created my
current position.
ABOUT YOUR
JOB
I manage all seven libraries
in our district with help from a staff of seven hourly assistants. My duties
revolve around information literacy, purchasing of print and electronic
resources, 1:1 circulation, inventory, and tech support, library and
reading program administration, managing a staff, and the daunting task
of collection development at all buildings.
What
would most surprise people about your current job?
The variety that each day
brings: never boring, dull, or mundane! The degree to which I
have to know, use, implement, and leverage technology surprises people
constantly.
How
do you manage your time?
I operate off a monthly
calender that I share with admins and my assistants so they can see
where I’m working, if I’m away from my office. I work out of the
high school library where my “original” office has been since I started
in the library. It’s the best environment for me as it allows me
to get the most accomplished. I schedule visits to each building
to meet with my assistants face to face about every 2-3
weeks.
Who
is your greatest ally and why?
English teachers and Social
Studies teachers. Those content areas are more apt to need
research and require reading as part of a grade in their coursework.
Math people have very few curriculum connections to the library.
Science people in my district seek their resources elsewhere (not
for my lack of trying!!)
Also, students who are voracious readers. I bust my buns trying to
connect and develop relationships with students as they’re
THE reason our libraries do what we do!
How
do you stay current?
Twitter is a GREAT tool to
share and aggregate resources; both for staff and students. I
subscribe to several magazines to stay current in trends, tech, and
practices. SLJ, LMC, Teacher Librarian, School Library
Monthly, Kirkus Reviews just to name a few. Finding time to
read each one is often a challenge. Attending conferences is
something I’ve been unable to do lately with my K-12 position. I
need and want to attend more conferences but worry about the value
versus the time away from school.
What
are the most challenging aspects of your job?
Having to relinquish /
delegate duties that a certified media specialist should be handling is
tough on the soul. It devalues my degree and the profession.
They [the paraprofessionals] are great, experienced, and mean
well, however only one of my assistants has library professional
training. Their fixed
schedules don’t allow them much flexibility to conquer tasks
outside of clerical duties, and consequently I’m left to pick up what
they run out of time to do that I’ve delegated to them. Being
spread so thin and being unable to perform deep rich work at each
building makes me feel many days I’ve accomplished little if anything
at all. Disillusionment is a problem that plagues me as director.
Collection development is a challenge that I don’t feel I can
truly tackle; I do the best I can relying on the help I
have.
ADVICE
How
can you get the most out of attending conferences?
Avoid vendors at conferences
unless you have a specific need. Attend as many breakout sessions
as possible, that’s where mentors present, where ideas flow, where you
gather insights. Most beneficial is the confirmation that what
your doing for your patrons is ahead of others in the room (pat on the
back).
Map out multiple sessions for each time slot. Some sessions are a
bust; description doesn’t fit what’s presented in the first 15 minutes.
Jump to your second or third choice.
Ask about Twitter official hashtags at conference registration tables
to gather quotes or links to resources; especially from people who
attended sessions you didn’t attend.
What’s
something you wish you had known when you started out in this
profession?
Library staffing is first to
cut when budgets get lean. My two colleagues didn’t retire; their
positions were ended forever. I had to assume more and more
duties back to back years while fearing for my own longevity.
Hard to complain when those around you are loosing their jobs.
I wish I would’ve taken cataloging first. Data is the hinge for
library catalogs / automation systems. Knowing how to properly
add acquisitions early in your career is essential. If you don’t
know how the catalog works you can’t teach students or lead folks to
your resources.
I also wish I would’ve taken collection development towards the end of
my MLS course work. I would’ve gotten more practical use out of
the class I feel. What was being offered and what fit my academic
schedule was at fault.
What
should you look for in a mentor?
Vision, experience, and
wisdom. Someone who shows the ability to conquer accurately many
tasks in the framework of given amount of time. Someone who sees
the admin perspective and the classroom person perspective; balances
those viewpoints and can advise what’s best for “kids” not what’s best
for programs.
How
do you respond when someone asks you, “Isn’t everything
online?”
Agree with them...then make
the point....how do you trust that info for authority and fidelity?
How do you get multiple sources of information that corroborate
the same opinion and or perspective? Print resources often
provide a checks and balances on digital sources due to the editing
process. However, authority and information fidelity reign
supreme...regardless of the venue, platform, or format.
JUST FOR
FUN
You
can have any superpower; what would it be?
Paper
or digital?
I’m having a hard time
holding a book because I enjoy my single sided Nook Glowlight and iPad. Having to
jockey the book around is proving a small but big annoyance. My
fingers like to tap to flip pages - smaller motor skills. Also
I’m finding I’m highlighting and looking up words in the books I’m
reading. The fact I can push my Kindle highlights to my Evernote account for
sharing with others has proven beneficial lately
professionally.
Email Ben at
bwaymouth@plymouth.k12.in.us
