Carl A. Harvey II

Prior to my current position, I was a school librarian for 4 years in MSD Warren Township. I have a B.S. in School Media Services from Ball State University and a M.S. in Education (focus on Educational Technology) from Indiana University. I have been active and served in various leadership capacities in both national and state professional associations. 

Mostly notably I’m a past-President of the Association for Indiana Media Educators, Indiana Library Federation, and American Association of School Librarians. I have written numerous articles for professional journals and I am the author of 4 professional books published by Linworth/Libraries Unlimited.


ABOUT YOUR JOB

I am the school librarian at North Elementary School in Noblesville, IN and the Department Chair of libraries for Noblesville Schools.

As I enter my 15th year in the field, I think the most interesting think about my job is that no two days have ever been the same. I am always looking for ways to do what we do better the next time around. 

Carl A. Harvey II

So, even lessons or projects that we’ve repeated year after year are constantly being tweaked and adjusted based on feedback from teachers, students, administrators, and me. One of the elements I like the best about being a school librarian is that constant journey to improve and get better and better.


ADVICE 

The most important advice I can give is to build relationships. The key to school libraries (and really any type of library) is building relationships with your patrons. They have to trust you. For school librarians, it is building trust with administrators about how you move your program forward; it is building trust with teachers that you can teach their students just as well as they can; and it is building trust with students that the library isn’t yours, but rather there for everyone…especially them! When you have those links and connections, the possibilities of your program are limitless.

Dr. Gary Hartzell has said that principals know about librarians and libraries from their days in school. So, every new administrator I’ve had, I have tried really hard to paint the picture of what I think a school library today should be all about. I think that is part of creating that 21st Century school library is creating that vision and then going full force to implement it.


JUST FOR FUN

As far as breaking stereotypes, I can remember interviewing for my first job, years later the principal said she saw this young guy get out of the truck, and she said, “Surely this isn’t the guy coming to interview for the librarian’s job!” I was…and I got the job!


E-mail Carl at carl@carl-harvey.com


And if you haven't liked/followed the Blog over at our Facebook page, I hope you'll take a moment to do that too! 

Janet Spaulding

After working part time for the Indianapolis Public Library as a page and a clerk with the summer reading program while I was in college and library school at Indiana University, I joined the staff full time in 2002. In 2003, I became a children’s librarian at a branch and, three years later, in 2007, the page supervisor at the branch.


ABOUT YOUR JOB

Janet Spaulding

Since 2010, I have served as the juvenile and teen collection development librarian for the Indianapolis Public Library. I work with library staff to maintain these collections and am responsible for the selection of new materials.

What would most surprise people about your current job?

When I tell people what I do, their response it to tell me how great it must be to be able to sit and read books all day. I wish!

How do you stay current?

I am constantly reading a variety of review journals and professional journals. I have a number of websites that I look at regularly to stay up-to-date on what is popular in entertainment for youth of all ages. I follow about a hundred blogs that cover a variety of perspectives – author blogs, review blogs, pop culture blogs, blogs written by teens, and blogs written by fellow librarians. Most important is word of mouth – I love talking to kids and teens about what they are reading.

How do you measure success?

Much of my selection of materials is driven by patron demand. I spend a lot of time reading about trends and about future releases, trying to select titles that I think will appeal to my patrons. Success for me is looking in the catalog and seeing that the items that I have selected are checked out or that people have placed holds on items. I also love it when kids come and tell me about a book that they got from the library. 

[After Janet sent her responses to these questions, she shared the following anecdote on Facebook: I worked the reference desk at Central this afternoon. It absolutely made my day when I heard a little voice behind me say, "Mom, look! It's my favorite librarian!" When I turned around, I found myself receiving a big hug... I love being someone's favorite!]

JUST FOR FUN

Paper or digital?

While digital options are very popular, I still love paper. For me, the act of holding the book and feeling the paper is an important part of the reading experience.


E-mail Janet at jspaulding@indypl.org 

And if you haven't liked/followed the Blog over at our Facebook page, I hope you'll take a moment to do that too!