[Publib] Re: Thoughts on retirement

[Robert Balliot]

I agree that the children's librarian function is real work of the library.
But, the
analysis is reminiscent of the characters in  John Saxe's poem  -

The Blind Men and the Elephant - *http://tinyurl.com/ljnf5w*
**
R. Balliot
http://oceanstatelibrarian.com/contact.htm
http://bestofpublib.wordpress.com
On Wed, Aug 19, 2009 at 7:01 PM, Theyer, Hillary <HTheyer at torranceca.gov>wrote:

>  I agree with Rachel – when I was in Library School (1992) I was
> disparaged by many because “nobody comes to grad school to be the ‘story
> lady’” and not a few years later children’s librarians could name their
> price where I worked.  Again, we are packing kids in now – 180 at one
> program, storytimes with the room jammed, and doing a literate, engaging
> storytime when the room is jammed, many of the parents don’t speak English,
> the phones are ringing in the background, and you had 10 minutes to get
> ready is a serious skill.  I worked in one library where they had turned
> this over to volunteers, and we sent half of them running after they tried
> it the first time and discovered that the kids don’t all sit still and pay
> perfect attention all the time.
>
> Hillary
>
> a children's librarian is not a stepping stone before you get to do the
> "real work" of public libraries, it is the real work--and from the sounds of
> it, it might be more satisfying than the work our adult services colleagues
> are doing.  At any rate, the future looks a little more hopeful from where I
> sit.
>
> Rachel Q. Davis
>
> Children's Librarian & Webmaster
>
> Thomas Memorial Library
>
> 6 Scott Dyer Road
>
> Cape Elizabeth, ME  04107
>
> 207-799-1720
>
> www.ThomasMemorialLibrary.org <http://www.thomasmemoriallibrary.org/>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
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