Titles

I recently became a school librarian.  I wear glasses (actually contact lenses -- but "through a librarian's contact lenses" sounds ridiculous, so we'll go with glasses).

I taught high school English for six years.  Round about the middle of year five, I realized that I loved working in public education, but I wanted to get out of the classroom.  I gave it some thought, and realized that I really, really wanted to work in a school media center.  I could still have the face-time with kids that I so valued, could recommend books and geek-out with enthusiasm, and could help teachers incorporate technology in their classrooms -- without having to grade papers or worry about teaching to a standardized test.  In May, I applied for a school media coordinator job (more or less) on a whim, and was hired three weeks later.  I have been a high school media coordinator (albeit lateral entry) for three weeks now.

So far, I love it.

This morning, I gave a presentation on research and library resources to a class of freshmen.  The classroom teacher introduced me as the "media specialist," which I've heard interchangeably with "media coordinator."  I, on the other hand, have been introducing myself as the "librarian," mostly because I just love the words "librarian" and "library."  They make me think of Ray Bradbury's essay, "The Book and the Butterfly," even though the librarian in that essay isn't particularly nice.  The word library just conjures up a romantic vision for me: rooms full of stories and facts, a place of limitless knowledge. I still swoon a bit when I see the library scene in Beauty and the Beast.

The term I think I prefer, though, is "teacher librarian."

I still consider myself an educator.  Yes, I work in the media center/library.  I am responsible for procuring books, managing a collection, and for ensuring teachers' projectors are plugged in when they mysteriously won't work.  At the same time, though, I am also responsible for making sure students know where to find information and reading material, whether it's an article on personal finance for a research paper or the latest novel in the Maximum Ride series.  "Teacher librarian" takes my two career passions, education and books, and melds them into one job.

Teacher + librarian = teacher librarian.  One person, learning a lot and staying busy in the best possible way.