School Librarian
School librarians are respon
sible for the day-to-day running of the school’s library or resource centers. They acquire, organize and maintain resources that support the learning needs of library users and the needs of the broader school community.
“According to Neuman, 2002”:
School librarians can be an excellent resource for assisting teachers and students in identifying books and other reading materials to get and keep students engaged in reading in such a way that the volume of what they read increases as well as the vocabulary, background knowledge, and critical concepts that they are requiring.
Responsibilities of School Librarian
School library staff manage all library resources in a school, including print, audio-visual, online and e-learning material. They help students and teachers to access all the materials they need to help them in learning and teaching. They play a central role in supporting literacy initiatives in schools and make an important contribution to schools achieving their overall learning targets. The emphasis of a librarian’s work depends on their particular job but in general, they are responsible for:
- Ensuring suitable stock selection. Budgets are limited, and within their constraints librarians must choose materials which reflect the demands not only of the curriculum but also of teaching plans, various ages of students, staff and special-interest groups.
- Ensuring that the stock is presented in an accessible way.
- Dealing with enquiries from students and staff. These can be anything from finding reference materials for school coursework, providing information to staff on legal issues e.g., copyright, helping with research, or careers and reference materials.
- Organizing social and educational activities for the wider community.
Skills and experience librarian will need
- Be highly organized.
- Have good information technology skills, particularly in using databases and the internet.
- Possess good communication skills.
- Possess good customer service skills.
- Excellent research skills.
- Legal knowledge – for example copyright law.
- The ability to supervise others.
Reference: http://www.skillsforschools.org.uk/roles-in-schools/librarian
About Author
Fakhra Khalid Naseem is the Visiting Lecturer at Department of Information Management, University of Sargodha, Sargodha Pakistan. She completed her BS (Hons) and M. Phil. in Library and Information Sciences from the same department. Her research focuses on Knowledge Sharing and job Satisfaction of Librarians.
Contact through: fakhrakhalid033@gmail.com