Reading on the job

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Librarians reading on the job was a hot topic for discussion this week on LM_Net. Tere started it with a posting that included these comments made by other staff as she was reading a children's book during the school day:

Well you would have thought, I was lying down taking a nap. Everybody that walked by my door (my desk is right by the door ) made a comment. "I'm going to give you a job." "If you've got time to read, I've got something for you to do." Etc. Next time, I'm going to go hide behind the stacks to read!

A few responses were similar to Allan's:

I don't give a hoot what people think of me or what I am doing. When I have received a remark about "wouldn't it be nice if....[one could read books all day]?" I have responded. "Yes it is very nice." If I am feeling a little nasty or don't like the tone of the remark, I have responded "I would be more than happy to get you some information about a library school if you are interested."

While many of us have probably wished we could say these sorts of things, we don't. For some good reasons including  job security and our concern over how our profession is viewed by others.

My personal rules about on the job reading have always been to:

1. Read at my desk (no slouching in the bean bag chairs)
2. Read with a pen and paper my hand
3. Read materials related to my job
4. Read when I could be a role model, such as during Sustained Silent Reading time
5. Never, never, never be seen leaving my building without a bag o' work (just like the other teachers)
6. Work with the understanding that perceptions are as important as reality
   

Librarians have one of the few positions in schools with discretionary resources - time, budgets, and tasks - so therefore need to be transparent about how they "spend" all those resources, especially their time.

Mark wrote:

I made it a point to always be busy, to be seen to be doing something.  (It was NEVER of case of having to find something to do, it was a case of which job was most pressing.)  I did this because its the kind of person I am, but also because of the extremely negative comments I heard about a predecessor of mine who was often seen reading the newspaper, or a book, "on the job".  Sadly, the general public or faculty will never understand that keeping up with current events, what's new and valuable in literature, non-fiction, professional journals, etc. is part of the job... their view will always be 'I never have time to take a breath.. how come he can sit and read all day?' or 'We didn't get a raise this year, and were short a math teacher... and we pay him to sit and read?'  Now, imagine those thoughts in an administrator's head.

It's a sad world where reading = slacking, but given the lack of respect schools and society show for professional growth and development of educators, I suppose it isn't surprising.

Sigh... 

How did we manage to look busy before there were computers?
 

Comments

[Nancy]

"I would be more than happy to get you some information about a library school if you are interested."

I've been a teacher of gifted students for almost 25 years---I feel your pain! haha! I used to work with a guy who said every time he saw me" How's the easy life?" Finally I said to him "with a 35 hour Masters Program you, too, could teach gifted kids!" He finally shut up---and retired after taking over 100 "sick" days his last year. yuk.

[Doug Johnson]

Hi Nancy,

The grass is always greener on the other side of the fence, I guess!

All the best,

Doug

[Tim]

I'm not a librarian but I get the same response when I'm reading an actual paper-based book at my desk: you must not have much to do if you have time to read. No one says anything if I'm reading something on the computer. There are, however, some excellent resources that just are not online.

So, the comments won't stop me from reading on the job. To drive home the point, when they rearranged our office and I got a little more floor space, I brought in an old canvas chair that I bought in college. Now I get some looks of envy along with the snide comments. :-)

[Doug Johnson]

Hi Tim,

You are asking for it! One of our building techs has an old recliner in her office and I tease her about it all the time. It does cast a shadow over her industry, though.

And I get crap when I engage in reflective practice with my eyes closed.

All the best,

Doug

[Brad]

I already have to deal with the fact that I don't have to grade, read essays, go to IEP and parent conferences, I am not about to start reading during the school day. I left teaching English because I could not stand reading the same 7 books for weeks at a time over and over through the years and grading 150 essays on the same topic. I will gladly trade my after work hours I used to spend grading essays and calling parents reading the best and newest in YA lit.

[Anna]

I simply HAVE to read, and popular fiction at that, at work if I'm going to get my job done. A huge part of school librarianship (at least to me) is the Reader's Advisory job -- I do booktalks and 'personal consultations' with kids looking for something good to read. When I leave school, I'm headed off to my other full-time job -- single mom to to elementary-aged children -- and there's not a single spare minute to get caught up on YA reading.

So, perhaps it's rationalizing, and I do try to do the reading at lunch time or late-library hours, but reading on the job IS the job, and if you want mine, wait 'til I retire. It's only another 20 years or so.

[Doug Johnson]

Hi Anna,

Being married to an elementary library media specialist, I really do appreciate this. The question is - do your fellow educators understand this, and if not, how do we help them understand it?

Thanks for writing in!

Doug