It was with great delight that I read Jeff Utecht's Thinking Stick post, Tech Plan Part 4 – Implementation, He had taken and IMPROVED upon an old model of tech planning I had written some time ago. Read all his posts on tech planning. They're great.

While I am still unsure about some Web 2.0 tools like Twitter and Facebook and Ning (being a slow-typing, slow-moving, slow-thinking geezer), I am sure the ease with which professional sharing, reaction, and knowledge building has tremendously improved because of a more interactive web.

And it is fun to think that I am able to corrupt a new generation of tech leaders like Jeff. 

From The Thinking Stick blog... 

http://bighugelabs.com/flickr/motivator.php

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?
 

“Thou shalt not” might reach the head, but it takes “Once upon a time” to reach the heart. Philip Pullman

1. We provide the highest level of service to all library users through appropriate and usefully organized resources; equitable service policies; equitable access; and accurate, unbiased, and courteous responses to all requests.
2. We uphold the principles of intellectual freedom and resist all efforts to censor library resources.
3. We protect each library user's right to privacy and confidentiality with respect to information sought or received and resources consulted, borrowed, acquired or transmitted.
4. We recognize and respect intellectual property rights.
5. We treat co-workers and other colleagues with respect, fairness and good faith, and advocate conditions of employment that safeguard the rights and welfare of all employees of our institutions.
6. We do not advance private interests at the expense of library users, colleagues, or our employing institutions.
7. We distinguish between our personal convictions and professional duties and do not allow our personal beliefs to interfere with fair representation of the aims of our institutions or the provision of access to their information resources.
8. We strive for excellence in the profession by maintaining and enhancing our own knowledge and skills, by encouraging the professional development of co-workers, and by fostering the aspirations of potential members of the profession.

Regardless of our own religious values or personal tastes (or that the religious right will be mounting a pressure campaign to have these books censored), all public school librarians should fight to keep Pullman's books on their shelves. As well as C.S. Lewis's books. As well as any writing that has been critically and positively reviewed.

Our profession needs to handle this one better than we did the Power of Lucky last spring!

Oh, I personally really like Pullman's His Dark Materials series. I've read them all and am currently enjoying re-reading them.

As to the movie - one word: Nicole! I just may have to see it twice - but only to make sure the movie's values are suitable for children.