What I wish I'd known as a new librarian - a meme?

Experience is the name everyone gives to their mistakes.
Oscar Wilde

Leigh Ann Jones over at Shelf Consumed offers 10 things she wished she'd known as a new librarian. It's a great list. Go read it right now. Subscribe to Leigh Anne's blog while you're there. I'll wait.

I love these sorts of lists. I'd played with them myself from time to time.

• Top 10 Things Baby Teachers Should Know About School Libraries
• 10 Things I Wish I Knew as a First Year Teacher

I'll add my own "Wish I'd known" items to Leigh Ann's list. I don't know if I can get to 10, though...

1. I am the librarian's custodian, not its owner. The library belongs to the staff and students. I am there to help them achieve what they want to achieve, not to create MY idea of a perfect library.
2. If you don't actively engage in long-term planning, you will never improve.
3. Assessment of the program is critical if you want to keep your job. (1 and 2)
4. Reporting are as important as program. You can't just do great stuff, you have to have a real plan to let staff, admin and parents know about it.
5. Shared policy-making is the only way to have more influence.
6. The principal has to be your ally, and you have to be his/her ally.
7. Copyright counselor is a better role than copyright cop.
8. Kids can teach me as much as I teach them.
9. If your parents and teachers won't advocate for you, you are doomed.
10. Collaboration is a means and not an end - and you will never get every teacher on staff to work with you. And it's not you.

OK, I did make it to 10!

If I could add an 11th, it would be that the best impact you have is having an impact on individual kids and teachers. You don't have to change the world - just the world of another person.

Add your "Things I wish I'd known to this and Leigh Ann's blog!

What did you learn in school today?

An update on an old Tom Paxton song by Pikku Myy from Susan Ohanian's website. John Pederson's post, I will not look at naughty on the Internet and Will Richardson's A Parent 2.0's Back to School Dilemma somehow brought it to mind...

(I have a frog shirt too, Lars)

What did you learn in school today, dear little boy of mine?
What did you learn in school today, dear little boy of mine?
I learned that I must pass a test
To sort the learners from the rest
That winners win and losers lose
And TAKS test scores is how they choose
And that's what I learned in school today
That's what I learned in school

What did you learn in school today, dear little girl of mine?
What did you learn in school today, dear little girl of mine?
It matters what my parents earn
I'll get better grades with cash to burn
If I don't speak English I can't be smart
And no more music and no more art
And that's what I learned in school today
That's what I learned in school

What did you learn in school today, dear little boy of mine?
What did you learn in school today, dear little boy of mine?
Workbooks fill my empty mind
So that I won't be left behind
I'm learning how to play the game
And all right answers look the same
And that's what I learned in school today
That's what I learned in school

What did you learn in school today, dear little girl of mine?
What did you learn in school today, dear little girl of mine?
Learning's just a job I do
From seven thirty til half-past two
And all my interests have to wait
'Til I drop out or graduate
And that's what I learned in school today

That's what I learned in school

I hope for Lars Pederson and Tucker Richardson and my grandson Paul (above) and all the other kids starting school today, this is just nonsensical satire.

But in some schools, I am afraid it isn't.

Thought leaders in school libraryland - the next step

OK, dear readers, you've been generous in identifying those in our profession who you consider "thought leaders."

But your job is not complete.

The list in and of itself is not terribly useful. As Ellen Hrebeniuk wrote, 'Where are the links?"

In order to sharpen this list a bit, I'll challenge you to go to this open wikipage <https://dougjohnson.wikispaces.com/ThoughtLeaders> and add links to these thought leaders influential works.

The links may be to blogs, books, webpages, articles or anything that you think qualifies the person as making "sustained, public contributions directly addressing school libraries." Let's keep it to, say, three references per individual.

I'll do the first one for ya...

Joyce Valenza

• Blog: The NeverEndingSearch
• Website (with links to books and articles: Joyce Kasman Valenza

Easy, cheesy.

Again, this is an open wiki page - no log in should be required. Please use responsibly.