Competency 2: Related Blog

Using the Yahoo blog directory, I found a blog written by a school librarian titled Teacher Librarian...adventures at an urban middle school.... The post I am focusing on is titled "School Librarians and Evidence-Based Practice." http://www.teacherlibrarian.org/2008_04_01_archive.html

I selected this particular blogger because she focuses on both serious and fun topics related to school libraries. In this particular blog post, she writes how studies suggest school libraries play an important role in students' academic success and voices her frustration because librarians constantly must validate their very existence.


Sometime it bothers me that we as teacher-librarians constantly have to prove our worth. So many studies have come out showing that school libraries have a positive influence on student learning. Why do we always have to justify our very existence? Rarely is there a study announcing that students learn more math when they attend a school that employs math teachers. Unfortunately, at least in California, school librarians are seen as "extra", and often the first to go when the inevitable budget crunch hits. It can be a bit depressing to be part of a profession where advocacy sometimes seems more pressing than our actual jobs.