@PsyGuy I strongly disagree that students don't need libraries or librarians anymore. A library is the heart of a school and is so much more than meeting spaces and stacks of YA fiction and magazines. I am sorry if that is all your school library is to you, but mine is so much more than that.

If all you have is an assistant that watches a room and checks books in and out, you are squandering one of the biggest investments in knowledge your school has made, and you have an opportunity to capitalize on that to increase literacy in your school! Yes, a librarian should teach! That should be a job requirement--and students desperately need that support and so do teachers! Teaching students how to use the library is an essential component of a strong information literacy program and is one that is sorely needed today. Librarians are an essential partner to the classroom teacher, to support and reinforce topics of academic honesty, research methods, citations, plagiarism, digital citizenship and inspire a love of reading!

Teachers already do so much, they shouldn't have to be the school librarian too-- a robust library collection takes time to evaluate to make sure it has up to date and current materials to support the curriculum, the teachers and student's interests and it takes a lot of time and expertise that classroom teachers just don't have. Having a colleague who knows the latest K-12 literature, is matching it with your changing curriculum and standards and is continuously updating the library collection is an incredible resource.

I hope you reevaluate your current school library staffing, and if you only have an assistant manning your library, please consider hiring a professional teaching librarian with a Masters in Library Science. After a couple of years, you will be AMAZED at the changes in your school and in your students!

Thanks PsyGuy; that's pretty much what I expected, but I just wanted to be sure I wasn't missing something everyone else knew about! Cheers

Hi all,
I'm a school librarian with 15 years experience, and I've helped design/remodel 3 libraries; I've found it's what I've really love to do. So I feel "done" with improving my current library (been there 6 years now) and I'm wondering how I go about finding an opening school and/or a school who's doing a major remodel of their library for the 2020/21 school year? I'm with Search, ISS and Carney & Sandoe, but I'm not sure if I'm missing somewhere to look for opening schools, or search terms I don't know about?

In a semi-related question, my husband is a classroom teacher (certified in social studies, 5-9 math and 6-12 gen. science), but he's never helped in the opening/founding of a school (and always being on the librarian side of it, I never had the time to pay attention to what the teachers are doing). So, I would appreciate if anyone had any insight I can pass onto him what he might be doing while I'm busy with furniture plans and vendors. Thanks so much for any insight you can give me!

Thanks @FV2020, that's what I wanted to know! I had imagined them maybe calling them up and grilling them on the phone, or requiring that they provide proof that they had actually worked at the previous organization, or even require they have their own secondary references! LOL

So the Search reference request form says: "PLEASE NOTE: Search Associates policy requires that all confidential references submitted through a personal email address (i.e. aol, gmail, yahoo) must be verified before approval. We recommend that you use the appropriate professional email address when sending a reference request to each of your referees to expedite the completion of your confidential references."

I would love it if my past supervisors had stayed in their jobs so I could send reference requests to them...but they did not (two of mine are retired). What does this "verification" process entail? I don't want it to be overly onerous on my references, and if it is, I'll just stick with my current supervisors and have less references....it's just hard because they really loved me! :) Thanks!

Yes, I did get adoption leave the same as maternity leave--but we were already planning to adopt before we joined this school, and that was one of the reasons we signed on. :) Good luck!

Yes, I have. I live in Taiwan and adopted domestically here. There's a Facebook group that was a lot of help-- it's called Adoptive Parents Living Abroad. :) Be prepared for your life to be an open book for at least two years. It is very stressful. But our son was worth it!

@PsyGuy Fair enough; my answers were too US-centric. But whenever I've been looking for IS positions, the choices for library jobs have been very slim, especially in comparison to what I see available to my husband, or counseling/guidance positions (not that I'm qualified for those, just sometimes I regret becoming qualified for a librarian role when I see multiple jobs for a career that was my second choice. Just trying to pass on my experience in the field; it feels really disheartening when you wait and wait for a job to come up, and only a few choices are available). :( Perhaps I've been looking in the wrong places.

Many states do offer credentials to be a school librarian without a Masters degree, but you would be competing with many librarians who have masters from an ALA accredited school, which is the industry standard. The job field for librarians is very hard right now--where my husband can have over 200 jobs to apply for, we're restricted to the 20 or so schools who need librarians, and only 5 that I would consider acceptable to work at. Becoming a school counselor also usually requires a Masters degree in school counseling/guidance, but the jobs are much more plentiful and they're very difficult to fill, so you would have more leverage.
Here's an article about the scarcity of librarian jobs (although it is based in the U.S., some of these people who got their MLIS would consider international schools. That's how I got here): http://lj.libraryjournal.com/blogs/anno ... -to-learn/
Also, if you're looking at IB Schools, you'll need training on how the librarian fits in with the IB program--they're really a critical component of project-based learning.

Thanks peachestotulips. Cost is a big factor for us, as we're still paying off my BA and Masters degree, and probably will be for another 10 years. I have not been able to find any cheaper programs than U Port, and coming from the U.S. where our experience in grad schools have offerings between 400-600/credit, it did seem very affordable to us. If you have any suggestions, then I would be delighted to see them.
PsyGuy, he does have experience teaching Elementary grades and HS Social Studies, and his love is history, but at this point he would just be happy to be back in a classroom. He's been a stay at home dad for 3 years, and probably will be one for another 1-2 years, so to have something to show for that time professionally is also a bonus. The pay bump from a Masters would be great, but most of all, we're looking for increased competitiveness as a candidate, and whatever can get him there the fastest.

Thanks again; you both gave us a lot to consider!

Thanks PsyGuy and Mamava!

He's certified in K-6 Elem Ed, 5-9 Math and 6-12 Social Studies. His undergrad is is international business, so no background in history or education--he got his teaching certificate through an alternative certification program in the U.S.

The programs that we were looking at are through the University of Portsmouth in the UK (because they're so inexpensive, in comparison to U.S. Masters): http://www.port.ac.uk/courses/#postgraduate There's also a MA in Applied Linguistics and TESOL; and a MSc in Psychology and Learning Disabilities that we're considering--but those seem to be the only ones available via distance learning.

Thanks again!!

So my husband is a certified K-12 teacher (I'm a certified school librarian), and he was thinking about getting his masters degree. I already have mine in Library Science. We were debating between a Masters in Educational Leadership or a Masters in History (his favorite subject). He has absolutely no interest in ever being an administrator. Which one do you guys think would make us a more attractive hire as a teaching team?