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Last post 17/01/12 at 10:02 by doodlebug59, 12 replies
Post started by readalot on 27/05/09 at 11:53

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  • readalot avatar
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    Posted by: readalot 27/05/2009 at 11:53
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    Joined on 19/03/2005
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    Thanks to Rhiannon for alerting TES of the need to have a librarian's forum section. We can now start posting and sharing. I know so many of us use SLN but this is still a tremendous opportunity to be involved, share and learn. We have so much to offer, we do so much, we know so much. So many of today's librarians have many qualifications and experience - we don't just stamp books anymore, those days are long gone. We now have assistants, pupil librarians and we now lead much more. We now have classes of our own as we plan and teach  information skills.. We deliver reading schemes, often devised by the librarian, we monitor and assess the results giving feedback to the Head teacher. We are Heads of Departments and attend all relevant HODs meetings. We have developed so much and we will go on developing, We are the leading frontiers of acquiring knowledge and it's time to shine.

    Thanks Rhiannon

  • LoudLibrarian avatar
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    Posted by: LoudLibrarian 27/05/2009 at 12:59
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    You're welcome,it just seemed stupid that Librarians weren't even acknowledged here, as there is so much useful information here, which Librarians can use and contribute towards.

     It will be interesting to see if we can utilise this space and SLN or whether it will feel like we're being spread too thin.

     I did have an old ID on here, when I was a teacher and posted and read regulary but I have decided to start a new ID to start afresh.
  • suziemitch avatar
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    Posted by: suziemitch 28/05/2009 at 12:24
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    Joined on 23/05/2006
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    It would be nice to get together with a 'library' (?) of Librarians that don’t take it for granted that because you haven’t got the 'qualifications' as a librarian, which I haven’t by the way, I’ve just been doing the job since 1482 ... well actually for the past 14years on and off, that I’m taking the job of a 'qualified' person and that I’m not as dedicated as them.  When I got the job I’m in now, which is librarian/resources coordinator in an inner city school, it had been advertised for five weeks as a librarian post, requiring a qualified librarian, once the interviewees, of whom there were three, heard the hours and pay involved to a man they turned tail and ran! No one in their right mind wants to do the hours I work, for the pay I get!  I work full time, that is through the holidays as well as term time, I work from 8am to 4pm with 1/2 lunch 5 days a week, during the holidays I work whatever hours I am needed but never less than 5 a day, 5 days a week... My take home pay each month is exactly the same as our receptionists, who are pro ratered! I have asked for a pay rise but if I was to hold my breath.... So please all you wonderful clever librarians out there in internet land, spare a thought for us poor unloved, underpaid, unqualified library ‘assistants’, (who do I assist? I do my own budget, my own stock control, my own programming, I even ‘teach’ library studies… maybe I could do with an assistant lol)Be nice to us please!
  • LoudLibrarian avatar
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    Posted by: LoudLibrarian 28/05/2009 at 12:51
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    I think you have just opened a can of worms there Suzie!

     I think we all just need to focus on treating each other as professionals (and the respect that that entails). If we cant treat each other this way, what hope do we have for other people?!

     The issue of your pay....possibly another thread!
  • suziemitch avatar
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    Posted by: suziemitch 28/05/2009 at 13:00
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    Joined on 23/05/2006
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    LoudLibrarian:

    I think you have just opened a can of worms there Suzie!

     

    my favourite pass time lol

  • pwavi avatar
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    Posted by: pwavi 28/05/2009 at 20:04
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    please rest assured that many of us qualified chartered librarians do spare many thoughts for you, in fact much valuable 'spare' time over the years by myself & others is spent campaigning in various ways for school libraries to be properly funded, staffed with librarians & assistants who are all properly paid, given training & development opps etc etc. finally with Alan Gibbons' Campaign for the Book & UNISON's education libraries manifesto some momentum is building - statutory school libraries at last with proper pay, funding & recognition??? now that is surely a goal we can all unite around!
  • Dewey027 avatar
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    Posted by: Dewey027 01/06/2009 at 11:22
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    Hear hear! And don't imagine that being qualified makes a lot of difference to your salary. I am qualified, chartered, many years experience, and still earn less than an NQT (because my salary is pro rata) On the plus side, I have a life as well as a career!  Whilst I believe that it should be a statutory requirement for schools to have qualified librarians, I also believe that we should support all school librarians equally qualified or not and lobby for them to be given the salary and status they deserve. Then those who are not qualified could be supported through CPD to get the recognition for the great job most of them are doing.
  • deleted691 avatar
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    Posted by: deleted691 16/06/2009 at 08:33
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    Joined on 07/10/2001
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    I just noticed this forum and thought I'd stick my head around the door. I'm not involved in school libraries anymore - but it was thanks to a wonderful inspirational school librarian that I ended up in teaching. I worked as an assistant in a school library, and this woman backed and supported me, gave me the freedom to run sessions within the library to get a taste for teaching, and inspired in me a love of children's books and appreciation for children's literature that stayed with me and gave me the kick start when I went into teaching.

    She really was part of the heart and soul of the school and I owe her an incredible debt.

    Just thought you should know the difference you guys CAN make to a student straight out of uni taking a job to pretty much fill in the days.

  • readalot avatar
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    Posted by: readalot 04/08/2009 at 10:33
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    Joined on 19/03/2005
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    Yes, in reality you were filling in your days but the job you did in the library obviously gave you much satisfaction and a desire to move on. Remember too, so many librarians are now qualified with a degree (if not more) and even chartered so these are extremely qualified people.

  • tpadiwa avatar
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    Posted by: tpadiwa 21/01/2010 at 09:35
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    Joined on 08/09/2009
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    Interesting, you are doing a great job. However, like any other profession, you still need to get a formal qualification or at least become a member of CILIP and do a bit of training then start lobbying your management team for a pay rise. As for now, they know that they can pay you the peanuts they are paying you, as long as you are not "formally qualified". That is the harsh reality. If you were to move onto another institution, irregardless of all your experience, you will still be seen as a typical "Library assistant" who is crying out for more than she deserves. So, during the holidays, get busy and get a qualification in Librarianship and you will see the difference it will make. You will even be more marketable with all the experience you have now.
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