Editorial
School Library Monthly/Volume XXVI, Number 6/February 2010
The Dream Job Description—A Call for Leadership
By Deborah D. Levitov
The following job description (posted for a school in Washington, DC) describes the dream position for the 21st-century school librarian. Imagine the job title "Director of the Center for Inquiry and Exploration." This is a job description that calls for a school librarian who is an educational leader. Expectations include:
- Infusing current research into all aspects of the curriculum
- Having a strong understanding of the changing role of the school librarian, information systems, and the 21st century
- Providing a vision for effectively training students in current research and inquiry practices
- Collaborating with faculty
- Providing curricular leadership
Leadership for school librarians can be reflected in many ways. It can be through such things as communication with administrators, involvement in improving student reading and literacy, providing access to resources and facilities, involvement in writing instruction, guiding instruction toward inquiry, or ongoing professional development. All of these topics are addressed in this issue of SLM. The articles provide examples of how school librarians can take the leadership role. Yet, as a whole, the leadership expectations outlined may seem overwhelming and more than one person can accomplish. But, if readers extract from each article the "how to" offerings, they can see a list of possibilities.
As Mary Cay Rojtas-Milliner suggests in her article ("Reading Skills—What School Librarians Need to Know," pages 50-52), she will take baby steps to begin to accomplish her goals. This is what all school librarians can do as they extend and build leadership capabilities. Begin by assessing existing leadership traits, determine what other leadership qualities are needed, and then take steps toward building that capacity. In this way the dream job for school librarians will become a reality.