(My entry for today was going to be this fun survey, but of course other things have come up, so this is entry # 2.)
One of the pros/cons of tenure for teachers is that you basically have to murder a child in full public view in the school cafeteria to get fired. If they eliminate your job, however, you're dead meat. That having been said, I am personally in virtually no danger of being let go due to being RIFfed (that's Reduction in Force, or just plain being laid off.) There are eight school librarians in my district and I am the most senior of them all. (Heh heh heh, rubs hands together showing greedy rolling eyes.) Anyway, I will certainly not be let go, nor will the SCM, who is somewhere in the middle, seniority-wise. So what's going to happen when I'm a librarian without, as they say, a portfolio, not to mention a book?
Well. First, it's not just the library that's affected; it's everything in the wing of the building we're in, since they'll be renovating the whole she-bang. That's all the administrators' office, the guidance office, and the nurses' office, as well as the library. Somebody's got to find a place for all of us to keep doing what we do. The only difference is that mine is the largest space, and is the most dependent on the stuff that's in it to do my work. So I set out around the building this morning to weigh my options.
The building is filled to capacity, of course; that's why they're putting up an addition. What I needed was a large classroom that wasn't already stuff-dependent, like a science lab. Clearly, no one's emptying out a science lab to put in a temporary library. What I found was a room that used to be the metal shop, when we had such things; it's sandwiched between the wood shop (we still have that) and what used to be the auto lab but is now a mini-gym with workout equipment in it. The room is currently being used for health classes, since they're big groups. It's way the hell on the other side of the building from where I am now. It's basically a big empty room.
Picture that hands-rubbing eye-rolling thing again right here.
It was still first period. I beat it back to the Psycho's office and told her that I wanted that room; if they can set me up computers with wi-fi and I can take half my reference collection with me, I'll make do. I also mentioned that we'll need some kind of dry and secure storage facility for everything I can't take with me. She's not in a position to give out spare libraries at this point, but we took a tour of the basement, and I think that the store-room she offered may be okay. So I've got a little hope here that I can do something. The meeting is still Tuesday, and that's when we find out the rest, like the actual timeline for construction.
Yes, I will still be in charge, and whatever next year brings, I'll have to be doing some ordering of furniture, selecting the bookstacks, etc., etc. Even so, I'm starting to get a good sense of what I won't have. Someone came in today to get an audiobook for a student whose special ed. classification says she's a better auditory learner than visual, and she needs to hear it while she's reading. As I was checking it out, I'm picturing the audiobooks in a carton in the basement next year, with all the other books.
It's all too weird, man. What about the archival material, the yearbooks and the 60 year old newspapers? Can I take my electric stapler with me? Will I even have my own desk where I'm going?
I do feel pretty comfortable about the Psycho not wanting to lose any people -- that's a sign of slipping power in a school principal, letting your people go to other schools like that -- so I don't think the SCM is in danger of much more than boredom. Funny thing is, if they decide to put one of us in the classroom, even for a period or two a day, he's not certified in any other subject area, but I'm certified in English, too. With any luck, if it comes to that, I can put seniority, not to mention my degrees, to work and they'll give me a couple of sections of Children's Literature, which is a popular elective here. It's taught by English teachers, but I'm the only one in the building who actually has a degree in that -- Children's Library Services -- as far as I know. I don't think it'll come to that -- a particularly heavy option, in some ways, I haven't taught in the classroom since 1975 -- but being prepared for anything they can throw out is usually a good plan for me.
Well, then.
