A Day in the Life of a Regional Librarian Specialist

By Kay Cook

IN PAST DECADES, SCHOOL LIBRARIANS, THE KEEPERS OF THE BOOKS, OFFERED A RESOURCE THAT GENERALLY COULD BE EVALUATED BY THE DEPTH OF THEIR LOVE FOR THE RESOURCES THAT THEY PROTECTED. Often, it was a beloved librarian on each campus who knew every book in the library and was able to recommend the best ones for each child to read. Sadly, this is no longer the case in most school districts. Due to costs, most campuses do not have the service of certified librarians, and so their libraries are run by paraprofessionals. Some school districts in Texas still retain an in-house certified librarian within the district, who assists school administration with the library department. Unfortunately, many do not have this resource. Therefore, the state of Texas, through the services of the Regional Educational Service Centers, offers the support of a certified librarian to members of the ESC’s Library Services Cooperative.

A typical day for the library service specialist begins like this: jump in the car, sip hot coffee, and prepare to serve patrons in a library setting - sometimes located 20-100 miles from the ESC. The district’s name may change, but the feel of traveling the piney, tree-lined roads of East Texas and the educational outcomes are the same. In the tradition of the traveling librarians of the 1930s, the regional librarian meets the needs of many individuals and communities by reinforcing the library staff who serve at the campus level.

Upon arrival at the campus, the specialist must check in at the front office. This is followed by a meet and greet with campus administrators or library staff. Once in the library, the specialist recaps the last visit, focuses on the goals of the present visit, and discusses any issues presented by library or school staff. Each day trip is designed around a desire to place books in children’s hands and establish an efficient library environment.

Between serving children and educators with requests, the specialist may manage records, create displays, set up exhibits that support curriculum, share professional development opportunities, and update current library related activities. Some days include reshelving books, managing acquisitions, repairing, cataloging, and/or weeding selections at the location. Besides library-specific activities during the visit, calendars are created for upcoming visits, correspondence is shared, reports are compiled to document data, and an ongoing presentation is edited to assist stakeholders in understanding the need for well-established libraries. At the end of the day, accomplishments are logged, requests are taken for topics to be researched before the next visit, visitor tags are returned to the office, and the traveling specialist ventures to homebase at the ESC.

With so many requests from so many libraries, the regional educational library specialist is never bored! The Region 6 Education Service Center serves 57 districts in 15 counties in south central/east Texas. Requests are varied due to the variety of campuses/ schools that are served. The daily requests may be influenced by the campus population, age of the students, and/or variety of resources available. No matter the destination, it is an ongoing service to help schools offer the best resources and assistance to the school children of Texas. As Timothy Healy, former President of New York Public Library, stated, “The most important asset of any library goes home at night –the library staff.” Check to see what your ESC Region Librarian has to offer you and your local school district.

Kay Cook, MLS, is a library services specialist for the Region 6 Education Service Center.