Advocacy for SLMS

Steven M. Baule

Community Unit School District 201

Recently on an Illinois Listserv

• Question from Supt.:– I have to replace a retiring librarian next year,

what do other districts do regarding extended contracts?

• Answer from another Supt.:– I hired an aide for each building and let the

remaining SMLS work between two schools, saved money, no downside.

• Paraphrased for space

• School Board Members

• Administrators

• Other Educators• Potential SLMSs• Students• Parents

• Community

Succinctly

• Let people know what you are doing!

• Never identify a problem without providing a potential solution as well

• Don’t belabor points or point out issues that are obviously beyond his or her control

• Mention what positive things the administrator has done in the past for you

• Always follow up with a thank you note, even if just for taking time to meet with you

Communicate Considerately

Communicate Professionally

• Avoid folksy styles unless that is the administrator’s style

• Type memos: don’t handwrite notes on the back of the school bulletin

• Always provide enough detail that the administrator can start to consider the issue without having to seek you out simply to clarify the concern or need

Communicate Professionally

• Draft memos about your issues– Don’t ever expect that the administrator will have time

to write a letter for you without providing a draft or at least an outline

– Do not send five page memos to an administrator except for the most important and detailed of issues. In those cases, provide an executive summary

• If you need a letter of support, especially for grants, provide a draft that can be modified or just signed

Communicate Professionally

• Dress in business attire for presentations – P.E. teachers shouldn’t come to Board meetings in sweats and SLMSs should not come to such meetings in I Love Books vests, etc.

• Prepare presentation materials in a professional manner, provide covers, executive summaries, etc.

• Ensure there are no obvious typos, grammatical errors, etc.

Balance Communication

• Don’t continuously complain, ask, or plead, etc.

• Compliment when possible– Unsolicited and justified

compliments will go far towards building a positive relationship

• Preemptively serve your administration as the mind-reading librarian you are

Focus on Their Needs not Yours!

• “I need four new computers for the library catalog system”

• “If we had four more computer workstations in the library, students would be able to …….”

Always Frame your Requests around the School’s Strategic Plan, Technology Plan or SIP

• Quote the plan in all requests

• Focus on the student impact

• Speak in the terms of “student achievement”

Recent Studies

• Let’s not hang our hats entirely on recent studies….– They are correlative, they show a possible relationship– They do not show causation – Given to an administrative team who knows research as

an “imperative” for stronger SLMPs, they may really backfire

– That doesn’t mean those studies don’t have value, they are a first step

As a professional community

• We need action research that shows causation• You can do this at the system or district level with

potentially significant results• Look to a small part of the Iowa Study that does

show causation in the number of books checked out

• Talk to your library software vendors about software modules of enhancements that can track library usage to test scores, etc.

At the School or District Level

• Ensure that the administrative team knows what you do and what you need

• Send copies of your newsletters to the Board & superintendent

Showcase your program

• Apply for grants

• Apply for awards– Look to DGS as an

example

• Nominate others

• Communicate with the PTO/PTA/LSC

Excel at what you do – Merit does have its place