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ERIC Number: EJ904833
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2010-Oct
Pages: 2
Abstractor: ERIC
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-1542-4715
EISSN: N/A
The Name Game: What's in a Name?
Purcell, Melissa
Library Media Connection, v29 n2 p20-21 Oct 2010
Due to a recent American Association of School Librarians (AASL) survey that indicated confusion, misperceptions, and inconsistencies about various job titles in the school librarian profession, the organization's leadership chose to officially adopt for the profession the title school librarian. They did this after carefully reviewing the data and identifying the advantages and disadvantages of various titles for the profession. Names, including job titles, have meanings that "convey an image, accord a particular standing, a degree of respect, and a perception of worth." Researchers agree that job titles serve as a means of identification. After reading the announcement about the new "official title," the author had to wonder does a name really matter? Whether one calls their professionals "Shining Acolytes of the Sacred Flame of Literacy in a Dark and Encroaching Universe," a librarian, a school librarian, a media specialist, a school library media specialist, an instructional technology specialist, a school library administrator, a cybrarian, or a teacher librarian: a librarian is a librarian is a librarian, right? In the end it is the actions of librarians, not their title, that are more important. During these times of the nation's financial crisis and the projected budget cuts in education, school librarians need to be able to justify their position as a vital element within the school. The author concludes that a school library without a school librarian is just a room. She is proud to be a school librarian and remain proud to be in charge of a school library, regardless of what anyone calls it.
Linworth Publishing, Inc. 480 East Wilson Bridge Road Suite L, Worthington, OH 43085. Tel: 614-436-7107; e-mail: linworth@linworthpublishing.com; Web site: http://www.linworth.com/lmc/
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Opinion Papers
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A