Section VI: Getting an IDT Position and Succeeding at It

Before returning to graduate school, I was in my 11th year teaching Special Education to medically-fragile students with severe and profound disabilities. I enjoy what I do and has its many rewards but I knew that I would not be able to continue with the stress and physical demands of my current teaching position 10-15 years from now. I always knew I would return to graduate school to pursue a degree but I thought it would be in the area of adminstration. However in being employed on a small campus I was able to assume many administrative roles/duties as a teacher and collobate with specialists and administrators at the district level. It was then that I realized that if I became a Special Education specialist or administrator it would require a lot of time working in an office and I would no longer work directly with students. I would really miss that aspect of my job so it was with a lot of prayer and soul-searching that I decided I could have the best of both worlds if I became a library media specialist.

School Districts in Bexar County (NISD-color blue)

I am fortunate to work in the fourth largest school district in the state. The community supports education and voters overwhelmingly pass school bonds. This enables the district to open two to three new schools every year. However in working for such an elite and competitive school district there are more requirements for a classroom teacher to be considered for other teaching and/or support positions. While most districts in the state do not require a graduate degree to be a school librarian, my district requires a candidate to have three or more years of classroom teaching, state certification and a graduate degree in technology or library science. That is the reason why I returned to school and chose the degree in Educational Technology - Library Science (ETLS). There are 17 independent school districts in San Antonio and the surrounding Bexar County area but I do not plan on seeking employment in another school district.

WorkMatrix

In using the WorkMatrix I found that I am already working in the field that suits me best and I will continue to teach students and train staff. Since I am not a library media specialist, I contacted my librarian-mentor to help answer the Likelihood section of the chart. This allowed a more accurate perception of what the school district's expectations are for the role and responsibilities of its librarians. In the Economic Sector section I scored the highest in the field of Education. Public Service and Knowledge Industry closely followed. I think they all tie in with the role of a librarian. They provide and promote services to the community and use their expertise in helping patrons obtain the knowledge they seek. In the Type of Work section I scored highest on first level service (teaching and delivering training), which is the type of work I already do and did not expect it to change. However, I do have an interest in second level service (training trainers) and designing and developing instruction but it seems the district has librarian-specialists who are responsible for those areas. Lastly in the Features of Work section I scored highest in geographic location. I already live in the city and work for the school district that are important to me so no suprise there. As for high travel requirement, librarians are assigned to individual campuses so I would not be required to travel from school to school. This is perfect for me because I would rather not have to drive as part of my job requirement. I did show some interest in high starting income, high income growth and high promotion opportunity but I did not rate it high. The likelihood in those areas resulted in zero. It reflects that if those areas where really important to me in my professional career than I would not be in the Education sector. :) 

The WorkMatrixô is intended to help you describe the kind of work you want to do and the type of organization in which you want to work.  Rate each descriptor in the first column on Importance and Likelihood on a ten-point scale.  Multiply the rows to arrive at a Score in the final column.        http://gabrielleconsulting.com/workmatrix.htm

Type of Work	Importance	Likelihood	Score
First level service (Teaching, delivering training)	10	10	100
Second level service (Training trainers)	10	2	16
Third-level service (Designing instructional models)	5	0	0
Fourth-level service (Creating basic knowledge to inform third-level service)	0	0	0
Designing instruction	8	5 campus level	100
Developing instruction	8	5 campus level	100
Other
Features of Work
Geographic location	10	10	100
High travel requirement	0	0	0
High starting income	5	0	0
High income growth	5	0	0
High promotion opportunity	5	0	0
Other
Economic Sector
Education	10	10	100
Public Service; Foundation, NGO	8	10	80
Service Industry	0	0	0
Manufacturing	0	0	0
Knowledge Industry	8	10	80
Government	8	0	0
Other	0	0	0

WorkMatrixô 1999.  Copyright © 1999 Robert K. Branson, Ph.D. Professional Associates.

I feel the ETLS program at TAMU-Commerce has prepared me well for a career as a library media specialist. I am confident in my formal education and the technology skills I learned in graduate school. I was fortunate to have a district-assigned librarian-mentor during the entire course of my degree program. During my practicum (internship) I was also able to divide my time between two librarian-mentors, one at the elementary level and one at the high school level. I feel I need more experience working in a school library (informal training). I have the perfect opportunity to do this after graduation by volunteering at the high school where I did my practicum. The school library has evening hours and the librarian is responsible for holding the district's annual author and book event, Library Palooza, which is held in the Spring. Last year I was able to sit in on the Library Palooza committee meetings and help out at this event by being responsible in many assignments. This opportunity also allowed for me to network which I think is important in a school district as large as mine. I not only got to meet other school librarians but more importantly, meet librarian specialists who are responsible for the primary screening interviews for librarian-candidates. Most knew my name because of my mentors but during that time they were able to get to know me and I was able to show them my commitment and hard work towards a huge district library event.

Professional Organizations

School librarian career opportunities are few and far between. That is why it will be important for me to continue to learn and network by being a member in professional organizations and attending their workshops and events. 

Currently I am a student-member in the Texas Library Association (TLA). When I become a librarian I would also like to join the American Library Association (ALA), the American Association of School Librarians (AASL) and to keep current on the technology component of my profession, the Texas Computer Education Association (TCEA). When the annual TLA convention was held in San Antonio two years ago, I worked as a volunteer. Even though I was not able to attend the workshops, I was allowed to visit the exhibition hall. I was amazed at the wealth of information, services and products available for librarians. The next time the TLA convention is in San Antonio I want to attend the workshops. Attending professional organization workshops and being on their e-mail listservs will allow for me to stay current on trends and issues in the school library.

Two professional organizations I would choose to join from this chapter are the International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE) and the Society for Information Technology and Teacher Education (SITE). These organizations would help me stay current on educational technology and provide teaching, training and leadership support as a school librarian. ISTE seems the most appropriate organization as it is aimed towards K-12 teachers and includes media specialists as members.