The New Librarian

I never aspired to be a librarian. My memories of library time in school are filled with stamping, shushing, controlling librarians sitting behind a desk and a chart with the Dewey Decimal System we had to memorize. The books were dirty and I always wanted to spend my money on books rather than borrow some and give them back.

Last Friday brought my graduation from Pitt with the letters MLIS attached to my name. It's only now, 18 months after I began the graduate program, that I know what a Masters in Library and Information Sciences means and how it should impact school libraries across the country.

School librarians are not just custodians of information. School librarians should be leaders, pathfinders and integrators of technology. They should be collaborators and network promoters with teachers, administrators, and other librarians. Librarians are the nodes that connect information to others. Most of all, librarians instrumental in preparing students for their future. We are preparing them for college majors and jobs that do not even exist yet. The best we can do is teach students how to learn.