I'm trying to have no expectations for next school year, especially since I'm moving to a new district and new library. I feel like "low expectations" has a negative connotation, and I certainly don't mean that. I just don't want to have all these BIG ideas and plans and find out they aren't going to work like I want them to. No expectations seems safer.
I'm not sure how well I'll do with this. For those of you who know me, when it comes to my job, "no" isn't in my vocabulary.
So here's what I know going in to my new job...
I'm going to a much smaller district. (This I'm looking forward to!) I'll have 1000 less kids in my new school alone, which may be the smallest school I've ever worked in. I'm excited about the possibility of having more face-to-face contact with students and faculty members in my school, but also making connections with central administration and other school personnel across the district. In a small district, you can get to know a greater variety of people and a small community will come together for their school district.
One of the things I'm going to have to deal with on a smaller scale is library personnel. My current district has 51 Librarians (33 elementary, 18 secondary), four Library Paraprofessionals (those who do the dirty work at the high school level), one Director (she who knows all), one Technology Facilitator (she who can fix all), one Acquisitions manager (the money lady), and two of the best Library Processing Assistants in the business (those who give our books tags and labels). I have spent the last 12 years relying heavily on each on of these individuals. All I have to do is shoot an email, pick up the phone, or send a text and usually have multiple responses within moments. It's a great situation for any librarian to be in. My new district is set up much differently. There are five campuses (3 elementary, 1 middle, 1 high), and there are only three librarians -- one for each level; five Library Paraprofessionals for the elementaries and the high school (the high school is also the city library), and then I will be at the middle school. We also have a Director of Advanced Academics who is over the entire library system (along with a few other things). It's going to be quite a change for me.Not only having fewer people to rely on and ask questions of, but also having to process my own books and navigate my own library system.
Don't get me wrong, I love autonomy (and a good challenge), but there's going to be a huge learning curve for me to overcome in the beginning. The bonus is, the people I've met so far in the district are very helpful and I'm looking forward to working with them.
No expectations! I'll take it one-day-at-a-time and learn on-the-job! It's going to be GREAT! And I can't wait to get started!
That's not expecting too much, is it?
