ALA Editions eCourse: School librarian’s guide to proving your value and keeping your job

CHICAGO — ALA Editions announces a new iteration of its popular eCourse, Being Indispensable: A School Librarian’s Guide to Proving Your Value and Keeping Your Job. Hilda K. Weisburg will serve as the instructor for this six-week facilitated eCourse starting on June 1, 2015.

School librarians are worried about their jobs, and with good reason. Budget cuts have taken many jobs, and those who have retained their jobs find their resources stretched thin. In this eCourse, respected authority Weisburg will give school librarians concrete strategies for demonstrating and proving their worth through clear, focused leadership.

Showing you how to focus and strengthen your programs, and articulate those strategies in ways that build support for yourself and your library within your institution, she will leave no stone unturned. You will learn how to lead; how to identify the people you need to influence; and how to influence them on paper, in person and during meetings.

After completing this eCourse, participants will be able to:

• making the case for the vital role school librarians play in learning;
• identifying your mission/vision in order to focus your program and be able to prioritize efficiently;
• building a solid base of support among stakeholders who hold the power over your future;
• creating and preparing to carry out plans targeted to strengthen your programs.

eCourse outline

Part 1: Positioning Yourself

• Qualities of a leader (your strengths and weaknesses)
• Mission and vision statements
• Core values and tag lines

Part 2: Reaching the Power Stakeholders

• Connecting with administrators (superintendent, principals, BOE, and the central office)
• Connecting with the community (parents, business owners, the public library, and others)

Part 3: Reaching Priority Stakeholders

• Connecting/cooperating/collaborating with teachers
• Becoming indispensable to students

Part 4: Keeping the Momentum Going

• Strategic planning (personal and program)
• Tag lines, elevator speeches
• Staying ahead of the curve (available resources and keeping abreast of educational trends)

About the Instructor

Hilda K. Weisburg “retired” after 31 years as a school librarian. Currently, she is the chair of AASL Advocacy Committee and is on the ALA Committee on Literacy. She gives numerous presentations in New Jersey and at state library association conferences. She has written 13 books with Ruth Toor, including "New on the Job: A School Librarian's Guide to Success, Second Edition" (2015), and she has written a solo work for ALA Editions, "The School Librarian’s Career Planner" (2013). She has presented at ALA, AASL and numerous state conferences.  Contact her at hildakw@gmail.com or  @hildakw on Twitter.

Registration for this ALA Editions facilitated eCourse, which begins on June 1, 2015, can be purchased at the ALA Store. Participants in this course will need regular access to a computer with an internet connection for online message board participation, viewing online video, listening to streaming audio (MP3 files), and downloading and viewing PDF and PowerPoint files.

ALA Editions publishes resources used worldwide by tens of thousands of library and information professionals to improve programs, build on best practices, develop leadership, and for personal professional development. ALA authors and developers are leaders in their fields, and their content is published in a growing range of print and electronic formats. Contact ALA Editions at (800) 545-2433 ext. 3244 or editionscoursehelp@ala.org.

ALA Store purchases fund advocacy, awareness, and accreditation programs for library professionals worldwide.