Being Indispensable: A School Librarian’s Guide to Proving Your Value and Keeping Your Job

School libraries face acute challenges and an uncertain future. Budget cuts have taken many jobs, organized political efforts are targeting staff members, and those who have retained their jobs find their resources stretched thin. In this eCourse, respected authority Hilda 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 as well as articulate those strategies in ways that build support for yourself and your library, Weisburg 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.

This event is offered as part of ALA Learning's Summer of School Library Learning.

After participating in this course, learners will:

• Be able to make the case for the vital role school librarians play in learning to stakeholders
• Identify and articulate their mission/vision in order to focus their library’s priorities
• Understand how to build a solid base of support among stakeholders who hold administrative and budgetary power
• Gain strategies for creating and preparing plans targeted to strengthen their programs

Hilda K. Weisburg was a school librarian for more than 30 years and is now an author, speaker, and adjunct instructor at William Paterson University and Montana State University. She coauthored (with Ruth Toor) more than a dozen books for school librarians, including Being Indispensable: A School Librarian’s Guide to Becoming an Invaluable Leader (2011) and New on the Job: A School Library Media Specialist’s Guide to Success (2014).

If you have questions or requests regarding accessibility, contact us at ce@ala.org or at 312-280-5100.