Why Librarians 'Need to Be More Like Lady Gaga' - NEVER thought that would be a title of one of my posts!!!

Why Librarians 'Need to Be More Like Lady Gaga'


"This is one of the most exciting times to be a teacher-librarian in our country and is also the scariest. A revolution is at hand, and we need to be nimble, daring, digital and shift both our practice and the way the world thinks of school librarians and libraries. Some revolutions compel you to throw everything out. This revolution is easy... keep what you love but just make a shift....

"Shift perception! We need to be more like Lady GaGa than Lady Bird Johnson. We need to establish a clear, pervasive, vibrant, and involved presence in their school, community, and on the web. The more visible librarians are the less likely that they’ll be taken away. Those teacher librarians who are hiding their brilliant programs under a bushel, that's when they're most likely to get cut. We need to stay positive, be proactive, and always be professional!"

--Gwyneth Anne Jones, a teacher-librarian in Laurel, Md., who writes the Daring Librarian blog. Jones's piece was featured in yesterday's Washington Post.

From Shelf Awareness, Friday, July 15, 2011, Volume 2, Issue 1509