Public vs. School Libraries

After almost seven years with San Francisco Public Library, I switched to San Francisco Unified School District last December. I loved working at the public library -- in my time there, I had a chance to work as a teen librarian, adult reference librarian, children's librarian, and branch manager. Far from hushed, quiet, sterile places, the urban libraries where I worked were vibrant, often noisy, sometimes crazy, and always felt like community centers full of people with so many different needs. My colleagues there were incredibly patient and knowledgeable, whether they were helping with in-depth research or coaxing a homeless patron out of the restroom.

But I recently finish my teaching credential, then went back to library school for the 3 classes I needed for my Library Media credential. I'd had my MLIS for 10 years at that point, so it was interesting to go back. My classes this time were mostly online, with a few in-person meetings. I didn't miss the commute from San Francisco to San Jose, but did feel like I had less face-to-face interaction with my fellow students.

Anyway, I'm often asked lately whether I'm glad I made the change. I definitely am -- my students and colleagues are wonderful -- but there are pros and cons. I thought I'd make up a list for anyone considering switching, either from public to school or the other way around.

Pros
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* Access to students -- all 500+ are right here in the building with me, and when teachers bring them to the library, I have a captive audience! I love booktalking and now I get to do it all the time, instead of maybe twice a year.

* I am getting to know far more teens by name and reading interest than I did at the public library.

* I do readers' advisory in bulk; instead of a couple of questions a day about a good book to read, I get 30 in a class period. That means I really need to be on my toes (and have baskets full of funny books, scary books, etc.).

*A chance to teach library skills to entire classes in a formal setting, rather than one-on-one.

* More regular hours -- no more weekends and nights!

* 10 weeks of summer vacation (and winter break, spring break. . . ) . I love to travel and two weeks just isn't long enough for a "real" trip.

Cons
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*Funds for books, computers, etc. At least where I am, the budgets seem much tighter in the school district. The public library seems absolutely wealthy in comparison.

* Classroom management -- I kicked a few exceptionally rowdy teens out of the public library, once in a while, but maintaining order is more of a constant job in a school.

* More clerical tasks. My books are no longer processed centrally, and there are no pages to do the shelving (though I'm teaching students to help). I also end up doing a lot of cleaning.

* Lunch break? 15-minute break? What's that? Well, I try to take them, but there's always so much to do. . .

*More concerns about what's appropriate -- at the public library, I didn't worry too much about book content. It could always be moved to the adult section, if necessary.

* Pay. . .the schools pay a lot less than the public libraries, at least in San Francisco (though if I figure it out by the day or hour it's not so bad).

I'm sure there are many pros and cons I'm forgetting. I'd love to hear from others who have switched over from one to the other. What am I leaving out?

Urban Fiction

I presented at BAYA (Bay Area Young Adult Librarians) on May 22, on urban fiction for teens. It's so exciting to see a growing interest in and awareness of these books. They're controversial, true, with VERY mature content, but also an important way to reach reluctant readers. I'm also interested in which teen books we can suggest to the same audience -- as a middle school librarian, I'm not buying adult urban fiction, but I can get books by African-American and Latino authors with urban themes, if less graphic sex and language.

Since I was revisiting the topic, I added to my street lit page and to the Library Success Wiki's urban fiction area. I revised my PowerPoint presentation and added teen books. I also made a list of urban fiction with Latino characters -- if you have suggestions for that list, which is fairly short, please send them my way. Also take a look at my list of recent (2007) urban fiction bestsellers and my handout for the presentation.

I will be presenting on urban fiction at the California School Library Association conference in November, in Ontario, California, and am looking forward to sharing what I've learned on this topic with other school librarians. At the same conference, I will also present on library Web sites for teens.