Reflections Of A First-Year Librarian

By Wenndy Pray, MLS, Librarian, B. L. Gray Jr. High School, Sharyland Independent School District

Nervousness. Anticipation. Trepidation. Excitement. A librarian’s first day on the job is a mixture of emotions. Librarians can think back to their first day and remember these feelings and many others. A year has passed, and for me, it was no different. Getting my feet wet in the library felt incredibly similar to my first days as a teacher. I didn’t know what to expect and held on to everything I learned in graduate school. I had mastered my studies but knew all too well that on-the-job training would take on a life of its own.

I was a first-year junior high librarian and a graduate student in Library Science. This combination afforded me the ability to put everything I learned into practice. I was at the feeder campus to the high school where I had been an English teacher for three years. I was surrounded by eager students, excellent teachers with an incredible reputation, and an administration that genuinely believed in my potential to revitalize the library program.

Everyone on campus was hungry for a change. I was filled with plans and aspirations and couldn’t wait to unleash my hopes and dreams. It was an incredible year. As I begin my second year in the profession, I can’t help to ascribe my first-year successes to fostering valuable relationships with faculty, tapping into the campus administration's vision, and the guidance of a knowledgeable, supportive librarian team.

I quickly learned that fostering relationships with faculty was just as important as managing the library collection. As a teacher, I knew the importance of collaborating with my teacher family. I not only partnered with teachers in my department, I also connected with teachers in other disciplines, including my librarian. I knew that collaborating with my librarian would enrich my classroom instruction, so I saw myself eager to co-teach in my new role. I started to connect with English Language Arts teachers. They visited the library religiously, and I wanted to offer my services in a more dynamic capacity. I knew these teachers incorporated reading as part of their instruction, and their time in the library gave me the opportunity to share other lessons in digital citizenship, research, poetry, and ethics. By connecting with them and sharing the library’s success with others on campus, I began to chisel away at the stigma that still plagues many library programs today. The library was not just a room with books, it was becoming a place where students could think, create, share, and grow. I also pressed to participate in campus professional development. I knew that even a fifteen-minute lesson on how to reserve technology would help promote other library resources in the future. My relationship with the English teachers helped foster collaborations with other departments and in other capacities. I will forever be grateful to the few who believed and supported my vision for the library. These relationships continue to strengthen and inspire today.

A librarian’s relationship with administration is just as vital. As a first-year librarian, I wanted to validate my principal’s decision in selecting me to be a part of her team. I wanted to prove that I was an asset to the campus. By tailoring the library to support curriculum and instruction, I aligned myself with my administration’s vision. Scheduling conflicts and other factors made it difficult to integrate to the administrative team. I wanted to meet and share about what was happening in the library. Educating administration on the ever-evolving role of the librarian and the library was important to me, but it was also a difficult task to take on as an outsider. Persistence was key, and although I knew not to be overbearing, I took advantage of every small opportunity to share a bit of the library’s new and improved vision. I also became Parental Involvement Liaison for my campus and connected with parents. My district librarian, and mentor, helped me to hone my communication skills in library advocacy. These were key factors to establishing credibility with administration and faculty.

With the support of my mentor, fellow district librarians, and college professors, I solidified my active role on campus and enjoyed a successful first year. I remember being filled with questions and doubts. The individuals that guided me made a profound impact on how I would see myself as a librarian. They taught me anything from best tips, how to navigate my library automation system, writing press releases, booking book fairs, preparing for author visits, conducting an end-of-the-year inventory, etc. Networking broadened my professional learning network and horizons. My mentor, Nicole Cruz, invited me to the Texas Association for School Library Administrators (TASLA) conference as intern when she was president elect, she exposed me to the TALL Texan social at TLA, and introduced me to many predominant movers and shakers in school librarianship. She advised on what is necessary to be a librarian that looks past obstacles and works toward a goal. She provided words of wisdom when situations weren’t always ideal, words I still remember today. Mrs. Cruz recognized that I have innate attributes that equip me to flourish in school librarianship early on; her ever-evident belief in my capacity has never wavered.

My team’s encouragement was palpable, and it revitalized me when I doubted myself or asked the dreaded, “Why did I sign up for this?” Having a strong network of knowledgeable individuals enriched and strengthened my foundations during my first year. These gave me the confidence I needed to soar this year and in years to come.