What I Wasn’t Taught in Library School: Library 911

I wish I had gone into my school librarian position knowing how to mend those popular and cheaply-made books!  Sure, I could build wikis, create student podcasts and collaborate to meet curriculum standards… but I didn’t know a thing about how to deal with loose pages, let along broken bindings.  In my current job, my first school library position, I replaced a librarian who had been there for decades.  Along with a fully-updated paper card catalogue, I inherited a mysterious drawer full of stitched, Army-green binding tape, that strange heavy-duty colored tape, and razor blades.  It wasn’t until the very end of my fist year that I attended a professional development training with a DEMCO rep who taught us to deal with cuts, tears, falling-out pages, and demolished spines.  By that time, my book hospital had taken over half a book case, and I’d scotch-taped my most popular “patients” in desperation to get them back out to kids.  It would have been smart for my MLIS program to offer a one-day class about mending for folks on the school library track, since so many of us deal with budgets that need to stretch and stretch!

Claire Scott
Librarian, Emerson Elementary
Berkeley Unified School District
Berkeley, CA