1 School Media Specialist Job Advertisement Trends and Their Implications The social and political climate of 21st

century America has created a competitive, fastpaced and dynamic world for its citizens. A detailed analysis of school media specialist job ad trends reflect these same qualities in libraries and in the roles of the school librarians. This analysis reveals that libraries are consistently supporting an innovative and rapidly advancing technological environment, and employers expect librarians to adapt and thrive in these conditions. As a result, the educational requirements, skills and duties of school media specialists are shifting to reflect societal change and to meet the trending expectations of employers. This paper explores job advertisement trends found in those major areas of consideration and their implications for school librarians. Job Requirements All of the job ads stress the importance of having graduate level education with either a MLS degree or certification in addition to having teaching credentials; this is the minimum background qualifications the majority of the employers would accept. There were very few entry level positions available. Many of the job ads insist upon experience along with the educational components. The type of experience the employers are looking for varies from classroom teaching experience to prior experience as a school media specialist. The ample positions requiring experience would make it tough for a recent graduate with little experience to find a job. Furthermore, employers are asking for more than just educational and experiencerelated prerequisites. Job ads are listing certain knowledge and competencies in their requirements section. IT knowledge and strong communication skills are some of the common core components that employers request. All of these prerequisites address the competitive and demanding nature of school librarian positions.

2 Skills, Competencies, and Knowledge School media specialist job ads place just as much emphasis on skills, competencies and knowledge as they do education and experience. The most prominent skills appearing in job ads are communication, collaboration, information technology, multitasking and leadership. Interestingly, skills and personality qualities appear in job ads with similar frequency, which indicates employers hold both types of attributes in equal esteem. Most often employers look for applicants who are creative, flexible, and excel at problem solving. The types of knowledge that employers value above others tends to vary, but current knowledge of trends in reading materials and educational technology seems to be the most essential. These skills, competencies and knowledge reflect the rapidly changing world of information. With the changing educational standards and emerging technologies affecting libraries, the demands and challenges of the job have grown. As a result, employers need their librarians to be proficient in this increasingly information-oriented environment. These attributes and abilities contribute to the effectiveness in which a school media specialist handles their duties and responsibilities. Duties and Responsibilities A school media specialists duties and responsibilities cover an expansive array of categories within the field. While each job ad focuses on certain duties that are more pertinent to their institution, they all emphasize tasks relating to management, collection, assessment, technical services, information technology and most importantly, instruction. Even the job titles indicate the prominence of instruction for a school media specialist; they label the job for school librarians as teacher librarians in some instances, which emphasizes the importance of their instructional role. The scope of the duties and responsibilities for these types of librarians are ample, revealing the diverse nature of the job. Ultimately, these trends expose a school

3 librarians information role because in the job ads, there is an emphasis on e-resources, library systems management, web site management, technical support, and the creation of web-based instructional material. Conclusion Overall, these trends suggest a blending of information science and traditional library principles. By analyzing these job advertisements, it is clear that the information role of school librarians is becoming a more prominent aspect of the job. On the other hand, there are still signs that the traditional role of librarians has a vital function in school libraries through the emphasis employers are placing on maintaining collections, obtaining print materials, and fostering learning. Ultimately, these trends reveal that this profession is in a flux of development and advancement, but that these opposing principles are finding a way to coexist and work together in harmony. Preparing for the School Media Specialists Job Market First and foremost, experience is essential to being a strong candidate for any library position since there are very few job openings that do not require some form of experience along with a degrees and certifications. Internships, fieldwork, assistant positions or any other form of work that allows me to obtain experience in the field will be crucial to landing my first librarian job. This experience will not only improve job skills and my resume tremendously, but will potentially provide me with networking opportunities, recommendations, or even a real job opening in that same location. Additionally, since all the job ads request a cover letter along with a resume, ensuring that my cover letter is exceptional and stands out amongst the dozens of other applications is another imperative factor for being a strong candidate for a school library position. Interviews are just as crucial as resumes and cover letters or maybe even more so.

4 Therefore, it is important to show the hiring staff that I can excel at the job during the interview. By providing them with examples of how I have implemented the required skills, competencies and abilities during my past library experience, I will solidify my position as a strong candidate.

5 References SLIS Jobs - http://slisjobs.wordpress.com/ EDJOIN - http://www.edjoin.org/index.aspx ALAs Job List - http://joblist.ala.org/ ALISJOBS listserv - http://si.usf.edu/communication/employment/