Chicago—ALA Editions announces a new iteration of our popular eCourse, Being Indispensable: A School Librarian’s Guide to Proving Your Value and Keeping Your Job. Hilda K. Weisburg will serve as the instructor for a 6-week facilitated eCourse starting on July 10, 2017.

Estimated Hours of Learning: 30
Certificate of Completion available upon request.

School librarians are worried about their jobs, and with good reason. Budget cuts have taken many jobs, and those who have retained their jobs find their resources stretched thin. In this eCourse, respected authority Weisburg gives school librarians concrete strategies for demonstrating and proving their worth through clear, focused leadership.

Showing you how to focus and strengthen your programs and articulate those strategies in ways that build support for yourself and your library within your institution, she leaves no stone unturned. This eCourse teaches you how to lead; how to identify the people you need to influence; and how to influence them on paper, in person, and during meetings.

Learning outcomes

• Making the case for the vital role school librarians play in learning
• Identifying your mission/vision in order to focus your program and be able to prioritize efficiently
• Building a solid base of support among stakeholders who hold the power over your future
• Creating and preparing to carry out plans targeted to strengthen your programs

eCourse outline

Part 1: Positioning Yourself

• Qualities of a leader (your strengths and weaknesses)
• Mission and vision statements
• Core values and tag lines

Part 2: Reaching the Power Stakeholders

• Connecting with administrators (superintendent, principals, BOE, and the central office)
• Connecting with the community (parents, business owners, the public library, and others)

Part 3: Reaching Priority Stakeholders

• Connecting/cooperating/collaborating with teachers
• Becoming indispensable to students

Part 4: Keeping the Momentum Going

• Strategic planning (personal and program)
• Tag lines, elevator speeches
• Staying ahead of the curve (available resources and keeping abreast of educational trends)

About the Instructor

Hilda Weisburg “retired” after 31 years as a school librarian. Currently, she is on the ALA Committee on Professional Ethics, serving as its liason to the Intellectual Freedom Committee, and is on the AASL Publication Advisory Board. She gives numerous presentations and has written 13 books with Ruth Toor, including New on the Job: A School Librarian’s Guide to Success, Second Edition (2015), and has written a solo work for ALA Editions, The School Librarian’s Career Planner (2013). She has presented at ALA, AASL, and numerous state conferences. She received the AASL Distinguished Service Award in 2016.

Registration for this ALA Editions facilitated eCourse, which begins on July 10, 2017, can be purchased at the ALA Store. Participants in this course will need regular access to a computer with an internet connection for online message board participation, viewing online video, listening to streaming audio (MP3 files), and downloading and viewing PDF and PowerPoint files.

ALA Editions publishes resources used worldwide by tens of thousands of library and information professionals to improve programs, build on best practices, develop leadership, and for personal professional development. ALA authors and developers are leaders in their fields, and their content is published in a growing range of print and electronic formats. Contact ALA Editions at editionscoursehelp@ala.org.

ALA Store purchases fund advocacy, awareness, and accreditation programs for library professionals worldwide.