When I introduce myself as a library media specialist or school librarian to someone new, I inevitably get the 'how lucky you are to have the summer off' line. Those of us who choose to work in education are tired of it I know. It makes us appear not to work as hard as those who have standard 3 - 5 weeks (or less) of vacation time. Lately though, I have been wondering, if am I really ever "off?" True, I am not physically in the same spot that I am from September to June. I am not with students and I am not with my physical library collection. I am, however, still in the work/service mode.
I have had meetings, formal and informal, with my colleagues. I have attending workshops and webinars. I have sent links to colleagues that I thought might be useful for their curriculum planning and I have answered student inquiries on my summer reading blog
I cannot stop from looking for materials on line and in print that will help my colleagues, intrigue my students or add value to my collection and my position as a resource provider. Last night as I watched Tom Brokow sum up in one hour Great Britain's war with Hitler before the US entered WWII I quickly made a mental note to look for the clip on line and add it to my WWII resources. It is the nature of the profession or the nature of the professional?
