You're trading one stressful job for another. Lack of respect
from administrators and faculty/staff is highest on the list.
The perception is that you don't do anything. As a result, you
can never do enough to prove you are working to fulfill every
library/media need of every person in the system. Because they
don't understand what we do, they always have unrealistic
expectations.
In HS, you would teach 5-6 customized lessons every day -
lessons tuned to the exact topic, in the exact subject area,
that are tweeked to reflect the needs of the teacher, and
students of a particular level. Each lesson requires a
conference with the teacher, hours of prep time to include
technology ,hands on practice ,a specialized lesson plan, a
rubric to establish guidelines & provide feedback for these
particular students, then follow-up evaluation with the
teacher. On top of these lessons, add freshmen orientation
classes and continuing information literacy classes. Teachers
will ask for research for their lesson plans, also for lesson
plans on a variety of topics in their subject area (even though
you're not teaching the lesson). On top of that, you need to
run the Media Center and supervise the students who come during
their study periods, before and after school, and during lunch
periods - even though they come to socialize and play games
rather than study or research. The more computers you have, the
more the responsibility for what students are accessing online.
Also, endless shelving, cataloging, weeding, repairing and
ordering of books. I almost forgot to mention the faculty
meetings, team meetings, grade level meetings, subject area
meetings, and individual teacher meetings to keep yourself
apprised of what is going on and to keep everyone up to date
with what you're doing and what new services you can offer
them. One teacher told me I could levitate during my lessons
and that no one would even be impressed! Take a look at the
library media and technology guidelines from your state board of
education. This is your job description and curriculum
requirements. It's massive.

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