My Changing Schedule

Since I became a librarian in 2023, I have had a couple of different schedules. I started with a flexible schedule, but for this school year, I’ve been on a fixed schedule. I was able to see what it was like last school year for the last few weeks of the year and I’m pretty sure I like fixed better.

Fixed and flexible schedules both have their advantages. In this case, flexible is defined as classes that are scheduled by the librarian where the teacher also remains to assist with the class and discipline. Fixed schedules mean that the library is on a specials’ rotation. My district is pushing for flexible schedules with open library, but sometimes it doesn’t work out that way.

First Year

I went into my library job with a lot of good intentions. My first year I was on a flexible schedule where I saw each grade level on one day of the week. I worked on a two week schedule which allowed them to have a week between their classes. The idea was that they could visit the library when they had free time to exchange their books.

This was great for me because it gave me a lot of time to work in the library and get things organized that hadn’t been touched in years. My teachers were both helpful and non-helpful, but having another adult in the room was also useful. Many of them sat in the back of the library at the teacher desk and worked on lesson plans or grading. While I didn’t mind that most of the time, there were times that I could have used another set of hands. In addition, if the class was behind, not behaving, or other issues, the teacher would often just not show up for library class. Sometimes they did notify me, but many times they just didn’t arrive. In addition, many of them couldn’t remember when their library classes were, especially the younger grades where the teachers only attended one time.

Open library was a failure (and has been every year I’ve been a librarian) because the students have struggles getting between buildings and frequently do not have free time in class. This means that they do not take advantage of either being able to exchange their books earlier or the Makerspace I attempted to start.

Second Year

Once again, I began this year on a flexible schedule. This year I readjusted my schedule slightly from the year before so that I could host science and social studies classes every other week. I wanted to do more indepth lessons with my third, fourth, and fifth graders where they came for escape rooms and other experiences. For most of the year, this worked well. I was able to have classes and teachers who didn’t normally have library time. And I had a lot of fun with my students. (My fifth grade science/social studies teacher said that in twenty years of teaching, she’d never been to the library for a class. She loved that I was inviting her to bring her classes.)

With just one quarter left in the year, we had a paraprofessional move from running one of our specials’ classes to doing her student teaching under one of our teachers. This was my first experience with being on the specials’ schedule. It was an adjustment as I went from having the same grade on the same day to rotating between grade levels on the same day. And it wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be.

I enjoyed having the different levels. Because my schedule was still every other week (switching off weeks with our school counselor) I still had time between classes to reset my library and readjust my thinking to the new class.

At the end of the year, I talked with my counselor and we proposed that I take her place on the special schedule, with her stepping in to teach classes once a month. Although that meant I would spend less time on library lessons, it would free her up a bit.

Third Year

Unfortunately, due to scheduling, our proposal wasn’t accepted. Instead, we still have the specials’ schedule that we had at the end of the year. The counselor and I alternate which weeks we see the students with us on alternate schedules.

I actually like the set schedule of specials because of how small our school is. I rarely have more than three classes a day, which (as long as I am not pulled into other activities) leaves me plenty of time to complete library tasks. I don’t have the worry that teachers are going to cancel class because it doesn’t fit into their schedule that day and I know I will have continuity with the students.

I’ve started planning a three year cycle of library lessons. Although this might change slightly as I move forward, it allows me to have the lessons ready and I am not writing lessons each year. Being on the specials’ schedule means that I will see most (if not all) of the students twice a month and allow me to have a set schedule.

Who knows what my fourth year will bring, but I hope I will continue to be on the specials’ schedule and build relationships with my scholars and teachers.