A high school librarian is someone who can perform multiple tasks within a library for the betterment of the libraries patrons. A librarian should be able to analyze a person’s requests and determine the type of help that will be needed, searching standard materials that will help visitors with their questions, and they should also be able to help with basic computer skills. Librarians should also teach classes on information literacy, library instruction, and the use of technology.
Other tasks for a librarian are locating information for specific responses, reviewing and evaluating material, explaining the use of the facilities resources, planning and delivering programs and resources for the students such as, newsletters for the students or even programs for clubs or specialty groups, responding to and taking action on complaints; paying attention to a child’s needs are very important, and developing the policies and procedures for the library such as, when books are due or how to behave when in the library. Librarians should also have certain specific types of knowledge.The types of knowledge librarians should have are a good knowledge of the English language, customer service, computers and electronics, education and training, knowledge of clerical procedures, administration and management, and communications and management. Just as librarians need certain basic knowledge to handle their jobs correctly they also need specific skills.
Some such skills would be reading comprehension, active listening, active learning, and basic skills for instructing others, learning strategies, speaking to others, critical thinking, service orientation, writing, and monitoring others.A librarian’s ability to do their job is similar to their skills, but it is also slightly different. Abilities are also necessary in order for any librarian to do their job skillfully. Some abilities of a librarian are oral comprehension, written comprehension, oral expression, written expression, information ordering (arranging things or actions in a specific order or pattern), near vision (seeing details at a close range), speech clarity, speech recognition, category flexibility, and inductive reasoning.Working with children is not always easy, so high school librarians need to also have a good sense of patience about their selves to handle their jobs accordingly. The advantages of having a librarian work in a team environment would be the ability to have many eyes keeping an eye on what students are doing, having someone always available to answer questions or help with referencing, and helping with extra programs within the library.
It is tough when there is only one person to work in an area with a lot of students at one time. There are also disadvantages to having a librarians work done in a team environment. For one thing most public schools do not have the funding to have more than one librarian or even a librarian and an aide. Then there is the fact that there might not always be enough work for more than one person, this would mean that employees will just be getting in the way of others.
