Barbara Stripling, ALA’s incoming president-elect (teasingly referred to as the “President Elect-Elect” until ALA President-Elect Maureen Sullivan’s Inaugural Banquet on Tuesday) took time to talk with American Libraries at ALA Annual Conference in Anaheim today.
Stripling’s background includes 20 years as a classroom teacher and school librarian, as well as director of school library services for the New York City School system. She’s currently assistant professor of practice in Syracuse (N.Y.) University’s School of Information Studies. She talked about some of the difficulties facing school librarians.
“I have worked in very challenging situations,” Stripling said. “But I’m a very positive person. People call me a lemonade maker. What carries me through these challenging times is a solid focus on my vision.” As a school librarian, she said, she would tell herself that she was going to make a difference to every student she worked with. Keeping an eye on that priority helped her forget about daily hassles.
Stripling’s suggestions to help get through the struggling days:
“It’s important to think about your own skills in a flexible way. What skills can you build into a wider set so they can be applied in another way?”
“Be willing to step up, to take risks. You don’t have to be in charge to do this.”
“Let the community understand you’re there for them, and community can mean your school, your neighborhood, your academic institution.”
And, Stripling noted, “They have to know that ALA has their back. We’re willing to knock ourselves out to get through these tough times.”
Watch the 7:33 video of the interview on YouTube.
