Unit Plan Reflection

This assignment was a great learning experience for me since I have been removed from the school setting for a few years. I have to collaborate with my coworkers every day in my current sales job to make sure our customers are getting the best products and services. It reminded me that collaborating in the school setting allows us to give students our best when teaching.

I think Andrea and I worked really well together. I have more experience in a library and Andrea had more experience in a classroom, so I think we were both able to use our strengths to come up with a great unit. We based the unit on Andrea’s classroom in hopes that she can actually use this unit. This helped us during the creation of the unit as we had a tangible idea of the students’ needs and challenges. I also enjoyed incorporating technology into the unit where we could. Andrea’s situation seemed unique to me since she has access to so much technology but no school librarian or even paraprofessional staffing their library.

We worked together on a large portion of the unit development, and I’m not sure how realistic that would be when I am serving a whole school of teachers. Andrea was very willing to let me work with her in developing the essential questions, the assessments, and the outline of the lessons. I’m not sure if every teacher would be on board with such in-depth collaboration, but it was nice practice for me.

I think our only challenge was finding time to consistently work on the unit. We both had busy schedules and we found Microsoft Groove to be a very useful tool. This let us update files when we had time and we always had access to the most current version of the unit plan. We were also able to meet in person a few times which I think was much more efficient. I think I would encourage a face-to-face meeting with any of the school teachers I collaborate with in the future.

Week 9 Assessment Blog

If I have learned one thing about collaborating to create a unit, it is that both parties need to be flexible and willing to change or adapt the unit and lessons to better meet the needs of the students. For instance, Andrea and I decided that our students would create an infomercial on a Michigan product early on in the planning of our Michigan unit. As the unit evolved, we decided that we would like to have the students focus on goods produced or grown in their own neighborhood. This way they could reflect on how the good/product affects their life.

Since our school is located in downtown Detroit, we decided that it would be interesting to highlight the topic of urban gardening. This has been a growing trend in the city, and we thought it would be interesting for the student to learn how the urban farming movement began and how it impacts the community. Instead of having students create an informational advertising a Michigan product. We thought a commercial to the lunch ladies persuading them to use locally grown fruits and vegetables in their school lunches would be a more authentic assignment since it directly relates to their lives. This product would still be in video format so it can easily be shared with the stakeholders in the school community via the school website and even the local media outlets.

Week 9 Website Abstract - Evaluating School Library Media Programs

http://www.ala.org/ala/mgrps/divs/aasl/researchandstatistics/slcsurvey/slcsurvey.cfm

Michigan school librarians now have the SL21 document to help them survey their library programs. For even more feedback, school librarians can also participate in the ALA’s School Libraries Count program. This survey allows data to be collected and compared nationwide, which is helpful to see where improvements can be made nationwide. If you participate in this survey, you can also obtain a report of your school’s information and how you compare to other schools in your state and in the nation. An independent third party conducts the survey, and there is no cost to participate or to obtain the report with your school’s information. I think this would be a great tool for school librarian’s to use along with the SL21.

Week 8 Website Abstract

Authentic Assessment Toolbox

http://jfmueller.faculty.noctrl.edu/toolbox/index.htm

The Authentic Assessment Toolbox created by Jon Mueller, a Professor of Psychology at North Central College, is a great resource for teachers and educators looking to implement authentic assessment in their classes. The site explains what authentic assessment is and then provides instruction on how to create authentic tasks, rubrics, portfolios, and tests. Examples are also provided to give other educators an idea of how they can create authentic learning and assessment and apply it to their standards. The examples come from other educators who participated in Professor Jon Mueller’s classes. Professor Mueller also offers “workshops” that let you practice how to write a good standard, create an authentic task, and create a good rubric.

Week 8 - Assessment & Communicating Evidence of Student Learning

Reading Response #1

Harada, V., & Yoshina, J. (2005). Assessment in the Library Media Center. Assessing Learning: Librarians and Teachers as Partners (pp.10-18). Westport, CT: Libraries Unlimited.

“The critical point is that school library media specialists must seize the opportunity to show how our teaching reinforces and enhances classroom learning.”

Violet Harada and Joan Yoshina discuss assessment and what that looks like in the chapter, Assessment in the Library Media Center, located in their text Assessing Learning. They discuss the importance of teaching information literacy skills to students and integrating those skills into classroom lessons. They also talk about ways in which we can assess that the students are learning from the lessons taught in the library media center.

The authors list several tools that can be used to assess the students in the media center. They list rubrics, checklists, rating scales, graphic organizers, informal and formal conferences, logs, notes and letters, and portfolios as good options for assessing student learning. Harada and Yoshina also discuss how these tools can be used to assess by observation, through personal communication, and through the examination of student work. Their point in writing this is to point towards the fact that the school library media specialist needs to help students reach their greatest learning potential.

While I was reading this, I agreed that all of assessment tools and strategies would be great to use in the library media center; however, I am curious about the practicalities of these assessments. Flexible scheduling in the library seems to be fairly popular right now, and this means that the school librarian only sees the students when the teachers plan and arrange for them to come to the school library. I wonder how can the school librarian effectively assess through observation and personal communication when they may not see the students regularly. It seems to me that the school librarian might not be able to gather enough information to assess students if they only see them intermittently and without regularity.

Reading Response #2

Turner P. & Riedling, A.M. (2003). Assessment of Student Performance. Helping Teachers Teach (pp. 145-158). Westport, CT: Libraries Unlimited.

“Assessment must measure how well students have mastered the objectives; assessment must be reliable; assessment must allow students to demonstrate what they know rather than what they do not know; assessment must provide feedback to teachers on the effectiveness of instructional techniques, materials, and activities.”

Assessment is an integral part of instructional design. So what does the school librarian have to do with assessment? How do they make sure that students are provided with authentic opportunities to show what they’ve learned? Barbara Stripling tries to make the school librarians role in creating and conducting assessments clear in the chapter Assessment of Student Performance found in Helping Teachers Teach by Philip Turner and Ann Marlow Riedling.

At the very basic level, Stripling writes that the school librarian should advocate for authentic assessment to teachers in the building. They can build a collection of resources on authentic assessment for the teachers to use. Different articles and books on authentic assessment can be discussed at meetings and during planning periods. The school librarian can also be sure to make the media center available to classrooms and individual students when teachers are implementing authentic assessment.

At a more in depth level, the school librarian may actually collaborate with teachers to create authentic assessment. The school librarian may offer the needed supervision and instruction to watch different groups of students while the teacher actively assesses other groups. Because authentic assessment requires flexibility and access to a diverse selection of resources, the school librarian can help to be a guide for the teachers and the students.

At the highest level of involvement, Stripling talks about how the school librarian can become the resident expert on authentic assessment in the school and provide in-service instruction for teachers informing them on the benefits of authentic assessment and different ways to incorporate authentic assessment in the classroom. This requires much knowledge on the part of the school librarian. However, if the school librarian does not feel qualified to provide the instruction, they can still provide an in-service and arrange for guest speakers to come in and speak.

Week 7 Website Abstract - Assessment

http://www.nmsa.org/publications/webexclusive/assessment/tabid/1120/default.aspx

The National Middle School Association has a few good resources on assessment. They posted an article entitled Formative and Summative Assessments in the Classroom by Catherine Garrison & Michael Ehringhaus that does a good job of defining assessment and giving examples of what assessment looks like in a middle school classroom. Many of the assessment strategies discussed, including questioning strategies, observation strategies, and self and peer assessment strategies seem like they would transfer to the library very well. The association also broadcasts different podcasts, and I found that two of the podcasts are about formative assessment. I haven’t had a chance to listen to them yet, but they look very interesting!

Week 7 Mid Planning Blog

Andrea and I are continuing to develop our unit. We have the bones in place and are continuing to develop our ideas. I have found that it has been hard to divide up tasks in the creation of the unit. Together we decided on the subject, the grade level content expectations, and the information literacy standards to cover, and the essential questions. However, Andrea is working on the lesson overviews for each lesson, and I am working to find a diverse selection of materials to support the unit. One of the information literacy standards I would like to cover and work into the unit is 1.1.4, which requires students to find, evaluate, and select appropriate sources to answer questions. I am hoping to find all types of materials including books, periodicals, maps, websites, databases, etc. for the students to use in order to show them how different resources are appropriate for different tasks.

As far as evaluation, we have decided that the students will create a mini infomercial on a Michigan product/good. They will explain where the product is made or grown in the state, what resources are needed to make the product, and they will convince the audience why they should buy the Michigan based product. The students will have an opportunity for the infomercials to be taped so that they can be shared with the class. We will create a rubric together in order to assess the final product.

The most frustrating challenge in this project so far is working from a distance via chat and Microsoft Groove. Both Andrea and I feel that we would be much more efficient if planning was done face to face, and we have actually arranged to meet in person to finalize the details of our unit. Other than that, we have been working very well together and we are making good progress.

Week 6 - Curriculum Mapping

Reading Response #1

Everett, J. (2003). Curriculum Mapping and Collection Mapping: Otherwise Known as “The Camel with Two Humps”. In B. K. Stripling & S. Hughes-Hassell (Eds.) Curriculum Connections through the Library (pp. 119-137). Westport, Conn: Libraries Unlimited.

“Talk to teachers. Listen to students. Collaborate with grade levels and help write units and plan projects. Become an extension to each classroom. Avoid being a single spoke in the wheel – become the hub of resource-based learning.”

After reading and reflecting on the many roles of the school librarian, I think Jo Ann Everett sums up our role rather well in the above quote. In her chapter, Curriculum Mapping and Collection Mapping: Otherwise Known as “The Camel with Two Humps”, Everett talks about the importance of both curriculum mapping and collection mapping in every school. Both concepts seem kind of like common sense to me. Maybe it is because I have a rather type-A personality, but as I read through this chapter I wondered how school librarians handled their job before curriculum mapping and collection mapping came on the scene.

As a future school librarian, I look forward to organizing materials so they are easily accessible to students and teachers. Curriculum maps seem like a very practical way to organize and see when and where students will be taught different subjects. Since the school librarian manages all of the data and resources for the students, it only makes sense that the school library is also the hub for teachers when collaborating together to create these curriculum maps.

I have not worked in a school outside of my student teaching, but curriculum mapping seems to help turn the chaos of teaching and learning into a more organized chaos. Everett also talks about how useful a curriculum map is in creating collection maps. In her school, she was able to tailor her collection to specifically meet the needs of the curriculum. The curriculum and collection map gave her the confidence to weed a majority of the collection. She found that more volumes didn’t necessarily mean she was better supporting the students and teachers . She also brought out a good point that with budgets being cut in what seems like every educational system, a curriculum map and the collection guide really helped to focus purchases on what was needed. These two tools also helped to justify need when asking for money from the PTA, community, and when applying for grants.

After reading Everett’s chapter I have come to the conclusion that these two tools are such important and vital components to the school librarian, that without them it would be hard to do a good job.

Reading Response #2

Kallick, B. & Wilson, J.M. (2004). Curriculum Mapping and Software: Creating an Information System for a Learning Community. In H. H. Jacobs (Ed.), Getting results with curriculum mapping (pp. 83-96). Alexandria, VA: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development.

“In other words, communication is mediated electronically, and through that medium, mapping becomes a dynamic collaboration. Educators no longer need to wait until the next staff development session for an opportunity to observe and understand the contributions of their colleagues.”

After reading in Curriculum Connections through the Library, I was interested by the title of this chapter. In the first reading, school librarians talked about how to create curriculum and collection maps and they did not mention purchasing software to do so. In fact, there process seemed so logical, the idea of purchasing software to help with curriculum mapping seemed wasteful to me since it seemed to work just fine putting pen to paper. However, this chapter brought up some interesting points on why using technology to help with curriculum mapping is beneficial.

First of all, as stated in the quote above, using software to do curriculum mapping allows teachers and administrators to continuously work on and use the information from the curriculum maps. They do not need to wait until they can find time to meet and discuss with their peers. The map can be updated with comments after or even during a unit of study.

Second of all, having curriculum maps and data in electronic form allows teachers across the entire district to see what is being taught, when it is being taught, what assessments are used, etc. I see this being valuable especially in districts where several elementary schools flow into one large junior and senior high. The district wide curriculum map can make sure that all students are coming to junior and senior high with the same background and knowledge. I also think it would be helpful to share what is working well in a particular school with the other schools in the district.

Finally, curriculum mapping software allows educators to run reports and easily see gaps and overlaps in the curriculum that otherwise might not have been noticed or would have taken longer to notice. As the authors discussed, it is very convenient for teachers to be able to do keyword searches and queries in the maps to find data on their units taught by other teachers.

Overall, if a district is new to curriculum mapping, it might be a leap to start off using a curriculum mapping software. Software certainly isn’t required to reap the benefits of curriculum mapping; however, it does seem like it would make the job a lot easier and more effective. I have often been told in my work that it is better to work “smarter” than “harder”. After reading this chapter, I believe that curriculum mapping software is a great tool to help educators work smarter.

Week 6 Website Abstract - Curriculum Mapping

www.curriculummapping101.com

Janet Hale, a curriculum mapping consultant and trainer, authors Curriculum Mapping 101. While the website heavily promotes her two books and services, it also has a great resource section with downloadable handouts that can be used to aide in creating your own curriculum map. Her only stipulation is that her name and contact information remains on the reproduced copies. She also has sample maps available to help aid educators who are new to curriculum mapping. The Connections section of the website has a list of books, a list of media (DVDs and web tools), research, and commercial mapping systems. This seems like a great site for those looking to start creating their own curriculum maps.

Week 5 Website Abstract - Inquiry

http://virtualinquiry.com/index.html

Information Age Inquiry is a website with a host of information on inquiry learning. This would be helpful to a new teacher or school librarian who wants to incorporate inquiry learning in their lessons. The site does a good job of explaining inquiry learning and then also introduces several different models that can be used. I enjoyed the section entitled “Learning Lab”. This area gives several ideas on how to create a learning space that fosters guided inquiry. It highlights resources that can be used, tools that foster inquiry learning (i.e. laptops and digital cameras) and it also gives ideas on how to design the physical learning spaces.

Early Planning Blog

Andrea and I are working on a social studies unit on Michigan with an emphasis on economics. I will be taking the role of the school librarian and Andrea will be working as the classroom teacher. Andrea has been teaching third grade and is very familiar with the subject and I hope to be able to supplement her knowledge with some new resources and technologies that can be used to present the information.

Andrea and I have been using Microsoft Groove to plan our unit. However, we are not certain that Microsoft Groove would be accessible to a lot of classroom teachers and school librarians. We have decided that Google Docs would be a better tool to use in a real world setting since it is free and does not require software. I also like that Google Docs can be accessed from both a PC and a Mac.

As far as assessment, Andrea and I have not decided exactly what they will do. We want the students to create a product of some sort so they can demonstrate their knowledge in an original and creative way. We discussed the possibility of creating a poster and having the students create some sort of presentation, but we are still deciding on what would be the best assessment. We would like to take advantage of the classroom set of iPads available to Andrea, and we would like to use the ResponseWare Application for one form of assessment. This application would allow us to poll the students and get instant feedback that can be displayed to the class.

Andrea and I have been working well together. I think the only roadblock we have faced so far is finding time we are both available to work on the unit. We are both busy with work, classes, and our personal lives. This is probably a good challenge to face as time seems to be the number one hindrance in actual teacher/librarian collaboration.

Week 4 - Collaboration

Website Abstract – Programming Librarian

www.programminglibrarian.org

The Programming Librarian is meant to be a resource for all types of programming for the librarian, and is funded by the Institute of Museum and Library Services. The blog section of the site is written by several different bloggers. I chose to highlight this website this week because I found a handful of different blogs dealing with partnerships and collaboration. In our readings, we discuss the importance of collaborating with the teachers in our building. This site has a great blog regarding teacher/librarian collaboration, but it also has insightful blogs regarding collaboration with the public library and other organizations within the community. I plan on returning to this site for tips and ideas on how to have successful collaboration with the community around me.

Week 4 - Collaboration

Reading Response #1

Abilock, Debbie. (2002). Ten Attributes of Collaborative Leaders. Knowledge Quest, 31(2), 8-10.

“If you believe that teachers should learn what you know, then you should learn from them. If you believe that students should love to read, then you will read voraciously. If you believe that you are essential to student learning, then you will spend more time on teaching and curriculum development than on processing and shelving books.”

In the article, Ten Attributes of Collaborative Leaders, editor Debbie Abilock compiles a list of practices that are essential to being a collaborative leader. The quote above jumped off the page at me. As a library science student, I have gathered so many suggestions on how to do my job well. We are learning about the several roles we will be filling and the complex task of getting everything done, and it does seem overwhelming to me at times. I love this quote because it reminds me that we will be much more successful in the task of collaboration if we actually spend our time on our top priorities.

If someone asked me what is most important in my personal life, I would probably respond that my faith, my family, and my friends are most important to me. However, if someone actually took a look at my day they would see that most of my time is devoted to cleaning the house, cooking, and checking Facebook. It’s easy to lose your priorities and devote all of your time to the checklist of items you need to get done.

From the discussion board posts and readings, it seems like it is very easy for the library media specialist to forget what their priorities are and get busy with the day-to-day tasks of shelving, processing materials, and keeping order in the media center. If we remember that we need to be learning from teachers, teaching students, helping with curriculum design, and staying up to date with our reading we will have no problem becoming leaders in collaboration. When we spend our time working on what is important to us, I believe the rest of our job will fall into place.

Reading Response #2

Farwell, Sybil. (1998). Successful Models for Collaborative Planning. Knowledge Quest, 26(2), 24-30.

“Both the principal and the library media specialists were enthusiastic about the Library Power program and its potential to improve library service in the school, but they all considered the lack of planning time to be the major obstacle to the total success of the project."

Sybil Farwell, an elementary media specialist in the Miami-Dade County, highlights successful media specialists who have used collaborative planning to create interactive and memorable learning experiences for the students. As she discusses a program at another school she stated the two biggest challenges; lack of time and the conflict between grade level planning and individual teacher planning. I think the solution to these problems lies in the above quote where she highlighted that “both the principal and the library media specialists were enthusiastic about the Library Power program and its potential to improve library service in the school.” This school’s program was a great example of how important it is to have the principal on your side when trying to implement collaborative planning. Only the principal can encourage and carve out time for collaborative planning to take place.

In the school highlighted, the principal spent money from the school budget to pay for substitutes to come in and allow for a two-day grade level planning session in every marking period. The principal believed in the media specialist at this school and stated, “She [the library media specialist] is part of everything. Her input is constantly asked for. You know when you do webbing? She is the one in the middle.” Nancy Larsen talked about how important it is to advocate within your school building, and this article proves her point. I took a class from Dr. Larsen last spring, and she impressed on us that the library media specialist and the principal are in a unique position in the school because they are the only two people who see all of the students. Where teachers want their students to succeed, the library media specialist and the principal are working to make sure every single student in the school succeeds. By working together, the library media specialist and the principal can help to make this happen through collaborative planning.

Farwell highlighted some of the great projects that came out of collaborative planning in her article. She talked about a media center that housed a “cosmos” created by students complete with planets, meteors, and constellations. The students even recorded facts about space for other visitors to the media center so they could share what they learned. Another school library specialist helped to highlight the Hispanic culture in the school by celebrating Hispanic Heritage month. The media specialists and the teachers created a unit on biographies and the students read several different biographies and created a “Hispanic Hall of Fame”. Successful collaboration highlighted in this article are inspirational to me as a library media center. When I am facing the difficulties of collaboration in my media center, I will remember the potential I have to create an engaging learning experience for my students.

Week 3 Website Abstract - The Partnership for 21st Century Skills

http://www.p21.org/

The Partnership for 21^st Century Skills website is a great resource for school library media specialists and teachers alike. The organization has a mission to build collaboration between not only educators but also between businesses, community members, and government leaders in order to make sure children are receiving an education that will prepare them to be active and effective citizens.

The website has an online toolkit for educators to use as a resource. The toolkit includes the MILE Guide which gives educators tangible ways in which to incorporate the 21st Century and Information literacy skills in the classroom. A list of the states that use the P21 standards to create their education standards and assessments is available along with links to their state websites.

Overall, I think this is a great resource when trying to keep the 21^st Century Standards and Information Literacy in mind while collaborating with other educators.

Week 3 Pre-Planning Reflection

I am working with Andrea to create a unit on Michigan History with a focus on economics. I will be working as the library media specialist, and I am slightly hesitant in my role since I have not worked in a school library setting before. Furthermore, I did not witness any collaboration between the library media specialist and the teachers in the school where I did my teacher assisting and student teaching. My hope is that the unit plan we create will be effective and will truly provide students with a memorable learning experience.

After meeting with Andrea, I do feel better about my role. We are creating a unit that she will be able to use in her actual classroom, and I am excited to truly be collaborating on a project that will reach students and not just a “pretend or hypothetical classroom”. I think this will be excellent experience for me and will help me to understand what is needed for successful collaboration.

Through this unit I am hoping to utilize some of the technology available in Andrea’s media center. She has 8 Mac computers, a full computer lab, and a classroom set of iPad’s and iPod Touch’s that she says are rarely used and a wasted resource. It is my goal to find activities that will be relevant and meaningful to students while integrating the available technology as well.

Website Abstract - The Wired Librarian

http://wlteam.blogspot.com/

The wired librarian is an informative blog written by an elementary library media specialist. The majority of the author’s posts revolve around her views on technology and how it is used in the library. However, she also writes about the different roles of the Library Media Specialist and speaks to topics such as advocacy, literacy, collaboration, and the 21^st Century Standards. This blog would be a great tool for school library media specialists looking for ideas on how to use different technologies as well as understanding what the current issues and topics of debate are in the media centers across the nation. A light tone and a sense of humor from the author make this a pleasant and educational read.

Week 2 Reading Response – The Role of the School Librarian

Callison, D. and Preddy, L. (2006). Foundations of the Library Media Specialist’s Role. The blue book on information age inquiry, instruction, and literacy (pp. 135-150). Westport, Conn: Libraries Unlimited.

After working in a sales position outside of education for the past few years, I have come to realize that the sales skills I have acquired will be important to my role as a Library Media Specialist. Since the role of the Library Media Specialist is changing from a more passive role as a “resource manager” to a more active role as “teacher-librarian” it is important for the Library Media Specialist to convince their principal, teachers, and students that their services are not only beneficial but essential for student achievement.

Carol-Ann Haycock believes that those educating the Library Media Specialists should be advocating to future librarians on their potential impact. She writes that

What we are selling is potential; we must sell a vision of what could or what should be…Second, we must realize that people don’t usually buy or learn on the basis of their first exposure…we need to demonstrate, to the best of our ability the potential of the role we want others to understand and support (Callison 2006).

Unfortunately, many school librarians are not realizing the potential of their library media specialists. Many schools in the Grand Rapids area only staff their media center with part time aids due to budget and staffing constraints leaving the media center an under used and wasted educational tool and resource. In order for the remainder of the trained and certified Library Media Specialist’s to remain in their positions and run successful programs, they must advocate for their media center and work with the teachers and students to make the most out of their library program.

Not only do I need to learn and catch the vision of a successful Library Media Specialist (someone who collaborates with teachers and students and is willing to change and adapt the program to fit the needs of my users), but I also need to learn how to market and sell my services to my end users once I am holding a position in a school. Educators in the school of library and information science are not the only ones who should be selling this vision. Library Media Specialists need to follow Haycock’s reminders that we should be selling potential and vision and that we need to be patient. Change does not happen overnight and it is easy to get frustrated after failed attempts and slow beginnings. With perseverance and passion, my hope is that the school media center will begin to change for the better and more people in the community will see the media center as a vital part of the student’s educational success.

Achterman, Doug. (2006). Another School of Thought. School Library Journal, 52, (1), 41.

Doug Achterman, a doctoral student, makes the case that school library degree programs should be taught in schools of education instead of schools of library science. He reasons that “if school library degree programs were run out of schools of education, the focus would be where it belongs – on the learner” (Achterman 2006). He goes on to discuss that instead of learning how to organize and manage information, future school librarians need to learn how to work with teachers and use different teaching methods. He also believes that moving the degree program to the school of education would bring awareness to the school librarian and their programs.

While I believe that Achterman makes a good argument, I am not sure that I agree with him. In the state of Michigan, in order to be certified as a school library media specialist, you must already hold a valid teaching certificate. This means that any school library media specialist most likely already has teaching experience and understands how to work with other teachers and has used different teaching methods to teach students.

I seem to be a rarity in the school library certification program at Wayne State, as I have not taught in a classroom beyond my student teaching. While I can appreciate that our focus does need to be on the learner, the school librarian does also need to have a handle on the basics of library science so that they can manage their media center and know how to balance the many roles required in order to be successful.

Furthermore, upon completion of my degree in Library and Information Science, I will be certified to work in a school library but I will also be certified to work in public and private libraries as well. I find this valuable in the uncertain world we live in. While I would love to work as a school librarian, I would definitely take a position in a public or private library if no school library positions were available. Maybe this is not the right attitude to hold, but I would rather be practicing my craft somewhere instead of waiting for my dream job to come along.