Dorcas Hand / About

As a school librarian, I understand better with each passing month, how essential our role is to students.

Too often students accept the first two to three results,
of the 10 million or so that Google offers,
as the answer to their research.
And then wonder . . .   why can’t they find what they really need . . .

I got a thrill from teaching students the next levels of information literacy, and then from seeing their understanding shine through in the final project, I get deep satisfaction.

Now I am a retired librarian who loves to advocate for school libraries and all other libraries, as well as for our First Amendment rights to read, speak and write freely.

I was a campus librarian who loved to put just the right book in a student’s hands, and to hear back some detail they remember. Now I recommend  useful resources to support advocacy skills and intellectual freedom applications.

I was with faculty daily, to plan projects large and small, to teach the latest database, to support classroom topics and to listen to requests for materials. Now I spend time on my laptop, collaborating with librarians across the US in support of strong libraries everywhere. It is an uphill battle currently but we persist.

Professional Background

• Member of professional library associations since 1978, and still active to offer useful tools librarians at all levels can apply.
• 35 years as a librarian at elementary, middle and high school
• experience in a public library (Boston Public Library Central Young Adult Room)
• 25 years, since 1990 and current, at Annunciation Orthodox School (AOS), Houston TX I reinvented my own job description, the library program and the library space several times.
  

School librarianship is a profession that requires constant creativity
No two libraries will be the same, even upstairs and downstairs in the same school.
To make the most of each day, each staff person, each shelf or database. To offer the best possible total program in the benefit of the students, a librarian's role in leadership is intimately tied to creativity when researching and selecting programs that are fresh and innovative for a school's specific needs and demographics.

Networking with other librarians is essential.
• TLA/TASL and ALA/AASL as well as United for Libraries and the Office of Intellectual Freedom to be sure I am aware of the latest trends, and to contribute my own thoughts to the larger library community by speaking and holding office.
• Independent School Libraries: Perspectives on Excellence (Libraries Unlimited, 2010), a compilation of twenty-one essays by nineteen authors from independent schools across the country. Also participated with a group to write the NAIS Guidelines of Professional Practice for Librarians.
• HAISLN (Houston Area Independent School Network, a backbone of the Houston independent schools for 25 years now. The annual HAISLN Recommended Reading List is nationally known.

I am excited to continue to work with librarians from across the US on a variety of projects. Collaborating brings out our mutual strengths. I am passionate about strong school libraries in all their variety, and I look forward to working with you to find the best solutions to your challenges.