Of course it's that time of year. We're all re-girding our loins to make the second semester of the 19-20 school year our best yet. We're revitalized. We're...
overwhelmed?
lost?
maybe perfectly on track?
Each school librarian is having a different experience.

I'm all of the above. After my awesome library aide left to pursue other career opportunities (she is doing great, by the way!), my services cut way back. I had to do her job and mine. Plus, there were some services we were only able to offer because she is bilingual. So I started break feeling like a library loser.

​I ordered this book and waited for it to come in during the holiday hullabaloo. "School Librarian's Career Planner" didn't fix everything. About half of the book was aimed towards points in my career I had already passed, so I only glanced at them. This would be an amazing read for someone considering library as a career or still attending library school. I got something really great out of it though. Five fresh ideas to suite my new role! (I'll let you know how they pan out in future posts.) I also got confirmation of what I was working out in my brain already: it's time to prioritize instead of whining, complaining, and pushing for another aide. It's time to look at what I can do all by myself again, not berate myself for what the dreams WERE vs. where the library is right now, and really decide what is worth my energy. I'm realizing my energy is finite - at least right now - and I need to be honest with myself and my program about what is the most important. It all matters. It's not all the best thing for right this second.

So no matter where you are in your career, this is a nice read. It isn't a fix-it book. It's not packed with lists of ideas. I purchased my copy used from Amazon for only $14, and it's likely I'll only read it this once. I plan on giving my copy to the library program I graduated from to see if they can pass it off to an interested student.

I don't know Dave, the man who said the text above, but I feel him. I know my colleagues feel him as well. 

My knowledge of the five love languages is pretty normal. I read the original book for marriages plus the one for teens. I think the main challenge in the workplace one is isolation. It takes a lot to figure out your co-workers' love languages unless your whole workplace does the inventory and shares the results (which, honestly, my personality prefers BIG TIME). The authors do give you signs to start working out the love language of those around you, but I don't know. I prefer it directly from them. 

While I found some nuggets that were worth the read, I didn't really LEARN all that much from this book. I loved the initial chapters where all of the data was. (Surprise!) Once speculation began, I didn't feel it was as valuable. I liked a few of the examples - even highlighted 2 of them to share with a specific co-worker. Framing compliments as "One of the things I admire about you is...", "I wish I were more... (like them)", and being detailed and specific were all great pieces of advice. 

I would recommend this to any supervisor of any kind in any field. Appreciation only means so much coming from a coworker. It tends to mean more the higher up the ladder that it comes from. However, if you're like me and searching for ways to show your colleagues that you appreciate them, it's worth a flip through - even if you have to resist the urge to make all of them take the inventory so you just know their language.