Have you ever tried researching a paper on the Internet and hours later found yourself lost in a sea of sites that don't quite give you the information needed? Or maybe you get lots of information, but can't seem to narrow your topic. Stop! The place to go for help navigating the Net is your high school library/information center. If you're a student at Sweet Home High School in Amherst, New York, you'll find Librarian Carolyn Gierke ready to help weave your way through the World Wide Web. Gierke has been teaching kids how to do research since before there were computers to surf the Net with - when it meant flipping through card catalogs. Her office is in the Library/Information Center, but she's not usually sitting at her desk. "Get yourself a pair of running shoes. Not sturdy shoes, running shoes," she says. "The whole day is interruptions." In between selecting every book in the library, an ongoing process; she supervises a staff of two-and-a-half people (including a part-timer), works with most of the teachers and handles administrative duties. So, if you think that librarians get to sit and read all the time, think again. Although you have to love reading to be a school librarian, you really have to love working with people also. Gierke spends almost half of her time collaborating with teachers on lesson plans that combine learning facts and developing higher level thinking skills. "Years ago," she says, "[assignments] involved using the library to find statistics, such as changes in population, and making a chart." Her face lights up when she explains the current philosophy which "requires [more] research and thought." Of course, facts are important, but "there are always books and you can look them up," she says. Now there is more emphasis on considering the ramifications of events, such as 'How did the war of 1812 affect American Society?' Gierke feels it's the "right way to go if you want an educated population." The right way to go if you want to become a librarian is to start with an undergraduate degree in any discipline. Gierke graduated with a bachelor's in social work from SUNY Buffalo. During her practi-cum in this field, she realized it wasn't quite what she expected and went back to graduate school for the library program. Becoming a school librarian is one of four types you can choose from, including a public, academic and corporate librarian. In addition to the graduate library program, school librarians need 15 hours in education and a practicum (student teaching). Librarians are employable just about anywhere in the nation and salaries are generally comparable with teacher's pay. As certified teachers, librarians have an interesting challenge. "I don't have two or three days in a row that are the same," Gierke laughs. While classroom teachers have a specific schedule for the year with the same students, she works with many different groups. Gierke's lively conversation displays the enthusiasm she has for her work. "I constantly have this turnover and I'm also constantly working in different subject areas," she says. "It's such a neat job." While it may be rare for her to have large blocks of time to catalog books or work on a project, for the most part she thrives on the diversity. The irony is that part of what makes the job "neat" also makes it frustrating. "It's not [the kind of work] where you can finally say, aaaaah, everything is all finished," Gierke says. The work isn't the only thing that never ends. Gierke says she leaves each day having gained some new insight. "The most fun for me is, I never stop learning," she says.
