The Name Game: What Shall We Call Ourselves?. Guest Writer

In this article, the author describes her efforts to collect perspectives about the topic of most appropriate job title for school library administrators. The author presents the results of a pilot study (with 31 respondents) and a national study (with 213 respondents) conducted to answer two research questions: (1) "What do future school library administrators believe is an appropriate title for their position?"; and (2) "What reasons do future school library administrators give for why they chose a particular job title as most appropriate?" Study participants were individuals enrolled in school media programs throughout the U.S. The results of the two studies make it clear that the profession has not reached consensus about the most appropriate title for individuals responsible for managing a school library. In fact, the survey data suggest that more important than choosing a single most appropriate title is to understand and celebrate the fact that future school library administrators are as diverse as the collections they will one day manage. Because of this, the author thinks that no such thing actually exists (or ever will) as a "most appropriate" or universal name by which to call all school library administrators. (Contains 2 tables.)