Where Do I Go From Here?

One of the questions I keep asking myself as I progress through the SLIS program is whether I am on a fool's errand, trying to earn a secondary credential as a Teacher Librarian in a state where education is where the first cuts are when there are budget shortfalls, and librarian positions are generally among the first to go. Checking edjoin.org (the clearinghouse for teaching jobs in California) does little to reassure me. But an article in the October, 2010 issue of the California Library Association's Clarion seems to hold out more hope.
Author Lesley Farmer points out that schools are still being built, and teacher librarian positions still exist - and, in fact, sometimes take as much as two years to fill. State code requires the inclusion of libraries in all new schools built, and, although a loophole allows schools to contract with public libraries to provide library services, public librarians generally have to coordinate with classroom teachers so that instruction is being provided by a qualified educator. Yearly admissions to library programs averages between twenty and thirty students per site per year, which matches the market needs. New state and federal mandates for instruction in Internet safety and digital competency will also increase the need for school librarians at the elementary level (middle schools and high schools currently are more likely to have certificated librarians on staff than are elementary schools, except in more affluent districts).
What appalls me, especially in the face of numerous studies showing direct correlation between the presence of a credentialed librarian on a school campus and significantly higher test scores, is that California is not one of the states that mandate having a credentialed librarian at all school sites. (Most of those states seem to be in the Midwest, although New York was moving in that direction and may have completed the transition at this point.) I hate the thought of having to leave California in order to pursue my chosen profession.
Farmer's article also includes an overview of how library school programs developed in California - it's interesting to note that I am enrolled in one of only four teacher-librarian programs currently approved by both the Western Association of Schools and Colleges and the California Commission on Teacher Credentialing. What I still don't entirely understand is the need for fieldwork to obtain what is still classed as a secondary credential - that is, one must have a basic credential (Multiple or Single Subject) before the TL credential will be issued. But I guess that's just another hoop I need to jump through.


References:
Farmer, L. (2010). California teacher librarians: what's in a name?. Clarion, 6(2), 12 - 14.