Changes

This year I have turned 50, I have won a teacher librarian position at a gorgeous little coastal school in NSW, and I have begun studying again for the first time in a very long time (see previous blog entries).

The one thing that has not really changed is my belief in and passion for being a teacher librarian in a primary school. My studies in this course have reinforced and strengthened what I already believed to be the role of an excellent teacher librarian.

I have always believed that the teacher librarians’ role is constantly evolving and changing to keep up with the increase and introduction of new technologies, taking library collections outside the walls of the library itself. Hazell, (2002). ‘The role extends beyond simply borrowing and returning books for students and staff in the school’

I believe that an excellent teacher librarian is responsible for improvements in student information skills but; Hazell, (1990) states, ‘that in the past, school libraries were seen as irrelevant to student learning’. Through active participation and reading postings on OZTL net, I feel that to some extent this is still true in today’s education system in particular high schools.

Also, I have always felt that my library lessons – (a major component of the RFF timetable) whilst are fun, (I give out’ borrowing beans’ to students who have no overdue books) and the students love being in the library they have little actual influence on improving student outcomes because the learning is done in isolation from the rest of the school community. This fact was reinforced through participation in this subject.

Improving on student outcomes should be the major focus of the teacher librarian and so I found the exploration of the (ASLA/ALIA) Standards of Professional Excellence for Teacher Librarians (2004), a very valuable part of my learning journey. It gave me, as a teacher librarian a benchmark to aim for and in doing so the confidence to promote my role in the school to my principal, colleagues and the wider school community. (Herring 2007; Haycock 2003; Foley & Hay 2009), ‘the library actually is seen as a vital and essential resource that, in fact, does impact on student learning experiences’. Over all of my years as a teacher librarian the most valuable teacher and student learning experiences have always stemmed from the many successful CPPT (Co-operative, programming, planning and teaching) programs that were run in the library. With principal and staff support CPPT works, and now that I have done this course and have read a lot of the discussions on collaboration and principal support, I can discuss it in academic terms King, (2010) states ‘The TL is a specialist in their area of information technology and literacy so can be passing this knowledge onto teachers through collaboration on units of work and pedagogical frameworks.’ I see this also applies to university course run forums.

Now I know that I see the role of a teacher librarian as a combination of’ information specialist’, ‘curriculum leader’ and ‘information service provider’ but not all principals do and as a result teacher librarians are used to teach RFF in the majority of cases. Principals play a big part in what a teacher librarian is able to achieve within the school. The principal’s view on having an information literate school community is critical to its success. Haycock, (1999) states that ‘If principals encourage joint planning, it won’t happen. If they insist, it will happen’.
ETL401 has been instrumental in defining but not changing my knowledge of the role of a teacher librarian. Although I have mainly discussed CPPT, and principal support in this blog entry, I have gained a deeper understanding and knowledge of all aspects of the role of the teacher librarian. Through completion of blog entries and participation (through reading mainly), in subject forums, I feel that I can now articulate and express my opinions on the role of the teacher librarian with more confidence. The modules were an excellent source of learning which I was able to utilize and incorporate into my assignments, hopefully, a little more successfully this time around. That in itself would be a very pleasing change.

References

Australian Library and Information Association (ALIA) & Australian School Library Association (ASLA). (2004). Standards of Professional Excellence for Teacher Librarians. Retrieved from: http://www.asla.org.au/policy/standards.htm

Foley, C. & Hay, L. (2007). Shaping Our Profession: Teacher Librarianship into the Future. SCAN, 26(3), 21-26.

Hazell, A. (1990). School library and information services in Australia. In M. Nimon & A. Hazell (Eds.), Promoting learning: Challenges in teacher librarianship (pp. 17-22). Adelaide: Ausilb Press.

Henri, J. (2005). Understanding the information literate school community. In J. Henri & M. Asselin (Eds.), The Information Literate School Community 2: Issues of Leadership (pp. 11-26). Wagga Wagga: Centre for Information Studies, Charles Sturt University.

Herring, J. (2007). Teacher Librarians and the School Library. In S. Ferguson (Ed.),Libraries in the Twenty-First Century: Charting New Directions in Information (pp. 27-42). Wagga Wagga: Centre for Information Studies, Charles Sturt University.

Swartz, G (2011). Changes. message posted at: http://www.blogger.com/post-edit.g?blogID=4133707511061037050&postID=8569794271874172299