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One literature response method I have been looking at is literature circles. I have considered using this method in an integrated STEM unit that draws on the syllabus outcomes for Stage 4 Mandatory Technology, Mathematics and Science.

Literature circles require students to engage in critical thinking, and require communication, cooperation and collaboration between members of the same ‘circle’. STEM outcomes also require critical (as well as creative) thinking. The STEM project that I have been looking at also requires students to collaborate, and engage in communication and mutual cooperation on the project, just as is required by a literature circle. Using the literature circle to examine literary texts around STEM, science and innovation will expose students to relevant ideas and concepts, as well as employing the skills that students will need to discuss, communicate and innovate in developing their STEM project with other students.

Students will ultimately need to work in teams to develop their own innovative technology product that responds to an identified need. The literature circle is a concrete, tangible activity that will develop their communication and collaboration, enabling them to work effectively as a team on the project. Texts will be deliberately curated and selected to provide a starting point for ideas and spark their creative thinking for the project.

There are many ways for the TL to support classroom teachers in implementing literate practices across the curriculum. This may also take place in collaboration with Head Teachers or leaders in teaching and learning or professional development if such roles exist within the school.

Collaboration between TL and classroom teachers is one beneficial way that literate practices can be embedded in different KLAs. The TL, as well as other stakeholders, can also play a leadership role in providing professional learning to other teachers around literate practices. For example, providing staff with professional learning around programs such as Reading2Learn, or processes such as implementing literature circles. The main issue here is ensuring that time is set aside for teachers to access this, rather than it being another ‘on top of everything else’ tidbit that time-poor teachers need to squeeze in. An overall culture that recognizes the necessity of embedding literacy across the curriculum is most conducive to this. The TL and / or other learning leaders need the support of senior executive and other staff to prioritise this learning, and ensure that it is delivered in designated professional learning time that does not add further to teachers’ workloads.

If the TL has an active presence within the school, it will seem natural for them to collaborate with teachers or be team-teaching in some settings to assist with the embedding of literature and literate practices in diverse curriculum areas.

Children’s literature is dynamic, but continues to employ several key features that have withstood the test of time. One of the clearest indicators of successful children’s literature is that it is interesting and engaging for ‘child’ readers (birth to adolescence) (Tomlinson and Lynch-Brown, 2002), and is seen as relevant to the life worlds of these young readers (Barone, 2010). The exact specifics of what constitutes ‘children’s literature’ or makes a particularly exemplary example is subject to nuanced argument, with picture books, graphic novels, YA novels, middle readers, etc, all having different criteria, although they are all ultimately aimed at non-adult readers.

The steady growth in sales of board books aimed at infants and toddlers suggest that the future of children’s book sales continues to show recognition of the value of early, even pre-verbal, reading aloud by an adult. These books are providing one of the largest areas of growth in the wider book market, and would appear to be an important part of book sales in the future (Harvey, 2015; Short, 2018).

While much is made of digital tie-ins, e-books and multimedia literatures (Wolf, 2014), the tactile nature of board books, particularly those with specific tactile features like different textures, would strongly suggest that the future of hard copy books is quite assured for the foreseeable future. Sensory and tactile learning is as important to young readers as other learned skills such as literacy. Further, accessing all of the additional information provided by digital literacy often assumes an existing degree of print literacy in the reader. Print literacy is learned differently (and arguably, far more successfully) with printed books that do not have the additional stimuli and required skills of interactive digital texts. We can infer that books for young children, particularly those designed to be read aloud by an adult, or perhaps even to a group as a literary and social experience, will continue to be physical objects. Digital literatures will continue to proliferate as well, particularly for older or more confident child readers as they develop additional skills of text navigation.

Barone, D. M. (2011). Children’s literature in the classroom: Engaging lifelong readers. Guilford Press.

Harvey, E. (2015, December 8). Five trends affecting children’s literature. Book Business.

Short, K. (2018). What’s trending in children’s literature and why it matters. Language Arts, 95(5), 287-298.

Tomlinson, C. M.& Lynch-Brown, C.M. (2002). Essentials of Children’s Literature. 4th Ed. Pearson.

ETL503 Resourcing the Curriculum has been a very helpful subject in providing a more detailed understanding of precisely what occurs in the role of the teacher librarian. My current school experience has been as a classroom teacher, with the exact specifics of the teacher librarian role not particularly visible to me in the workplace. ETL503 has begun to provide me with a much more comprehensive understanding of the role of the school library collection and how a collection can be developed and managed effectively. The resources and discussion around policy, selection, acquisition, collection evaluation, budget requests, censorship and weeding have provided a strong practical foundation for developing and managing a library collection, and align with the responsibilities of the teacher librarian in my jurisdiction of New South Wales (NSW Department of Education, 2019).  

One of the recurrent themes I am starting to see across subjects in this degree, as well as a theme that has followed me throughout my teaching career, is the necessity of teaching students for their future, not our past (Schleicher, 2018). My instinctive, childhood vision of libraries as a home for hard copy books is not the reality going forth for educational institutions. While hard copy resources are still a necessary part of school library collections (Johnson, 2009) and respond to many students’ needs for something tangible to read and engage with (CopyrightAgency, 2017), digital resourcing is an increasingly important and growing part of the TL role, and one which I felt less equipped to do compared to the familiar practice of purchasing books. A well-developed library collection contains a broad range of resources in a variety of different formats (Stephens, 2014). While content is of prime importance, the format of the resource is also important for engaging the student, with different learners often requiring different formats for them to best access the learning (Collins & Doll, 2012; Libraries Tasmania, 2019). Resources in school libraries may include audio files, books (both fiction and non-fiction), CDs, archive material, pamphlets, periodicals, realia, comics, specialist computer software, DVDs, e-books, e-journals, games, posters, kits, charts, maps and globes, graphic organizers, newspapers, online databases, slides, textbooks and related materials, and websites, with digital resources and connectivity an increasingly major part of the modern library (Johnson, 2009).  

“There are many clear positives of utilizing digital resources for particular purposes, such as having up-to-date information and opportunities for interactivity” (Yap, 2019). Digital resources are increasingly necessary, and are able to provide more ‘up-to-the-minute’ information than printed resources. The purchase of digital resources raises many considerations for the teacher librarian that do not exist with ‘traditional’, print resources. Licensing agreements and copyright need to be considered by the teacher librarian, as well as compatibility between programs and software and the available devices within the school (Iannella, 2010; Johnson et al, 2012). The nature of digital licensing versus the outright purchase of a physical resource means that the teacher librarian must be aware of the legalities and terms of service around digital resources (ALIA, 2013; Mangiaracina, Russo & Tugnoli, 2015) and may need to factor ongoing costs into the library’s budget for annual subscriptions to databases and other e-resources, rather than making a one-off purchase (Smith, 2016). Curating and making digital resources available and seen by staff and students is another responsibility of the teacher librarian. The lack of a physical object to display, unlike books which can be seen on the shelves or presented in themed displays, means that purchased digital resources can go unused while students end up meandering through the mass of the worldwide web for information. Curating and making these resources highly visible for students and making sure that they are appropriately utilized is an increasing area for teacher librarians to consider (Smith, 2016).  

Resources need to be used to justify their purchase and make the most of what are often limiting budgets (Debowski, 2001). The collection development policy is an important strategic document for guiding decisions, and also providing transparency to the school community, including the decision-makers (often the principal) allocating the library’s budget. The collection development policy is an essential document for several reasons. It provides a written record of the library practice, that still exists should the current librarian leave. It holds library staff to account and leads decision-making to be consistent. It provides a clear statement about the goals of the library, the services it provides, and who the library’s users are. It can be used strategically to leverage greater funding when competing for budget funds against other areas of the school (Debowski, 2001). A policy that demonstrates how the collection and the activities of the library support the curriculum and enhance student learning is likely to see continued support of the library by the school executive (Meyer, 2012). A collection development policy document that clearly articulates the purposes and value of the collection can be helpful in securing budget funds, and embedded transparency about selection processes can give decision-makers confidence that funds allocated will be used appropriately and procure the best value for the school (Meyer, 2012). The collection development policy can also be critical for resolving complaints when a resource in the collection is challenged (Jacobson, 2016).    

The challenging of resources by parents, students and even other staff has emerged as a major potential obstacle for teacher librarians, with outright censorship a problem in some settings (Dawkins, 2018; Jensen, 2020). As discussed in the ETL503 forum, “having a clearly established policy helped greatly when a resource was challenged” (Yap, 2019). Having clear guidelines in the collection development policy can significantly reduce problems associated with complaints and challenges about specific resources, and provide professional protection for the teacher librarian (Jacobson, 2016). A clearly articulated policy may even deter some complainants from challenging a resource – in the Atlanta public school system, a written policy statement that complainants must have read the resource that they object to in full has lead to a very small number of complaints (Jacobson, 2016).  

The relatively free availability of digital resources on the Internet means that school libraries do have the potential to become sacrificed in school budget cost-cutting (Levenson, 2012). A robust collection development policy that clearly articulates goals and can be demonstrated to actively support the delivery of the curriculum is important to the longevity and continued support of the school library (Debowski, 2001). Clear policy that is supported by data serves as a ‘future-proofing’ of the library, and should take into account the changing information landscape. A policy that clearly notes the library’s role in providing twenty-first century information literacy skills to students and supports their learning in a technologically advanced society will assist greatly in the library continuing to be seen as relevant and invaluable to education institutions.  

References  

ALIA. (2013). eBooks and elending issues paper. Australian Library and Information Association Think Tank, 15 February 2013. 

Collins, K. B. & Doll, C. A. (2012). ‘Resource Provisions of a High School Library Collection’, School Library Research, 15, 1-32    

CopyrightAgency. (2017). ‘Most teens prefer print books’. https://www.copyright.com.au/2017/02/teens-prefer-print-books/, 28 Feb 2017, last accessed January 19, 2020 

Dawkins, A.M. (2018). ‘The decision by school librarians to self-censor: The impact of perceived administrative discomfort’, Teacher Librarian, 45(3),8-12 

Debowski, S. (2001). ‘Collection program funding management’. In K. Dillon, J. Henri & J.McGregor (Eds.). Providing more with less: collection management for school libraries (2nd ed.) (pp. 299-326). Wagga Wagga, NSW : Centre for Information Studies, Charles Sturt University. (e-reserve) 

Iannella, R. (2010). ‘Digital rights management technology’. In H. Bidgoli (Ed.) The Handbook of Technology Management. Vol. 3, pp.931-939. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons

Jacobson, L. (2016). Unnatural selection: More librarians are self-censoring. School Library Journal, 62(10),20-24                                                                                                                                                                     
Jensen, K. (2020). ‘New Proposed Legislation in Missouri To Censor Public Library Materials’,  BookRiot, https://bookriot.com/2020/01/15/new-proposed-legislation-in-mo-to-censor-public-library-materials/, last accessed 20 January, 2020 

Johnson, P. (2009). Fundamentals of collection development and management. ALA Editions: Chicago, http://web.b.ebscohost.com.ezproxy.csu.edu.au/ehost/ebookviewer/ebook?sid=5830af81-e52b-4165-804c-0a43cbd8162d%40pdc-v-sessmgr06&ppid=pp_103&vid=0&format=EB, last accessed 23 January, 2020 

Johnson, S., Evensen, O.G., Gelfand, J., Lammers, G., Sipe, L., & Zilper, N. (2012). Key issues for e-resource collection development: a guide for libraries, IFLA Acquisition and Collection Development Committee. 

Levenson, N. (2012). Smarter Budgets, Smarter Schools: How to Survive and Thrive in Tight Times, Cambridge: Harvard Education Press

Libraries Tasmania (2019). ‘Effective School Libraries’. https://www.libraries.tas.gov.au/school-library/Pages/effective.aspx, last accessed 23 January, 2020 

Mangiaracina, S., Russo, O., & Tugnoli, A. (2015). ‘To each his own: how to provide a library user with an article respecting licence agreements’, Interlending & Document Supply, 43(4), 199-206

Meyer, N. (2012). ‘Collection development and budgets: Methods to keep the curriculum center current’. In Kohrman, R (Ed.) Curriculum Materials Collections and Centers: Legacies from the Past, Visions of the Future, Chicago: ACRL   

NSW Department of Education (2019). Library policy – Schools, https://policies.education.nsw.gov.au/policy-library/policies/library-policy-schools, last accessed 18 January, 2020 

Smith, D. (2016). ‘Thriving in the digital age: Conquests, challenges, and thoughts on school libraries’, In Baker, D. & Evans, W (Eds.) Digital Information Strategies: From Applications and Content to Libraries and People, Cambridge: Chandos Publishing 

Stephens, W. (2014). ‘Checking out tomorrow’s school library collections’, Young Adult Library Services, Spring 2014, 18-20 

Yap, A. (2019). ‘Forum 2.2 – Pros and cons: Bundled sets and online access’, ETL503 discussion forum. Posted 30 November 2019 

Yap, A. (2019). ‘Forum 6.2 – Key takeaway from your readings on censorship’, ETL503 discussion forum. 10 January, 2020

There has been a lot of discussion in the past week about the issue of censorship in libraries. A great deal of information has been shared in the ETL503 discussion forum about the statistics around censorship and ways of managing these issues, including having processes written in to the collection development policy. However, policy and procedure may not be enough for librarians in Missouri soon – the below articles provide news of alarming new proposed legislation in Missouri that could see strict censorship becoming the norm – and unable to be overturned by the professionals who are best able to assess the validity of library resources.

New Proposed Legislation in Missouri To Censor Public Library Materials

https://thehill.com/homenews/news/478518-missouri-bill-proposes-parental-library-review-boards-that-could-land

I am just about to embark on a subject for the summer session – ETL503: Resourcing the Curriculum. Having to justify how the budget is used is one of the bigger, and more policed responsibilities of a teacher librarian, and other heads of department. Maximizing what funds are available to purchase relevant resources that will actually be used by teachers and students and enrich the curriculum is crucial to the role being performed successfully,  so I am looking forward to this seemingly very relevant subject. Although, an initial glance through the ethics of resourcing seems to indicate that I cannot spend school funds buying endless copies of my own book and thus directing royalties back to myself. Oh well. I’m sure Morris Gleitzman and Harper Lee’s estate need to pay the bills too.

Throughout this subject (ETL401 – Introduction to Teacher Librarianship) the readings and discussion have really solidified and confirmed a number of key ideas that have been observed throughout my classroom practice.

It is very evident through the strong focus on ICT, digital information and information literacy in this subject that education is now in a period of rapid change and schools, classrooms, teachers and the profession need to change to keep up with the changing demands of the world of work that our students will inhabit in the future. In an article by Demski (2012), Mark Edwards was quoted, “If we want our students to be able to find meaningful work and be contributing members of a global society, then we need to prepare them for their future, not our past” (Demski, 2012, p36). This has been a general theme throughout my teaching career as my colleagues and I try to develop pedagogies and practices that are significantly different to our own experiences of attending secondary school. This subject has really emphasized the crucial role that the teacher librarian plays across the school in assisting classroom teachers and students in the continued movement towards 21st century learning practices. In some quarters there is still the notion that teacher librarians preside over a collection of books, or perhaps are not even necessary at all, with an admin employee being able to oversee any book borrowing (Carmody, 2019). What the ETL401 subject has demonstrated is something that is increasingly clear across a wide body of research – teacher librarians have vital roles to play as information specialists across the school.

All of the evidence indicates that there are significant benefits to students’ information literacy when there is collaboration between teachers and the teacher librarian (Braten, Stromso & Britt, 2009; Francke, 2012; Goldman, 2012; McNee & Radmer, 2017; Montiell-Overall, 2008). Some of the benefits that a qualified teacher librarian who is an information specialist bring to schools include the ability to support staff across the school in building their students information literacy. In the secondary school setting particularly, where teachers are specialists in their respective subjects, many report feeling unsure or ill-prepared about how to embed information literacy in their classes (Goldman, 2012). The teacher librarian is able to support staff, and also establish common language across the school. Seeing common use of information skills across all of their subjects also helps students to value these skills and practices.

It is increasingly clear that students need to be explicitly taught the skills of information literacy, and the teacher librarian has a whole-school, cross-curricular role to play in ensuring that students are being taught these skills and that other staff are being supported in their delivery. It has been my own classroom experience, as well as that of my colleagues that despite being so-called ‘digital natives’, students need to be explicitly taught information literacy skills and how to use the Internet and digital resources effectively for learning. This is also being reflected in the research (Secker, 2011).

One thing that I have also noted in this subject, particularly in developing the information literacy plan for Assignment 3, is the compounding issue of students with low-level literacy skills trying to access digital literacy. Information literacy is dependent and necessarily builds upon traditional reading comprehension skills. However, navigating online sources requires expanding upon these skills which have traditionally been developed in primary schools, then furthered in secondary English or language arts classes. Basic reading comprehension strategies are necessary for determining the content and relevance of a text, and differentiating whether the text is based on facts or opinions. Students who have poor literacy and perform below grade-level will then have compounding problems in being able to develop the skills of information literacy. In developing the information literacy plan for Assignment 3, some use of scaffolding has been made, including the use of other specialist staff – LaSTs – to support students who need assistance to access the work. However, in practice, some of the content, which has been designed for Year 10 classes, would be extremely difficult for some particular students, as they would experience compounding, snowballing issues of not being able to fully comprehend and apply the skills of the information literacy model due to traditional literacy skills not being developed to grade level throughout their earlier years of schooling.

In a school where the teacher librarian’s specialist knowledge is appropriately utilized, both students and other classroom teachers will benefit significantly.

References

Bråten,I ; Strømsø, H. I ; Britt, M. A. (2008). ‘Trust matters: examining the role of source evaluation in students’ construction of meaning within and across multiple texts’, Reading Research Quarterly, Jan-March, 2009, Vol.44(1), 6(23)

Carmody, R. (2019). ‘School libraries hit by the loss of a dying breed as teacher librarians enter “survival mode”‘, ABC News. https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-09-15/research-reveals-alarming-loss-in-teacher-librarians-in-schools/11494022. 15th September 2019.

Demski, J. (2012). ‘This time it’s personal: true student-centered learning has a lot of support from education leaders, but it can’t really happen without all the right technology infrastructure to drive it. And the technology just may be ready to deliver on its promise’. T H E Journal (Technological Horizons In Education), Vol.39(1), p.32(5)

Francke, H ; Sundin, O. (2012). ‘Negotiating the role of sources: Educators’ conceptions of credibility in participatory media’, Library and Information Science Research, Vol.34(3), 169-175

Goldman, S. R. (2012). ‘Adolescent Literacy: Learning and Understanding Content’, The Future of Children, Vol.22(2), 89-116

McNee, D ; Radmer, E. (2017). ‘Librarians and Learning: The Impact of Collaboration’, English Leadership Quarterly, Vol.40(1), 6-9

Montiel-Overall, P. (2008). ‘Teacher and librarian collaboration: A qualitative study’, Library & Information Science Research, 30, 145-155.

Secker, J. (2011). ‘A New Curriculum for Information Literacy: Expert Consultation Report’, Arcadia Project, Cambridge University Library.