Think about responsibility for resource selection. You may like to use one or more of the following questions to write some blog posts.
- Discuss how the teacher librarian’s expertise and role is different from that required by all teachers
ASLA describes a teacher librarian as “uniquely qualified” as their knowledge of curriculum is combined with library and information management skills ( ALSA 2011)
Teacher librarians can be seen as curriculum leaders where as most teacher are focusing in their individual KLA’s. Teacher librarians have cross curricular knowledge and can see the connection between KLA’s. Because of this, teacher librarians are required to work towards the vision of the school in a much broader sense then the traditional teachers.
A teacher librarian differs from a teacher is due to the management factors of a running a school library and advise the whole school on their information needs. Now, in a 21st century context, they are also required to be digital technology expert.
- Share ideas on how teacher librarians might effectively collaborate with the school community in the selection of resources in a school with which you are familiar.
In the Current context in which I work, collaboration and cross curricular activities have been focused on in the next three year plan. Included in this is a focus on the inquiry based learning process in which librarians are expert.
Unfortunately, the role of the teacher librarian is underutilized in my current workplace. I wont lie, I was warned of this from my predecessors. This is not an uncommon train of thought as many of the other librarians in my area lament the same feelings.
For example – today I witnessed a class being taught. A teacher had planned a research lesson, written on the board were instructions that asked students to choose a topic and – listed next to this point – was simply written ” Research chosen topic”
many times, myself and the other librarian have tried to collaborate with staff without much reciprocation. Since 1992, a growing body of research known as the school library impact studies has consistently shown positive correlations between high-quality library programs and student achievement (Gretes, 2013; Scholastic, 2016) but the uptake of collaboration at my school is minimal to none, so I struggle to be able to comment or reflect on effective collaboration.
Effective Collaboration requires a lot from a body of staff. It requires them to be open minded, to communicate, be organised, think long term and to be adaptable – if these are only being brought to the table by one party, collaboration simply cannot happen (Mosley 2020)
- Consider also how to engage your learners in selection of resources for their school library.Who should have the final say on what is included? Why?
Search and reflect
Locate a library curating on Scoop.it, Pinterest, LibGuides or another tool and write a short review of this curation channel and the content that has been curated.
Read (essential)
Jenkinson, D. (2002). Selection and censorship: It’s simple arithmetic. School libraries in Canada, 2(4), 22.
Consider his comments on self-censorship in Canadian school libraries. Do we face the same challenges?
Read (essential)
Moody, K. (2005). Covert censorship in libraries: A discussion paper. Australian Library Journal, 54(2), 138-147.
Lukenbill, W.B. (2007). Censorship: What do school library specialists really know? School Library Media Research, 10. http://www.ala.org/aasl/sites/ala.org.aasl/files/content/aaslpubsandjournals/slr/vol10/SLMR_Censorship_V10.pdf
School Library Research Journal. (2016). Controversial books survey
How does the discussion in these articles relate to your experience in school libraries?
Bibliography
Asla.org.au. 2021. What is a Teacher Librarian?. [online] Available at: <https://asla.org.au/what-is-a-teacher-librarian> [Accessed 4 March 2021]
Australian Institute for Teaching and School Leadership (2012), ‘Australian Professional Standards for Teachers’ sourced from http://www.teacherstandards.aitsl.edu.au/CareerStage/ProficientTeachers/Standards on 14 March 2014
Mosley, C., 2020. 6 crucial collaboration skills (and how to foster them). [Blog] Jostle, Available at: <https://blog.jostle.me/blog/6-collaboration-skills-and-how-to-foster-them
Scholastic. (2016). School libraries work! A compendium of research supporting the effectiveness of school libraries. www.scholastic.com/slw2016
Gretes, F. (2013, August 12). School library impact studies: A review of findings and guide to sources. Prepared for the Harry & Jeanette Weinberg Foundation.
