Month: May 2023

ETL512 Assessment 2: Post 3 – Study Visit Reflection

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Finally, write a 300-word reflection on the overall study visit experience and how it has contributed to your journey as an information professional

The ETL512 Study Visits to West Moreton Anglican College (WMAC), Lake Tuggeranong College (LTC), State Library Victoria’s Rare Book Collection (SLV), and Bundaberg Regional Libraries (BRL) have opened my eyes to the variety of work available to information professionals and revealed that the skills developed in one setting are transferable to a myriad of others. 

My virtual visits to WMAC and LTC were incredibly relevant to my chosen pathway as a high school teacher-librarian. They inspired me with wonderful ideas to incorporate into my future practice by connecting our work developing reading for pleasure and information with our promotions and role advocacy. WMAC’s idea of getting students and staff involved in the CBCA Shadow Judging by linking nominated texts to different KLAs was something I hadn’t previously encountered, and is a wonderful way of linking the library’s work with faculty curricula to promote literary learning. LTC’s staff provided several excellent ideas to build a reading culture by forming strong relationships with students and staff. All staff in each virtual visit emphasised the importance of knowing our users and building strong relationships, and it was inspiring to see practical suggestions for successful implementation which could help me build my library’s profile and promote the value of my resources and services to students, staff, and parents.

The SLV visit was to a setting I hadn’t previously considered, but Wee’s work in collection and exhibition curation sounds quite interesting as a possible future pathway if I decide to leave the education sector. His point about the usefulness of pedagogical knowledge in his library was heartening, as was his point regarding the transfer of skills to different positions. I’m now inspired to experiment with object and digital exhibitions in my own library. 

My visit to BRL paired beautifully with my upcoming workplace learning at a local council library and cemented this as a possible future pathway if I leave education. I was inspired by Harris’ emphasis on integrating new technologies into his programs and his passion for ensuring accessibility, diversity, and inclusivity for all users; as a result, I plan to create my own Gamers’ Club and investigate Virtual Reality for my library programs. This visit highlighted the value of creating strong partnerships between local and school libraries, and in future I aim to work closely with our local library network to ensure maximum benefits for my learning community.

ETL512 Assessment 2: Post 2 – Challenges, Advice, and Pathways to Becoming an Information Professional

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Establishing a career in the information sector can often involve taking a variety of pathways. Discuss the examples, pitfalls, barriers and advice provided by agency hosts on their career journey to becoming information professionals. Provide one professional development action you are going to take as a result of the study visits to support your career. Include a short discussion about why and how you will take this action and include examples of possible opportunities for this PD. (500 words)

The hosts at State Library Victoria’s Rare Book Collection (SLV), Lake Tuggeranong College (LTC) and Bundaberg Regional Libraries (BRL) provided valuable points about the challenges and possible pathways into a career in the information sector. 

One key challenge identified by SLV relates to staffing and budgets, threats to libraries worldwide (Morris, 2022; Softlink, 2022, p.6-7; Woodcock, 2023). Wee noted that increasing demand for their services  was not matched by financial or staffing support, and positions were increasingly filled by people without information sciences backgrounds. BRL revealed they’d had programs cut by Council. LTC also recognised hopelessness, exhaustion and feeling unappreciated as significant challenges, echoing research outlining the negative impacts of poor leadership on staff wellbeing (Cross, 2015,p.10, 13; International Literacy Association, 2022, p.5). This devaluation of expertise is replicated in my experience, where only 1/7 local schools has a substantive, full-time, trained teacher-librarian, and our library budget hasn’t increased since 2001. Staff at SLV and LTC recognised that time management and prioritising competing demands was another challenge, with Godfree and Korodaj advising prospective teacher-librarians to view our work as a “marathon, not a sprint”. 

Wee advised that good traits for staff include: love of learning; emotional intelligence; and strong interpersonal skills to deal with the public-facing aspect of the role.  LTC advised that key characteristics of effective teacher-librarians include: persistence; gentleness; emotional intelligence; being pushy in an appealing way; cheerfulness and warmth; maintaining calm under pressure; lateral thinking; authenticity; and knowing when to say no to avoid overstretching yourself. Wee noted that all core skills were transferable to different information settings and clearly there is significant cross-over in desirable personality traits for both settings.

Volunteering was one piece of advice given by both SLV and BRL. Wee and Harris both stated that volunteering allows prospective information professionals to network and develop visibility, improve their skills, and show enthusiasm. All three hosts emphasised the importance of advocacy and promotions in their work. BRL emphasised that providing relevant programs to meet user needs is crucial to their advocacy efforts, while both SLV and LTC affirmed that constant promotions were necessary to ensure that their relevant resources connected with users in a timely, effective manner. 

As a result of these hosts’ emphasis on the importance of advocacy and promotions, I will create a school library strategic plan. This will help me to advocate for my role in a professional manner (Markless et al., 2016, p.87) and implement positive change over 5 years, heeding the ‘marathon’ advice from LTC. Within this strategic plan I intend to focus on increasing the promotion of library resources and services to ensure that my users are aware of how I can support their needs. The NSW Department of Education has a free subscription to LinkedIn Learning, which has many courses on marketing and promotions (such as this one Introducing Social Media Marketing) which I can use to improve my library’s visibility and community engagement. Changing technology will also be a focus of my strategic plan, and as a member of the Australian Library and Information Association (ALIA) I can access their professional learning (such as this one on Digital Trends). This strategic plan and continued professional development will help develop my key capacities in learning and teaching, management, leadership and collaboration, and community engagement (ALIA & Australian School Libraries Association, 2020, p.1-2).

Word count: 554

 

REFERENCES:

Australian Library and Information Association [ALIA] & Australian School Libraries Association [ASLA]. (2016). ALIA-ASLA statement on teacher librarians in Australia. https://read.alia.org.au/alia-asla-statement-teacher-librarians-australia

Cross, D. (2015). Teacher well-being and its impact on student learning [Slide presentation]. Telethon Kids Institute, University of Western Australia. http://www.research.uwa.edu.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0010/2633590/teacher-wellbeing-and-student.pdf

International Literacy Association. (2022). Librarianship and literacy [Literacy leadership brief]. http://literacyworldwide.org/docs/default-source/where-we-stand/the-essential-leadership-of-school-librarians.pdf

Markless, S., Bentley, E., Pavey, S., Shaper, S., Todd, S., Webb, C., & Webb, C. (Carol). (2016). The innovative school librarian (S. Markless, Ed.; Second edition.). Facet.

Morris, L. (2022, December 21). National Library’s treasure Trove under threat from budget cuts. The Sydney Morning Herald. https://www.smh.com.au/culture/art-and-design/national-library-s-treasure-trove-under-threat-from-budget-cuts-20221212-p5c5m6.html 

Softlink (2022). 2022 Australian and New Zealand school library survey report. https://www.softlinkint.com/resources/reports-and-whitepapers/

Woodcock, C. (2023, January 13). Public library budgets are being slashed. Police have more cash than ever. Vice. https://www.vice.com/en/article/akemgz/public-library-budgets-are-being-slashed-police-have-more-cash-than-ever

ETL512 Assessment 2: Post 1 – Services and Resources to Meet User Needs

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Using examples from at least two information agencies you attended, discuss the range of services and resources they provide and how these services and resources are tailored to meet the needs of their users. (500 words)

My virtual visits to Lake Tuggeranong College (LTC), West Moreton Anglican College (WMAC) and Bundaberg Regional Libraries (BRL) provided me with an interesting opportunity to compare the ways school and public libraries are similar and different in the provision of services and resources to meet their users’ needs.

School libraries serve specific school learning communities which consist of students, staff, and parents (Kimmel, 2014, p.31), and aim to meet the educational, cultural, recreational, and professional needs of these users (NSW Department of Education, 2017, p.8). Conversely, public libraries provide free access to information for all community members to enable their participation in society and to contribute to the economic wellbeing of their families and the nation (Australian Library and Information Association [ALIA], 2018, p.1). While both aim to provide free access to a range of services and resources to their users, two key differences exist: firstly, attendance in schools is mandatory, whereas engagement with a public library is optional; and secondly, education is controlled by the state, whereas public libraries facilitate non-coercive, self-directed learning (Foundation for Economic Education & FEEGA, 2019, p.1-2).

Both school libraries visited placed a heavy emphasis on providing services and resources designed to improve their users’ reading, digital, and information literacies, a core expectation of teacher-librarians supporting young people (ALIA, Australian School Libraries Association, & Australian Education Union, 2020, p.1). LTC supported pleasure reading through genrefication and emphasised the need to build strong relationships with students to understand their needs and make them feel supported. LTC also discussed the creation of their library website to support student learning and staff teaching, and the provision of accessible, detailed PowerPoints which develop students’ research, evaluation, and referencing skills. Key to these resources’ success is staff collaboration and consultation, embedding them into classroom activities, and ongoing promotion. 

The need for advocacy and promotion were also discussed during both school visits, highlighting the importance of claiming our space (Bonanno, 2011). LTC noted their practices supporting reading and information literacy were crucial advocacy opportunities, and they frequently promoted their services to parents as well as staff and students. WMAC noted that they raised their library profile by supporting non-traditional tasks (e.g. uniforms), showcasing the library’s value by harnessing the needs of key decision makers and meeting patrons not normally involved with the library. 

BRL also emphasised the importance of customer service, proving that strong relationships are crucial to leadership in both public and educational libraries (Branch-Mueller & Rodger, 2022, p.46-47). Harris discussed the difference between traditional card holders and hidden patrons (e.g. homeless users). Climate-controlled safe spaces and harm reduction work in public libraries supports their role as ‘second responders’ who step in when other services are unavailable or inaccessible (Aykanian et al., 2020, p.S72), reflecting the wellbeing work I encounter in my school library. Harris also emphasised the importance of advocacy and promotions, especially regarding funding. BRL’s provision of technology and IT support (including senior digital literacy programs, digital collections, broadband access, robotics, and 3D printing) reflects the ways modern libraries must stay current with the changing infosphere (Floridi, 2007, p.59). All points discussed supported research regarding the wide variety of services valued by public library users (Hider et al., 2023, p.20-34) and highlighted the similarities with school libraries, despite our different clientele. 

Word count: 543

 

REFERENCES:

Australian Library and Information Association [ALIA]. (2018). Statement on public library services. https://read.alia.org.au/statement-public-library-services

ALIA, Australian School Libraries Association [ASLA], & Australian Education Union [AEU] (2020). Joint statement on school libraries. https://read.alia.org.au/joint-statement-school-libraries

Aykanian, A., Morton, P., Trawver, K., Victorson, L., Preskitt, S., & Street, K. (2020). Library-Based Field Placements: Meeting the Diverse Needs of Patrons, Including Those Experiencing Homelessness. Journal of Social Work Education, 56(1), S72–S80. https://doi.org/10.1080/10437797.2020.1723757

Bonanno, K. (2011). ASLA Keynote Speaker: A profession at the tipping point: time to change the game plan. [Video]. Vimeo. https://vimeo.com/31003940 

Branch-Mueller, J., & Rodger, J. (2022). Single Threads Woven Together in a Tapestry: Dispositions of Teacher-Librarian Leaders. School Libraries Worldwide, 39–49. https://doi.org/10.29173/slw8454

Foundation For Economic Education, & FEEGA. (2019). The Difference Between Public Libraries and Public Schools. ContentEngine LLC, a Florida limited liability company.

Floridi, L. (2007). A Look into the Future Impact of ICT on Our Lives. The Information Society 23(1), 59-64. https://doi.org/10.1080/019722406010599094

Hider, P., Garner, J., Wakeling, S., & Jamali Mahmuei, H. R. (2023). “Part of My Daily Life”: The importance of public libraries as physical spaces. Public Library Quarterly, 42(2), 190-219. https://doi.org/10.1080/01616846.2022.2092347

Kimmel, S. C. (2014). Developing collections to empower learners. ALA/AASL

NSW Department of Education (2017). Handbook for School Libraries.

ETL504 5.2 & 5.3: Servant Leadership

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Scenario: You are in your third year as a teacher librarian in a school where you had to work actively to promote the value and services of the library. Classes come to the library either for relief from face-to-face teaching (primary) or supervision for research (secondary) without planned opportunities for collaborative or shared teaching. As you engage with ETL504 you have evaluated your current library role as that of a servant, rather than a servant leader. You seem to be reacting to the immediate needs and requirements of teachers and students in regard to providing resources, responding to immediate information and digital literacy needs, supporting recreational reading requirements and providing technology support.

Task: Through the lens of servant leadership, identify and share one proactive approach to lead a shift in expectations and responsibilities that will build the capacity of either teachers or students in recreational reading.

It’s scary how accurate the give scenario for this task is – it almost exactly matches my situation! I started in the library in 2021 and when I stepped into the position the big perception of the library’s role in our school was that it’s all about books and reading. Rather than dedicate my non-existent time to pick that fight and battle this misconception while in the depths of Covid disruptions and completing the Masters on top of my library responsibilities and English teaching role, I leaned into this perception to show my value to my school community.

Inspired in large part by the work I completed for ETL402 Literature Across the Curriculum, I decided to start an Action Research Project based around my implementation of a Wide Reading Program for Year 7, 2022. That year our school restructured the timetable and removed DEAR from roll call despite our declining NAPLAN and HSC results, so I aligned this project with our School Plan to give it legitimacy and worked with several English teachers since I was still teaching English classes and part of that faculty despite my relocation to the library. I started with 4 classes but due to staffing issues and constant interruptions only maintained consistent contact with 2 classes.

I sold this as a service to these teachers which would support their teaching units and develop student literacy while saving them time. The reformed English curriculum explicitly references reading for pleasure, so this is another angle I’ve used this year to promote the program and ensure unity between my work in the library and teachers’ work in their classrooms.

Word got around about this program and its benefits, and so this year it has expanded to include 5 Year 7 classes and 2 Year 8 classes, ensuring access to reading materials and positive modelling for 190 teenagers who often otherwise wouldn’t take the time to read for fun.

Knowing what I do now as a result of ETL504, if I could go back in time I would be far more proactive about advertising this program and raising its visibility in the early stages with my Senior Executive to showcase my proactive response to community needs and my leadership potential. I did include comments and data from my research in my Annual Reportwhich I shared with my Head Teachers and the Senior Executive, though it’s hard to say if they even read this document so perhaps other tactics are needed, such as personal invitations to attend lessons, social media marketing, and professional publication of the results. I plan to leverage the success of this program and the trust built with staff and students to build collaborative planning opportunities in future, especially around information fluency and inquiry learning, and thus to slowly but surely change the perception of what a library is all about.

ETL504 5.3 Future Ready Librarian Self-Reflection

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One of the tasks in this module was to browse the Future Ready Librarians website. Amongst its myriad of wonderful tools, I found the self-reflection survey and since I love a good survey I thought, why not? Here are my results:

 

From this tool I can identify that I need to work on leading through:

  • the provision of personalised professional learning
  • providing robust infrastructure,
  • teaching and promoting student data and privacy, and
  • curriculum instruction and assessment.

ETL504 Advocacy and Visibility

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Inspired by the ETL504 readings about the importance of advocating for what we do and the different stats snapshot infographics posted on the NSW School Library Matters Facebook group, I thought I’d have a crack at designing my own. Hopefully this will help increase my visibility and show the value of my work to the school. As a relatively new TL fumbling my way through each day I‘ll take whatever wins I can!