Connect the dots

My initial understanding of the role a teacher librarian plays within a school was shaped by the experiences and the system for which I worked in. From 2014 to 2019 I was working in the Australian Capital Territory (ACT) public school system as a classroom teacher. In the ACT, school budget constrains mean that “only four out of 10 public schools had a library that was staffed by a qualified teacher librarian” in 2020 (Lansdown, 2020, para. 6). This means that I have had limited experience in working alongside a teacher librarian and subsequently developed many misconceptions regarding what the role entailed. The first school I worked for shared a teacher librarian with a nearby school. I only saw them during my allocated 40-minute library time where I only observed them assisting students to borrow and return books. At the second school I worked for there was no teacher librarian. The library was staffed by a part-time administrative assistant whose role was to ensure that the library was in an orderly condition. We as teachers were encouraged to facilitate library time with our class ourselves.

Because of my limited experience working alongside teacher librarians, I viewed the position as more of an administrative role that was a luxury reserved only for schools who could afford one. I held the assumption that all those who worked in the position came from an information sciences background, not an education background. They were to ensure that the library was orderly by placing books carefully back on the shelf using an understanding of the Dewey Decimal System. A teacher librarian would get students excited about reading by sharing new stories or helping them find books on a topic of interest. They had one week every year, Book Week, which was their time to shine. During Book Week they would organise a dress up day, facilitate the book fair and announce the winners of the Children’s Book Council of Australia’s book of the year. I only ever saw the surface-level tasks that teacher librarians performed and believed that was the whole role, not understanding the deep pedagogical support that they provide to teachers and students behind the scenes.

Today I am much more aware of the important role a teacher librarian plays. It is promising to see the ACT government has also recognised the importance this role has “in enriching the learning environment of all of our students and the wider school community” (Australian Capital Territory, 2019, p. 1) and followed through pledging to fund scholarships for 10 teachers to up-skill each year the next five years (Lewis, 2021, para. 2). A renewed focus on employing more teacher librarians makes me hopeful that more people will gain a greater appreciation and understanding of the positions impact within a school and in doing so, eliminating many of the misconceptions that exist.

I am excited to be commencing a degree in a field that I can now see has far-reaching impact on the teaching and learning within a school. I am now much more informed about the role but I am also aware that I have so much more to learn on this learning journey… let’s begin!

References:

Australian Capital Territory. (2019). School Libraries: The Heart of 21^st Century Learning. https://www.education.act.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0007/1435435/School-Libraries-The-Heart-of-21st-Century-Learning.pdf

Lansdown, S. (2020, September 9). ACT election 2020: Liberals promise to recruit teacher librarians as parents call for school libraries to be protected. The Canberra Times. https://www.canberratimes.com.au/story/6916017/teacher-librarians-lost-in-public-school-squeeze/

Lewis, Kathryn. (2021, February 1). ACT government to provide 10 teachers a year scholarship to complete librarian qualifications. The Canberra Times. https://www.canberratimes.com.au/story/7106701/scholarships-to-address-shortage-of-canberra-teacher-librarians/