CreativeTools.se – Twitter bird standing on branch – Close-up. (2011). Flickr. https://www.flickr.com/photos/33907867@N02/5360884710
I have been thinking a lot recently about the role of the TL and technology, in particular, social media. This is quite personal to write about, but I had a nasty experience with Facebook over 10 years ago and since then have not been on any social media. I know this is hard to believe, but no FB, no Twitter, no Instagram etc. People think I’m crazy (in particular my 16 year old son) but I have been happy with this – it was my choice and I choose to communicate with friends via Whatsapp and good old fashioned email and voice calls. Professionally, I have limited myself to subscribing to a wide range of blogs, practitioner websites and extensively use the school library’s subscriptions to online subject magazines and databases. I am available to students via Google Classroom/Hangouts/Zoom/Gmail.
But I keep reading how important it is for TL leadership to develop a social/professional network for learning, for support, to share new ideas, to promote the library to the community, to advocate for the library (Fleming, 2106; National Library of New Zealand n.d.; Softlink, 2020)
Throughout this Masters course I have increasingly become aware that I have a decision to make. Reading Weisburg’s Leadership: There is no other option really hit home. Weisburg (2020) takes a tough love approach and confronts excuses and fears with common sense, encouragement and a challenge – to be a full advocate and leader of a learning space that is at the forefront of 21st century learning – this is what you need to do.
I’m not yet working in a library, but I really hope to make the leap from classroom teacher to TL. In order to do this I need to have a digital voice, a digital presence beyond the school library webpage, school email and Google Classroom/Hangouts. I need to take a deep breath and take the plunge. Although this is personally challenging, I realise that to be a leader I need to make choices that push me outside my comfort zone. I need to model risk taking and a growth mindset but to be smart about it (privacy settings on etc.) In doing so, I’ll be more empathic to my colleagues and students when they are faced with their own areas of discomfort and be able to practice genuine servant leadership.
References
Fleming, L. (2016, September 27). The power of a school library hashtag. Edutopia. https://www.edutopia.org/article/power-of-school-library-hashtag-laura-fleming
National Library of New Zealand. (n.d.). Social media and the school library. National Library of New Zealand. https://natlib.govt.nz/schools/school-libraries/library-services-for-teaching-and-learning/your-school-library-online/social-media-and-the-school-library
Softlink. (2020, June 29). Social media ideas for the school library. https://www.softlinkint.com/blog/social-media-rise-your-school-library/
Weisburg, H. K. (2020). Leadership: There is no other option. Synergy, 18(1).