My 2019 Understanding of the Role of the Teacher Librarian in Schools

1. When I reflect back to when I was a child, the local library was a place of peace and organisation, a place of welcoming and quiet during what was a lonely and poverty-stricken time in my life.
2. When I was a young adult the local library was a place that I went to be free of expectations and demands and could read and research relevant and up to date young adult novels and magazines to learn more about how to exist in the world.
3. When I grew to be an adult, the high school and college librarians were the most efficient and helpful people that I knew, and I trusted them to have the most quality and noteworthy resources to support my education.

Perhaps, for some people the Internet offers peace, organisation, welcome, quiet, freedom, research, trust, direction, and quality resources, so long as they have the Internet skills to find what they need (USC Marshall, 2019).

It does not, however, always offer these things for the majority of students with any consistency and requires a human to help them navigate.

Does the world still need school libraries or libraries in general?

I myself have worked at a school that debated this issue and very nearly voted in favour of changing the library to a book-less computer lab. There have also been articles regarding the topic, such as (Preiss, 2014; The Conversation, 2015 and Dring, 2014).

After experiences that I’ve had, and following articles such as those listed above, the lack of support for the library possibly stems from some systematic employment decisions, which have resulted in the library becoming out of date with modern times.

Let’s create a hypothetical 2019 NSW Primary school library:

What had previously been a full time position may have been dropped to part time because of a decrease in student enrolments, funding cuts or the needs of the librarian. The previous librarian, who had possibly been at the school for many years and who possibly had specific Librarian qualifications, may have moved on or retired. A teacher who wanted to work part time because of health or family reasons perhaps then filled the role. Thus, that teacher my have then remained as the librarian for the next few years, unaware and under-skilled—changing very little, despite the world changing all around them.

It is understandable then that the hypothetical library would be seen as out-dated and irrelevant: it had failed to change with the times.

What is the role of a 2019 Teacher Librarian in reality?

According to the NSW Department of Education (2018), the school library is central to teaching and learning and the role includes: “Collaborative teaching support, Information services, Personnel and Materials and equipment systems.”

Food for thought: Conspicuously missing from the NSW DET Role information is the requirement for Teacher Librarians to have or be attempting their Masters of Education degrees. (Pop over to the forum topic in Interact2 and lets discuss it!)

 

What about the 2019 digital environment in which we all live?

Teacher Librarians have a workplace that is within a changing information and digital landscape and must therefore be flexible to change. Just as classroom teachers have had numerous changes and growth, so should teacher librarians.

This means that librarians need to actively manage the collection resources including and beyond paper texts and pro-actively research and implement online resources across schools to support teachers and engage students.

This need for a 21st century approach is supported by research from Softlink (2017), which concludes:

“Continued investment in school libraries is vital for the development of literacy and improved educational outcomes. Librarians and library staff play an important role in student academic development. It is clear there is a growing requirement for digital and online resources and that school-wide access and integration is important for engaging students in learning.”

References:

NSW Department of Education. (2018). Your Library. Retrieved from  https://education.nsw.gov.au/teaching-and-learning/curriculum/learning-across-the-curriculum/school-libraries/your-library#Schools0

Preiss, B. (2014). Teacher Librarians On Borrowed Time As Pages Turn On Reading Sources. Retrieved from  https://www.theage.com.au/national/victoria/teacher-librarians-on-borrowed-time-as-pages-turn-on-reading-sources-20140919-10j3ly.html

The Conversation. (2019). The Calamity of the Disappearing School Libraries. Retrieved from The Conversation, 2015 http://theconversation.com/the-calamity-of-the-disappearing-school-libraries-44498

Dring, S. (2014). Don’t Overlook Your School Librarian They’re the Unsung Heroes of Literacy. Retrieved from  https://www.theguardian.com/teacher-network/teacher-blog/2014/sep/18/school-librarian-literacy-support-teacher-students?fbclid=IwAR3J0c-NzDLhxVY47ecmxYmfS1fb7rEgYd4NnRxMRjgDM_VMcdK0N_QI8yU

Softlink. (2017). The 2017 Softlink Australian and New Zealand School Library Survey Report. Retrieved from https://www.softlinkint.com/downloads/2017_Softlink_Australian_and_New_Zealand_School_Library_Survey_Report.pdf