This critical reflection will examine how my views, knowledge and understanding of the role of Techer Librarian (TL) has changed from a leadership perspective. I will refer to blog posts from ETL504 and other Master of Education- Teacher Librarianship subjects to show the development of my understandings.
My thoughts before the subject:
Initially, I didn’t consider the word leadership when I contemplated the role of the TL. I referred to the role of TL as being a manager and an organiser of spaces and resources (Beaumont, 2023). Australian Library and Information Association (2019) states, leadership is separate from management and can happen at every level of an organisation. I misunderstood the role of the TL. I didn’t understand that TLs could in fact, make educational transformations within the school and the broader information and educational landscapes. The role can be misunderstood, underutilised and undervalued in schools (Merga, 2019). Often the role is unclear to students, teachers and stakeholders (Merga, 2019). Leading from the middle was something that transformed my thinking in this area and the key characteristics of adaptability, social awareness, communication skills and self-awareness (Dewett, 2022) were things I could identify with. Not once in my early blogs, did I mention leadership or strategic thinking or planning, vision or mission. TLs however are powerful educational leaders when they are supported and recognised within schools (International Literacy Association, 2022).
My thoughts throughout the subject:
My understanding of leadership and the change process was quite limited. I believed that leadership involved a leader generating an idea and then putting it into action. In my discussions with the library manager on placement a lot of the ETL504 theory came to life. Discussing the process of changing culture by setting an example, finding the right people to make change happen, clear communication and good timing, sometimes holding back ideas until the organisation is ready (G. Conroy-Cooper, personal communication, September 22, 2025).
It is critical to be able to lead yourself before you can lead others (Martin, 2020). This was a theme that began to make more sense to me as the subject progressed. The importance of a library vision and mission was made clear throughout this subject. In creating these statements, the TL begins to understand themselves and their context. In doing this, they can build strong foundations to build strategic directions. I understood that libraries followed the direction of the school, without external influence (Beaumont, 2025a). But through the readings and assignment work I now know that the TL has the power to work with leadership to create new visions and directions for the library and for the school and are influenced not only by internal factors, but also state, national and global trends and directions.
My thoughts now:
The learning in this subject has empowered me to make significant change within my role of Teacher Librarian, to improve the education, information access and wellbeing of all students. I found these topics very powerful, and I feel like I have a great tool kit of strategies to begin advocating for myself and my library by building my library strategic plan. I thought that leadership only had impacts on the library (Beaumont, 2025b), I now understand that the impacts of an effective TL leader can have school wide and industry-wide influence.
References:
Australian Library and Information Association. (2019). NextGen leadership scorecard. https://read.alia.org.au/nextgen-leadership-scorecard
Beaumont, L. (2023, April 9). The new TL. A hundred ways to learn. https://thinkspace.csu.edu.au/hundredwaystolearn/2023/04/09/the-new-tl/
Beaumont, L. (2025a, October 7). Pondering a strategic plan. A hundred ways to learn. https://thinkspace.csu.edu.au/hundredwaystolearn/2025/10/07/pondering-a-strategic-plan/
Beaumont, L. (2025b, October 7). Reflecting on change management. A hundred ways to learn. https://thinkspace.csu.edu.au/hundredwaystolearn/2025/10/07/refelcting-on-change-management/
Dewett, T. (2022). Leading in every direction [Video file]. LinkedIn. https://www.linkedin.com/learning/leading-in-every-direction/leading-forward-and-backward?u=2096756
International Literacy Association. (2022). Librarianship and literacy [Literacy leadership brief]. https://literacyworldwide.org/docs/default-source/where-we-stand/the-essential-leadership-of-school-librarians.pdf
Martin, J. (2020). Library leadership your way. The serials librarian. 78(1-4). 9-16. https://doi.org/10.1080/0361526X.2020.1707022
Merga, M. (2019). Do librarians feel that their profession is valued in contemporary schools. Journal of Australian Library and Information Association. 68(1). 18-37. https://doi.org/10.1080/24750158.2018.1557979
