Like so many of my peers, I am side stepping from my original career plan of early childhood educator. I am now pursuing a new path as a teacher librarian (TL). I have benefited immensely this week from hearing the different information management career pathways and the journeys that brought each speaker to this point in their profession.
Kylie Percival (2023), of Curtin University, grew up in an area where illiteracy and social challenges were rampant. She overcame this barrier through her pursuit of education as a means of escape. Although she had no clear career direction, she ended up trying archiving on the recommendation of a friend. This was the catalyst for her career which eventually landed her at Curtin University. What I noticed throughout her journey was that she was on watch for, and exploited, every opportunity that came her way. She consistently cultivated a diversity of skills and experiences. She developed and used a network of people to give herself potential directions and was careful to avoid the pitfall of being pigeonholed in a limited direction. As the physical boundaries of libraries blur into the digital it gives space to reimagine how a library can better serve its community (Colegrove, 2017) and I can see how Percival is using the same skills she used to advance her career to advance Curtin’s library and meet the needs of the patrons.
Stephen Harris (2023) of Bundaberg Regional Libraries had a different career path than Percival. He set out pursuing library work with his Bachelors and Masters. He volunteered in conservation and worked in health information until he broke through the competition barrier to become an information services librarian where he now champions the Internet as a human right (Real, 2017). During his journey, he always kept connected to libraries through his Australian Library and Information Association (ALIA) membership. I appreciated his advice to avoid the pitfall of exclusively academic theory or only work experience but the need to balance both through professional reading and community practice. I also appreciated his insight into the interview process and the need to be prepared for the specific job offering and present precisely relevant answers.
The Australian School Library Association and ALIA promote standards of professional excellence for TLs. Standard 3.1 emphasises the importance of continued professional development (ALIA, 2004). As a result of Percival and Harris’ recommendations, I plan to continue to develop professionally by learning about how artificial intelligence (AI) can be used to enhance or complement teaching. Although I am in a somewhat narrow role, I can increase my expertise as a TL by becoming educated in this area. I know little about AI but see it as a potential future direction for school libraries. I plan to attend a virtual class such as Coursera’s ‘AI Education for Teachers’ or Digital Technologies Hub’s, ‘AI in the Classroom,’ in addition to reading professional literature on the topic. I will then follow AITSL’s standard 6.4 which emphasises the application of professional learning with the goal to improve student learning (AITSL, 2014) by holding an in house session for teachers to help equip them with AI knowledge and strategies to enhance their pedagogical practices.
References
AITSL (2014). Standards for teacher librarian practice https://www.alia.org.au/common/Uploaded files/ALIA-Docs/Communities/ALIA Schools/AITSL-Standards-for-teacher-librarian-practice-2014.pdf
Australian Library and Information Association (2004). Standards of professional excellence for teacher librarians https://read.alia.org.au/alia-asla-standards-professional-excellence-teacher-librarians
Colegrove, T. (2017). Editorial board thoughts: Arts into science, technology, engineering, and mathematics – STEAM, creative abrasion, and the opportunity in libraries today. Information Technology and Libraries, 36(1), 4–10. https://doi.org/10.6017/ital.v36i1.9733
Harris, S. (2023, 11 September). VSV 202360: Public librarian, Bundaberg Regional Libraries. https://charlessturt.zoom.us/rec/share/oZMIRdTmIeSFIL75K8nhSGIw52MzMS_Ztno_l5ocbvwW_YNKEj6PD3np2Ef3UVjU.JR8aapu7pRHTL0yi
Percival, K. (2023, 7 September). VSV 202360: University librarian, Curtain University. https://charlessturt.zoom.us/rec/share/1fEE-AEQTqr6lWhwcqZZoWYPT9_Lt2yuQiVvTStUzOF1cUFwDRnmjKputGygkM8.VxY97W5FmVAb3GY2
Real, B. (Ed.). (2017). Rural and small public libraries : challenges and opportunities (First edition.). Emerald Publishing Limited.