Practical examples of situations in regard to budget and collection management where a teacher librarian has, or should have, demonstrated the role of:

 

Collaborator

According to the Australian School Librarian Association, Teacher librarians are leaders in the resourcing of the curriculum and they “evaluate collaboratively” with teachers to provide appropriate resources are available for teaching and learning, (ASLA, 2019). With the recent changes to the NSW syllabus, and the introduction of the Australian Curriculum, collaboration between teacher librarians and teachers is fundamental to ensuring that students have a wide diverse range of resources in order to engage effectively with the syllabus.

Steward

Teacher librarians are capable of being at the centre of the school in many senses. Stepping into a library that is a new environment can mean starting the big task of building your relationship with the school community. Being inclusive, communicating with all the stakeholders in the school builds networks, relationships and trust. Managing the budget effectively, demonstrating value for money and including suggestions from the school community shows strengths and leadership.   Kristine Woods advocates collaboration as one of the strengths of a teacher librarian and discusses examples of using data to evaluate programs and to “develop strategic plans”, (Woods, 2014).

Thinker

Teacher librarians have to demonstrate their ability to connect and to publicise what they do. Building relationships and networks is essential to running a successful school library. Christine Kaaland (2017) and colleagues “had to prove we connected with parents, teachers, and students…” by email, meetings and announcements to show evidence of collaboration for a major funding windfall that gave them funds for purchasing new resources.

 

Australian School Librarian Association. (2019).What is a Teacher Librarian? Retrieved from https://asla.org.au/what-is-a-teacher-librarian

Kaaland, C. (2017). Creating a Climate of Voracious Readers. Teacher Librarian, (45)1, 26-29.

Lamb, A. & Johnsn, H.L. (2012). Program administration: Budget management. The School Library Media Specialist.Retrieved from http://eduscapes.com/sms/administration/budget.html

Woods, K. (2014). A Footprint for Collaboration. Teacher Librarian, (42)1, 13-17