It is my belief that some people are born to teach; this is certainly the case with me. Learning new information has always brought me joy and being able to share ideas with others fills me with happiness, confidence, and hope.

Over the past fifteen years, I have worked in classrooms with a broad range of student abilities and levels of engagement, and my favourite experiences are those that allow me to connect with the students in a way that empowers them to take learning and exploration of knowledge into their own hands.

Over time, I find that I am not having these experiences as frequently.

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As a teenager, the library was a safe space where I could surround myself with books and fantasize about one day working with the always helpful, interested and friendly team of staff. Due to this, when I started work in my first school, I was drawn to the library.

Unfortunately, my first experiences of a school library confused me. While the TLs were incredibly helpful and present whenever I was looking for support or a good chat about a new book, the same was not observed with the students. Students were not encouraged to chat about their learning, and opportunities to engage with the TLs about new books or series were hidden or non-existent. My students told me that the library was not a place that they wanted to spend time.

It seemed as though the role of a TL was to support the teaching staff.

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Over time, my interest in the school library has never diminished. Opportunities to bring classes into the library space and talk about books, share resources and encourage independent reading have become part of my weekly schedule because the need for our young people to develop good reading habits and research skills remains, yet for many, drive and enthusiasm are waning.

Some great work is happening with our year 7 English teams to re-engage students with reading, but trying to bring this across to other year levels is proving disheartening. As a teacher working within small teams of English staff, I have felt limited and unable to properly support those who do show an interest in making positive change.

Through a series of reading-focused professional development opportunities over the past two years, I have been able to visit the libraries of several schools. Through these visits, the potential of a TL has been highlighted. That I can be the support and driver for positive change by working with teachers and students is what prompted my decision to return to study.

Thanks to the support of leadership, who see the passion I have in this area, half of my teaching load for 2020 will be in the library. Working alongside the current library staff (a part-time TL and two library technicians) I plan to learn, share and bring our library into current times. This will involve the drafting of vision statements and policies, working with teachers and students to support learning and developing an evolving space that takes the needs of our cohort into consideration.