The scenario is this:
It is the middle of report writing and you overhear two teacher colleagues complaining about the light teaching and reporting load of the teacher librarian.
What would I do? Firstly, I’d probably find myself getting quite anxious because I don’t enjoy confrontation but I’d feel I had to step in and say something. One of the most difficult parts of being a TL is that constant feeling that people think you don’t do enough, despite them not having a clue about the thousands of unnoticed tasks that are completed every single day (as well as the fact that I do actually teach three classes and am not just wasting time twiddling my thumbs). I would want to confront them right then and there, but likely wouldn’t (because again, hate confrontation!) then I would stew on it for weeks wishing I had said or done something.
More likely, I would try to use this as the jumping off point to investigate this further. As Green (2004) says, now would be a good time to ‘find out what my clients really want’ in order to begin changing their perception of my role. I would do this initially via a whole-staff survey, asking what their current perceptions are, where the gaps are in their teaching and how I in my role of TL would be able to fill them. I would encourage communication with me, asking me questions, seeking me out via attendance at Curriculum Leader meetings and discussing how I can support their teaching staff. Basically, I would make myself as visible as possible so there would be no need to question my relevance or my ‘light teaching load’ because it would be obvious to everyone that I am, indeed, a valuable member of the school community.
Source:
Green, G. (2004). The big sell: Creating influence and credibility Paper presented at LIS@ECU Seminar, Information literacy.
