Category: ETL401 – Intro to Teacher Librarianship

According to Combs (2016), an information literate person “knows when they don’t know and knows how to find out.” Well, at the start of this subject, I literally knew nothing. Sure, I knew that teacher librarians lived in the library. They ordered books, recommended new series to students, taught a few subjects, would throw in some research skills here and there. But I had no concept of the sheer expanse of roles a TL played within the school community, despite the fact I had literally just become employed as one!

This course has already made me think and stretch my mind is ways that my mind hasn’t stretched in YEARS. I very quickly realised I didn’t know much at all, but I knew where to find out, and that was via various readings and discussion posts provided throughout the semester. When looking back at my own discussion posts, I can see I may have come across as overwhelmed, and that’s because I was! And still am! But at least now I have a clearer definition of what it means to be a TL and how my own strengths fit into this role.

Before this subject, I didn’t really know what information literacy was. That’s a little embarrassing to admit, but I have been a classroom teacher for 15 years before this and was so wrapped up in the huge amount of work in front of me that I never really thought about it. Now it’s very clear to me – information literacy is working with, thinking about, managing and communicating information. In fact, it’s something that teachers and students have always done, except maybe not in the best way we could. And that’s where the TL comes in.

Our role IS about books and reading, but it is so much more than that. Our job is to guide others towards being a more information literate person. I was surprised to see in the 5.4b: Convergence discussion post that pretty much no one knew of an information literacy policy in their school. I certainly know there wasn’t one in my last school (although no surprises there, as they didn’t even have a TL), and wasn’t too surprised that there wasn’t one in my new school either. However, it made me feel a little better to realise that the wonderful TL who came before me had set up a subject that focused on research skills, inquiry learning, digital citizenship – two lessons a week for the year 8s devoted to the growth of these vital 21st century competencies. It wasn’t a whole-school approach, but it was certainly better than nothing, and I’m excited to do more with this subject, knowing what I do now about my role to play.

I also think I sometimes approached the concept of information literacy and inquiry based models with some negativity, as seen in my contribution to the 4.1b: Inquiry learning discussion forum. I realised after looking back that I think I was approaching this with my “teacher hat” on, not my new and slightly awkwardly-fitting “teacher librarian hat”. I even discussed in there that the biggest hurdle to introducing IL into schools was the resistance of teachers, and upon reflection I now understand I was being one of those teachers! Whoops. Old habits die hard! In my defense, I still think that teachers can and will work well with inquiry based models as long as they have been properly introduced to a concept, given time to process it, given time to practise and implement it…and I now know this is where the TL comes in.

WE are the conduit between news ways of learning and having information literate students. It is our job to be the “bridge”, for want of a better term, between teachers and students; to step in and help create information literate digital citizens who “know what they don’t know, but know where to find it.” In my blog post, ‘Is the TL an endangered species?’ (https://thinkspace.csu.edu.au/kylieobrien/2020/04/01/is-the-tl-an-endangered-species/), I come to the conclusion that we shouldn’t have to defend our jobs and why they are important, and this holds true, especially knowing what I know now – that the role of the TL is absolutely VITAL in promoting IL and inquiry based learning. If schools can see the promotion of information literacy via their TL, our role becomes simply invaluable when it comes to the growth of 21st century students and teachers.

Firstly, apologies for that very boring title. I’m going to use the fact that I’ve been stuck at home with my children A LOT over the last few weeks, like many others, and my brain feels slightly fried.

Secondly, to the point of this blog post – my response to the Australian School Library Association’s Evidence Guide – essentially, a guide to how teacher librarians fit into the AITSL professional standards for teachers. The biggest thing I take from this document is THANK YOU. Thank you for this document!

I have found it increasingly difficult and slightly (ok, more than slightly) overwhelming to define the role of a TL. The more I read, the bigger the role grows, and I’m not exaggerating when I say it’s made me question taking on the role at times (as previously mentioned, I am the new TL at a small girls’ school and learning so much every day).  I have found myself doubting my ability to do ALL THE THINGS and be ALL THE PEOPLE that apparently the TL is supposed to do and be. Not knowing where to start, I began by doing what I do best – making a list of what I should be doing. The list has been getting bigger…and bigger…and more overwhelming. As Dr Seuss famously said, “the more that you read, the more that you know.” Well, the more I read about the role of the TL and how huge that umbrella is, the more stressed I’ve been getting (that may be a little personal to put in a blog related to my Masters degree, but it is a blog after all, and it’s nice to have somewhere to put these feelings down!)

BUT – along comes this task, asking us to read the ASLA’s evidence guide and suddenly, I can breathe a little bit easier. The guide sets out the standards of proficient and highly accomplished teachers, then directly underneath it describes how a TL fits into this. Examples are then provided underneath of what this might look like in practice, and THIS is the part I am most grateful for. I feel like this guide will have a huge impact on how I approach my role now. The examples provided clearly state how I can make the best of my position within my school. It’s easy to read, not crowded with “edu-speak” and makes me feel a whole lot better when I realise I’ve already been doing some of those specific examples without realising how they fit into the TL role.

So, in short – thank you, ASLA, for this very helpful guide. I feel it should probably be one of the first documents given to a fresh TL, and I plan to refer to it often throughout my study and beyond.

A reflection in response to Karen Bonanno’s speech:

When I first mentioned to someone that I was thinking about doing my Masters in Teacher Librarianship, I was met with: “Do they still have those?” I’ll admit it made me take a long pause, so long in fact that I decided not to apply for the course. I had a permanent position as a high school English teacher in a public school – did I really want to risk that job security by studying for something that maybe wouldn’t exist in a few years time? I have since been lucky enough to have been awarded the position of TL in my new school, which clearly values the role and what I have to offer, yet I am still finding myself constantly explaining what it is I do, or why my role is necessary, and even why I have to study a Master degree to train as a TL!

My take home message from Bonanno’s speech is that we need to look at the changing role of the TL as a “glass half full” opportunity to re-evaluate our worth and necessity in the school setting, rather than a “glass half empty” approach. Don’t defend your job and why it is important – decide how you can make your position so invaluable that you don’t have to. The five finger plan was excellent (despite the fact it came from Donald Trump, but I digress) and something that I will take away to think how this applies to how I use my position throughout my degree and within my school.

The moment I realised how important it is for schools to have a teacher librarian was the moment I realised what it’s like to not have one.

I had worked at a large state high school for 14 years. I loved the school and the students, but while it claimed to value high literacy skills, the fact a principal let go of a wonderful TL and didn’t bother replacing her said otherwise.

The library suddenly became a place where books were culled at an alarming rate. Reading spaces didn’t exist. Spaces to charge laptops became bigger and colder, lacking personality. The person now running the library did not make the students feel welcome – in fact, if you had to send them there on an errand, they begged not to go. This person was not a trained librarian, or even a trained teacher; it seemed it wasn’t important enough a role for the school to provide one. The library had become a place to work on an assignment, print it, then leave. This, I decided, was not at all what a school library should be.

School libraries should be the hub of the school – a place where students can curl up with a book, fill heads with words, and allow their love of reading to flourish; a place where the librarian may not know everything, but she (or he!) will try their best to find you the answer you’re looking for; a place where teaching and support staff can come in and ask questions about resources and how they can best fit their curriculum. In the words of the great teacher librarian Megan Daley, “libraries are community resource centres and operate to contribute to the betterment of their customers.” (Daley, 2019). In a school community, our customers are the students and the teachers. Their “betterment” varies from person to person, but what I take from this is that the role of the TL is to support this “betterment” – that could mean providing a safe place to an over stimulated child to take a breather; or it could mean supporting a teacher to find resources to improve upon their content delivery. It could mean rearranging the library space to create zones that work well for a variety of activities and quiet study, or it could mean arranging events like Readers’ Cup and book clubs to challenge and inspire students to step outside of their comfort zone. Like our “customers”, the role of the TL is going to be slightly different from person to person, depending on their own strengths and interests.

I have now been in the position of TL in my new school for seven weeks and it has been eye opening. I’m a lead member of a team organising a Literary Festival. I look around and see students curled up in the armchairs in our reading nook, switched off from the world. I see students laughing as they play card games or put together puzzles. I see students organising their debate teams, or fighting over who gets the next in a book series, or asking me for book recommendations. I see teachers coming in to ask about resources I’d suggest for their subjects.  I see a school library, the heart of a school…and it’s truly a wonderful thing to be a part of.

References:

Daley, M. (2019). Raising Readers. St Lucia, Qld: UQP