As a young girl of the 80s, in an inner city public school, I was always searching for a place of belonging. The classroom was never a comfortable fit; a limit to questions, a clear boundary line of how far the mind could wonder from boxed in curriculum, a time and place for creativity, the birth of inquiry learning far from its conception. It left a little blonde daydreamer like me gazing fruitfully at the beckoning jacaranda outside the classroom window, the castle I could see in its twisting branches, the faeries at guard, the saddled swallowtails ready to take to the air with their magical riders. My mind shifting between this bewitched scene and the ever rising ponder over how and why flowers are different colours. Recess offering some much needed freedom, though the playground brought the added pressure of sharing my make-believe and fantasy with some not so willing participants.

It was a biting cold June and my fragile frame needed shelter, I headed for the warmth of the school Library. Mrs Buttersworth welcomed me with her comically long hand knitted indigo scarf (that constantly made her trip) and that all knowing glint in her eyes. She knew me, she knew of my love for all things other worldly, she knew of the little world inside my head and how it longed for escape, for liberation, for adventure. With her grin she directed me over to the young fiction shelves and told me she had something just for me, her hand reaching knowingly to the small muted toned book. The Hobbit by J. R. R. Tolkien, Mrs Buttersworth explained that this book would take me somewhere I had never been but longed for.

And I sat in that library and the ceiling disappeared, like the bully who had been pulling my hair an hour or so ago, the walls melted into the green rolling hills of The Shire, the school bell became the pan flute played by Bilbo Baggins and I found, finally, a place where I belonged. The next week I was back, headed straight to the non-fiction isles for books on ancient mythology and Merlin and that ceiling never returned, the room was an open expanse, allowing my mind and imagination to take unbridled flight.

If the library is the heart of a school, then the Teacher librarian, like my Mrs Buttersworth, is the blood pumping life into knowledge, information, creativity and resources. While that much has not changed, the attitudes, technology and approaches to the role have come along way. We are now at a point in time where schools, governments and educational bodies are beginning to recognise the link between the 21 century learner and the critical role of the Teacher librarian.

Hay & Todd (2010a, p. 30) explain that the “purpose of the library has always been to provide a common information ground for supporting learning across the school and fostering the development of deep knowledge through the provision of accessible resources”. Further adding that we have seen an evolution in school libraries, re-engineering themselves in the development of sophisticated information and technology understandings and skills for the 21st century learner.

Which leads to the Teacher librarian’s role in this new age of information and digital literacy. The ACT Government Education, 2016 states “Teacher librarians enhance digital and information literacy; resource the curriculum and help students become critical, creative and collaborative thinkers”. Hughes (2013) suggests that the Teacher Librarian enables both teachers and students to use the library’s resources and spaces to the fullest, by drawing upon their invaluable knowledge and skills that enables them to respond to the diverse learners needs and the advantages of evolving technologies.

Furthermore, under the leadership of a Teacher Librarian the library has the potential of being a vibrant hub for information sharing, creativity, discovery, student leadership and digital citizenship, collaborative knowledge building, inquiry based learning and co-creation. Which serves to build not only a dynamically driven learning environment but also a central connection for the entire school community.

References

Hay, L & Todd, R.J. (2010a) School libraries 21C: the conversation begins. Scan, 29(1), pp. 30-42.  http://www.curriculumsupport.education.nsw.gov.au/schoollibraries/assets/pdf/21cexsum.pdf

Hughes, H. (2013). School libraries and teacher-librarians: evidence of their contribution to student
literacy and learning. Curriculum and Leadership Journal, 11(12), 30-42.
http://www.curriculum.edu.au/leader/school_libraries_and_tls,36453.html?issueID=12777

The ACT Goverment Education. (2010). School Libraries: The Heart of 21 Century Learning. Retrieved from www.education.act.gov.au/__data/assets/…/School–Libraries-21st-Century.pdf