I found Valenza’s post to be so immensely filled with passion – defending the varied, diverse and complex roles of the teacher librarian. Following her previous blog post – contained in a link within the stimulus post, she was responding to the library having been described as an “anachronism”, with the teacher librarian being “antiquated”.
A quick check on the Cambridge Online Dictionary came up with the following definitions:
- Anachronism: a person, thing, or idea that exists out of its time in history, especially one that happened or existed later than the period being shown, discussed, etc.
- Antiquated: old-fashioned or unsuitable for modern society.
I believe the library and teacher librarian being described in this way is a reflection of many common misconceptions that are held by people regarding the role. It is up to us to change these misconceptions by being total superstars; where we are held in high regard by our colleagues due to our amazing collaborative efforts and in the noticeable difference we make to improving student learning achievements and outcomes.
References
Cambridge University Press. (n.d.). Anachronism. Cambridge Dictionary. https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/anachronism
Cambridge University Press. (n.d.). Antiquated. Cambridge Dictionary. https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/antiquated
Valenza, J.(2010, November 27). What librarians make. A response to Dr. Bernstein and an homage to Taylor Mali. School Library Journals. https://blogs.slj.com/neverendingsearch/2010/11/27/what-librarians-make-a-response-to-dr-bernstein-and-an-homage-to-taylor-mali/