Reflecting on what I thought of as the role of the Teacher Librarian (TL) when I first began teaching has certainly developed over time. What I have noticed is that there are enduring practices as well as range of new responsibilities and opportunities.
Some of the enduring practices and tasks that a Teacher Librarian that I recognised were the management and allocation of textbooks and novels. This practice has always been used by various Key Learning Areas (KLAs) to support both the staff and students. For staff it is enormously supportive to have that large task supported by experts. Having read many morning notices reminding students to return these books, however, I can see the difficulties and consistent problems teacher librarians would face in the management of this task.
Another practice that is enduring in this field is that of ‘resource management’. My background is in Music and Religion teaching. As a result, over the years I have purchased many different resources for classroom teaching – anything from CDs, movies, musical scores to bibles and board games… the list goes on! Being a school resource it was important that all teaching staff had equal and fair access to these resources. The school library has always been a clear and optimal choice for this and has always been managed well in this setting with the support of the librarian and booking systems. As the world started to move more online, so did this resource management. One of the clear roles our Teacher Librarian has that did not exist when I started teaching, was the curation and management of the school’s online video/viewing system. This have proved to be an extremely valuable resource for classroom teachers and students.
Similarly, to resource management, another aspect of the role of the TL that I have seen develop and change over the years is that of technology and ICT. When I began teaching there were a row of desktop computers in the library, that we would reserve through a booking system if we wanted to do a ‘computer lesson’. At the time there were only 12 computers for a class. This made lessons more difficult as there weren’t enough computers for the students. Luckily, lessons were always supported by the teacher Librarian, especially in the function and technical use of the computers.
In recent years we have seen the evolution of 1:1 computer use for students. As that changed, so did the role of the TL. From managers of the ‘booking system’ our librarians started to play more of an IT support role – being a point of call for ‘log in’ processes, managing loan/casual teacher computers, even to providing safe electronically tagged chargers, so that the school WHS is met.
Finally, I think it’s important to acknowledge the role of welfare that Teacher Librarian’s play in the school. The Library has always a safe and calm environment for those students who might find the playground environment too overwhelming. For some students it is their social hub, where likeminded people are always around and ready to engage. Creating this environment is an important aspect for a lot of students engagement levels.
I wonder how the role will continue to develop and change in the future.