This is a series of questions to ask when selecting e-resources for the school library. They are in no particular order and bring together considerations from a variety of sources.
Questions:
- Is this resource relevant to the needs of the school?
- Teachers?
- Students?
- Age appropriate?
- Is an e-resource the best format based on school needs?
- Tangible vs digital resource
- What are the licensing terms of the e-resource?
- School-owned?
- Subscription-based?
- Can the resource be accessible on multiple devices?
- How will the school know about and access the e-resource?
- How much is the resource?
- Value for money?
- Use across year groups and curriculum?
- Does the school already have the technology available to support the e-resource?
- What is required?
- Is it worth it?
- Does the resource cater for diverse needs of students?
- Enlarge print function?
- Read aloud function?
- Does the e-resource come with support from the provider?
- What happens if an issue is encountered?
These questions are all important when selecting e-resources and need to be carefully considered before purchase. As with any resources, the e-resource must add to the value of the school library. It is no good purchasing e-resources if they can’t be accessed properly or do not support the needs of the school.
References
Charles Sturt University. (2021). Collection development. https://library.csu.edu.au/our-libraries/contact-library-team/library-management/collection-development
Libraries Tasmania. (2021). Electronic resources management. https://www.libraries.tas.gov.au/school-library/Pages/collections-eresources.aspx
Reference and User Association. (2008). Guidelines for the introduction of electronic information resources to users. American Library Association. https://www.ala.org/rusa/resources/guidelines/guidelinesintroduction
In my readings during the week, I have been learning about the abundance of selection aids. I never realised there were so many available and how these sites were used to guide resources selection for TLs. I decided to review three online selection aids; Walker Books Australia and New Zealand, Booktopia, and Scholastic Book Wizard. The school library in which I work uses Booktopia as a selection tool. We have two libraries; one P-6 (co-ed day school), the other 7-12 (girls only boarding school) which means we have a variety of needs to address in resource selection. Here are my findings:
Walker Books Australia and New Zealand
Strengths
- Easy to use
- Variety of ways to search
- Gives age range recommendations for each title as you click into it
- Books are available in Australia
Weaknesses
- Only displays books that are distributed by Walker Books Australia
- Physical resources only – no ebooks or audio books available through this service
- Pricing is embedded in the fine print
- Can’t purchase direct from the publisher
I found this to be a valuable website, however I would probably only use it to get information about latest titles and age recommendations.
Booktopia
Strengths
- Easy to use
- Variety of ways to search
- Shows other similar books when you select a book to look at
- Books are available in Australia
- When a book is selected it shows if it’s also available as an ebook and/or audiobook
- Clear pricing
- Reviews provided when a book is selected
- Wishlist builder
Weaknesses
- No age recommendations when a book is selected. This can be difficult for a school library because the content needs to be considered before purchasing. This is particularly pertinent when selecting manga.
- Can be overwhelming as you go down the rabbit hole of recommendations
I found Booktopia to be a particularly user-friendly website and the search functions are easy to use. Everything is set out clearly and I like to wishlist builder so that I don’t lose track of what titles I am interested in.
Scholastic book wizard
Strengths
- Select books by reading level or grade level
- Simple funneling system to get to the recommendations
- The more options you select the more refined the search
- Click through to the main Scholastic teacher store
- Search results are not overwhelming because of the series of filters on the search
- Further recommendations are available for similar style books
- Wishlist function
Weaknesses
- Can’t just browse as soon as you open the webpage. You have to click through a series of options to get to the books.
- Not a lot of options come up after each search so there are limited options.
I found this website looks good to start with but turned out to be slightly frustrating because the search functions were so restricting. Unless I was looking for a recommendation for a particular genre for a particular year level, I would probably rather go straight to the Scholastic Teacher Store site.
Overall, Booktopia seems to be a one-stop-shop for physical and digital resources and I believe this is why is it utilised as a selection aid at my school library.
As I begin diving into the content of ETL503 I am reflecting on the role of the teacher librarian (TL) and that of the role of the classroom teacher (CT) in relation to resourcing. This raises some interesting questions:
- Do the roles overlap?
- How do the roles complement each other?
- How are the roles different?
First and foremost, the Australian Professional Standards for Teachers (2014) sets out in Standard 3.4 that all teachers must ‘select and use resources’. The four levels are outlined as such:
- Graduate teachers are required to “demonstrate knowledge of a range of resources, including ICT, that engage students in their learning.”
- Proficient teachers “select and/or create and use a range of resources, including ICT, to engage students in their learning.”
- Highly accomplished teachers “assist colleagues to create, select and use a wide range of resources, including ICT, to engage students in their learning.”
- Lead teachers “model exemplary skills and lead colleagues in selecting, creating and evaluating resources, including ICT, for application by teachers within or beyond the school.”
With this standard in mind, my initial reaction is that the roles complement each other and collaboration is vital, as the final goal for both the TL and the CT is successful learning for students. I do feel that the TL, almost by default as a central curriculum and resourcing expert, comply with the criteria for Highly accomplished/lead standards as they collaborate with and assist classroom teachers. ‘The services (TLs) provide and the resources they access impact on every teacher and every student’ (ACT Government Education, 2019, p. 5).
The CT supports the TL by providing specialist knowledge of their subject area and understand the needs of the students in their class. CTs also are up to date with the curriculum requirements for their subject (NSW Department of Education, 2017). This knowledge is important in locating and evaluating potential resources. The TL provides the CT with expertise in locating and evaluating resources.
To complement the skills of the CT, the TL brings the general overview of curriculum, including links to General Capabilities and are up to date with new resources which are available. TLs are skilled at linking teachers and students with resources available both inside and outside the school.
The two roles differ in that the focus for the TL is more on the information service management role (Australian School Library Association, 2021; School Library Association of South Australia, 2015; NSW Department of Education, 2017). This management role is about the needs of the whole school and the selection of resources that meet the curriculum requirements of all students.
So, in some ways the roles of the TL and the CT overlap, but the TL is more focused on a whole-school view, whereas the CT is particularly focused on their class. As such the roles complement each other. It is very difficult for the TL to select appropriate resources without the input of the CT and the TL can provide insight into potential resources across a range of curriculum areas. The two roles become and partnership and work hand in hand.
References
ACT Government Education. (2019). School libraries: The heart of 21st century learning. https://www.education.act.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0007/1435435/School-Libraries-The-Heart-of-21st-Century-Learning.pdf
Australian Institute for Teaching and School Leadership. (2014). Australian professional standards for teachers. https://www.aitsl.edu.au/teach/standards.
Australian School Library Association. (2021). What is a teacher librarian? https://asla.org.au/what-is-a-teacher-librarian
NSW Department of Education. (2017). Handbook for school libraries. https://education.nsw.gov.au/content/dam/main-education/teaching-and-learning/curriculum/media/documents/schoollibrarieshandbook2015.pdf
School Library Association of South Australia. (2015). Teacher librarian role statement. https://www.slasa.asn.au/Advocacy/docs/RoleStatement2015.pdf
So, here I am again, at the start of another unit for Teacher Librarianship. Before I get too far into the throws of readings and discussion tasks, I wanted to take the time to frame my thinking about my first impressions of what ‘Resourcing the Curriculum’ means. My initial thoughts revolve around collaboration with classroom teachers to find out what they are teaching and then finding resources, both in the library and online, that would support both the teachers’ and the students’ needs. This could include creating pathfinders or providing teachers with a list of websites and a pile of books to use. I believe resourcing the curriculum requires the TL to have an overview of the curriculum areas being taught at the school by staying up to date with current curriculum requirements and syllabus documents.
I believe it is also the responsibility of the TL, through collaboration with teachers, students and the principal to select, procure and organise resources that will be of use to the school. The library is not the place for the TLs personal preferences regarding resources; selections have to be made based on the needs of patrons.
I think a big challenge is how to know where to find the right resources to support the school community. There are so many other challenges that feed into this overarching challenge; changes in technology, resource access for the school community, availability of resources and changes in curriculum. I am looking forward to learning more about how to best assist students and teachers in resourcing and how to select (and deselect) resources to keep the library catalogue and available resources relevant.
At the very start of the ETL504 I stated that I was interested in gaining further insight into how the teacher librarian (TL) can be the link between teachers, curriculum and school leadership (Gemell, 2021, 5 July). I also discussed the (TL) as a central role, stating that “we are the linking ingredient at the centre of the school, guiding the research and reading culture of the school” (Gemell, 2021, 5 July). This really was the beginning of my journey to understanding the central leadership role of the TL and how this role functions within the school. Oddone (2021, June 14) sums it up well stating that the TL leads from the middle by providing professional learning communities and facilitating collaboration. However, I feel that the TL does more than this. The role of the TL encapsulates more than PD, collaboration and resourcing. They are a leader within the school community, linking the needs of the students and staff with the goals of the school principal and the leadership team. The TL does this through clear communication with the whole school community and listening and responding to their needs. The TL also supports the school community through the management of the library space as a 21st century learning environment. Without that central space where collaboration, sharing, discussion and research come together then perhaps “these key learning activities are in danger of no occurring at all” (Gemell, 2021, 22 August).
Learning about the different leadership models and understanding how particular leadership affects the culture of a school has been eye-opening. I never realised there were different leadership models and that leadership was not all about the principal and the leadership team (Gemell, 2021, August 9). It was interesting to realise that different leadership models can be drawn upon to utilise the attributes of the different styles. The individual models by themselves have their own strengths and weaknesses, but in combination make the leadership stronger. I was particularly drawn to the models of servant and distributed leadership and how they support the role of the TL. The distributed model is essential to mitigating the ‘dictating from the top’ approach (Shaked, 2021; Ng Foo Seong, 2019) and gives the TL opportunity to be a leader. The TL then has the capacity to utilise servant leadership to assist the school community as a whole, not just the students or teachers separately.
I was also particularly challenged by the concept of conflict as a catalyst for change. I did identify some areas for my own improvement in regards to conflict as I try to avoid it rather than confront it (Gemell, 2021, 18 July). I have come to grow in my understanding of conflict and how it can form a platform to think about different angles in a particular situation rather than from my own perspective.
Moving forward with my learning, I will be mindful of leadership styles that I utilise to best support the library and school community. I feel that servant leadership works well for a TL because the attributes of listening and communication support the learning community as a whole. Through servant leadership I am looking to increase my own skills in ICT, particularly digital citizenship. By increasing my own skills, it becomes a platform from which to best support the whole school community (Gemell, 2021, 7 September). I would also use the experience of the discussion paper to harness servant leadership as a vehicle to discuss improvements with the principal. It has helped me to articulate where the gaps are in my school and how the TL can support the school community to fill these gaps. I have more fully grasped the understanding that the TL and the library cannot be seen as stand-alone resources within the school and, for improvements to be made in 21st century learning, it must be a whole-school approach (Cole, 2012).
References
Cole, P. (2012). Linking effective professional learning with effective teaching practice. https://ptrconsulting.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/linking_effective_professional_learning_with_effective_teaching_practice_-_cole.pdf
Ng Foo Seong, D. (2019). Instructional leadership. In T. Townsend (Ed.), Instructional leadership and leadership for learning in schools : understanding theories of leading (pp. 15-48). Springer International Publishing.
Oddone, K. (2021, June 14). Teacher librarian as leader: Lessons from the literature. Linking Learning. https://www.linkinglearning.com.au/teacher-librarian-as-leader-lessons-from-the-literature/
Shaked, H. (2021). Relationship-based instructional leadership. International Journal of Leadership in Education. https://doi.org/10.1080/13603124.2021.1944673
Every teacher librarian (TL) experiences the time when a class is in the library and is being noisy and off task. This could even be a daily occurrence. So, what do you do about it? Well…that depends on how you look at the situation. There are short-term solutions ranging from asking the students to be on task, to long-term solutions which involve collaboration with staff and analysing the library environment. The short-term solutions might be the easy go-to, but it does get pretty draining asking students to be on task day after day. The long-term solutions require analysis and reflection about the library space but are well worth the effort. The results are a win-win for students, teachers and the TL.
Short-term solutions:
Short-term solutions are required to solve the issue straight away but are not a total solution in themselves. Short-term solutions don’t particularly require any level of leadership from the TL, just a good ‘teacher stare’, quick reminders and positive interactions with students. Here are some ideas:
Do a check of what is really happening. Talk to the teacher about what the task actually is. You never know…the students might be on task, but it just doesn’t look like it!
If there are students off task, ask yourself, is it really the whole class who are noisy and off task or just a few students? Remind students to stay on task and to be respectful of others. Ask the students who are off task to show you what they are working on (in a positive way) and show interest in their work. Some students need the stimulus of a conversation to get on track. Ask students what their task is. Ask them how you can assist them in that task, or better yet, show them how the library can support them in the task. Here is a great opportunity for servant leadership to listen to students’ needs and act on them.
Long-term solutions
Long-term solutions may not solve the issues at hand immediately in that particular moment, but they will help to mitigate the same situation from occurring in the future. These long-term solutions rely on a combination of servant and transformational leadership and how these two styles interconnect.
Having a conversation with the classroom teacher is a wonderful place to start. Ask them what the task entails and, depending on their answer, it might be an opportunity for collaboration with the classroom teacher to devise inquiry learning tasks. Through servant leadership you could devise library guides and pathfinders for the teacher and students to use. There’s also an opportunity here to team-teach with the classroom teacher which results in more support for the students in their learning. This would be a positive approach to support the teacher to make their library time more effective.
Delving in deeper from this point is reflection on the environment of the library space. A close analysis of how the library space is set-up is essential to supporting student learning. There is an opportunity to ask yourself several questions in addition to talking to teachers and students about what they would like to see in the set-up of the library space. Questions could include
- Is the current set-up conducive to student learning?
- Are there sufficient break-out spaces for collaboration?
- Are there private study spaces for students who want to work quietly?
- Do the students and teachers know about the services available at the library?
There are a mountain of questions to ask in this process of analysis and reflection and changes would need to be made over time rather than in one fell swoop.
Gone are the days of the shushing library dragon and oppressive silence of a library, however, students need to be supported to achieve their best and TLs play a major role in this support through their leadership, collaboration and management of the library space and resources.
During the week’s readings I was particular taken by the blog post by Beth Holland, 21st-Century Libraries: The Learning Commons. It got me thinking about the space of the library and what that would look like. It also got me thinking about if the library space itself is important, or is the library shifting so far to digital access that the library space is becoming obsolete? Beth Holland discusses the birth of Enlightenment and the role of the coffee houses as a place for people to gather to have meaningful conversations on learning. Is the 21st Century school library moving more towards this coffee house style of space? I have been reflecting on this and beginning to think that the answer is both. The physical library space is still important as it provides a common space within the school for students to gather, whether in a class capacity or independently. The space itself triggers the concept of a place of learning and discussion. If the library space didn’t exist, where else would students have these opportunities? I know for myself I have certain places I go to for certain activities. I do my school-work downstairs in my office (or at school when we can be there!), and I do my reading for leisure upstairs on the couch. I couldn’t let these areas cross over because the feeling of the space would be wrong. I think this theory applies to the school library space. If no other space in the school provides the opportunities for discussion, collaboration and sharing in a common area then these key learning activities are in danger of not occurring at all.
I’m thinking that a 21st Century school library would be more like the space that is described in Beth Holland’s blog post: a learning hub for the school with space for interaction, collaboration and sharing, leaning more towards the space as a learning commons rather than a traditional library. The space and building itself contribute to the activities that happen within the space while the resources are supported in both a physical and digital environment.
I have just completed and submitted the first assignment for ETL504. I found working with the software challenging, and my perfectionist self definitely struggled with ‘getting it right’. I came to the conclusion that the concept map was never going to be perfect because of the interconnectedness of all the parts of a school. I stand by my big ‘uh huh’ moment of ETL401 that collaboration is the key to success within a school. Staff cannot be islands who function independently of each other. Without collaboration each person would have their own values, vision and agenda and there would be no cohesion within the school.
I have also been reflecting on the attributes of different leadership models and how they interrelate and affect each other. Schools are always striving towards best-practice teaching, taking into account the 21st Century educational landscape. The leadership styles of the principal need to complement the change required to accommodate this evolving landscape. Transactional leadership is not going to be a good choice for inviting change. Instructional leadership is a good choice but needs to be supported by both distributed and transformational leadership attributes.
Shaked (2021, p. 2) shows that instructional leadership correlates with “better school results, improved teacher practices and higher student achievement.” This is a strong case for utilising instructional leadership within the school, but as stated before, this needs to be done in a distributed manner to mitigate the ‘dictating from the top’ approach that could be a factor in instructional leadership. Shaked (2021) and Ng Foo Seong (2019) both support that leadership must be distributed throughout the school and cannot be left to the principal alone.
For this distribution of leadership to work, there must be open lines of communication and opportunities for collaboration and discussion. The TL is well-placed within the school to be a central point of collaboration and communication. As a central point within the school, interacting with all staff and students, the TL can lead from the middle to provide professional learning communities and collegial collaboration to support and resource these areas (Oddone, 2021).
This task has been interesting to analyse my understanding of leadership theory and to apply it in a real-world context. Prior to undertaking this assignment my idea was that a principal took on one leadership style and applied that. Through research, there has been a shift in my understanding of how several leadership styles can be combined to support change and the 21st Century education landscape. I was also challenged by the concept that conflict could be a good thing. I am usually one to avoid conflict at all costs but have come to the realisation that conflict that occurs, as a result of collaboration, can be positive (Ho and Ng, 2017). It gives rise to opportunities for change with a purpose rather than change for change sake.
References
Ho, J., & Ng, D. (2017). Tension in distributed leadership. University Council for Educational Administrators. Vol. 53(2), 223-254. https://doi.org/10.1177/0013161X16681630
Ng Foo Seong, D. (2019). Instructional leadership. In T. Townsend (Ed.), Instructional leadership and leadership for learning in schools : understanding theories of leading (pp. 15-48). Springer International Publishing.
Oddone, K. (2021, June 14). Teacher librarian as leader: Lessons from the literature. Linking Learning. https://www.linkinglearning.com.au/teacher-librarian-as-leader-lessons-from-the-literature/
Shaked, H. (2021). Relationship-based instructional leadership. International Journal of Leadership in Education. Vol.ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print), 1-18. https://doi.org/10.1080/13603124.2021.1944673
Even before doing the questionnaire, I knew that my approach to conflict is to be the peacekeeper. This was always how my family describes me when conflict occurs. To be completely honest, conflict gives me the stomach flips and I try to avoid it as much as possible. I don’t enjoy it and find it anxiety-inducing and stressful. My way to deal with conflict is to try to come to a solution as quickly as possible, even if this means I compromise my own wants for the situation. This came out quite strongly in my score, scoring 14 in the areas of ‘Accommodating’ and ‘Compromising’. My next strongest area of conflict resolution in ‘Collaboration’ in which I scored 13 and ‘Avoiding’ gaining 11. These all seem quite high and on reflection it appears that if I can’t accommodate, compromise or collaborate, then I do everything I can to avoid the conflict. This is in line with the way I perceive myself in conflict situations and reiterates on how others perceive me in conflict situations.
The area of ‘Competing’ only scored 5 points. This is not surprising to me, but I have never thought of this as a deficit in how I manage conflict. My perception of competing (standing up strongly for my ideas) would antagonise a conflict situation. I would rather back down or try to compromise rather than stand firmly with my side of an argument. I feel this is an area that I need to improve on because in order to compromise and collaborate well, all ideas need to be heard and considered rather than being drowned out by the loudest idea.
What is leadership and how does this relate to the role of the TL? This question has really got me thinking and initially one important term springs to mind. The term ‘collaboration’ comes first and foremost. The concept of collaboration was my big take-away from ETL401 and without collaboration the role of the TL is redundant. One cannot lead without collaborating with others. TLs are the conduit that link the vacuum of the school to outside information. They communicate this throughout the school through collaboration and membership of both the teaching and leadership communities.
Before I go any further, what is meant by leadership? When I think of leadership, I think of someone that others look up to for guidance and information. Leaders have a goal and are able to guide groups to achieve these goals willingly. Leaders are inspiring. When I looked up the definition of leadership a multitude of answers came back. The more I looked the more definitions came up. The Oxford Learner’s Dictionary (2021) defines a leader as ‘a person who leads a group of people, especially the head of a country, an organization, etc.’ This definition doesn’t do very much for me and is too rigid and sterile. Leadership is more organic and involves identifying issues, supporting people and strategizing the best solutions to problems while keeping the humanity of the decisions in mind.
These ideas about collaboration, leaders and leadership are important to the role of the TL because the TL is the link between classroom teachers, curriculum, school leadership and outside information. As an information specialist TLs are at the forefront of sourcing and research skills for students, keeping all parties up to date with resources. As one of two TLs in my current school the importance of library advocacy and collaboration is paramount. We are the linking ingredient at the centre of the school, guiding the research and reading culture of the school. If the TL was considered a stand-alone position than there would be no consistency across the school regarding these areas.
References
Oxford Learner’s Dictionary. (2021). Leader. In oxfordlearnersdictionary.com dictionary. Retrieved July 5, 2021, from https://www.oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com/definition/english/leader?q=leader