Module 2 reflection

• Discuss how the teacher librarian’s expertise and role is different from that required by all teachers.

Teacher Librarians have a broad overview of the resourcing needs of the school community. They collaborate widely and across KLAs and are better able to identify resources that are useful in more than one subject area or year level.

• Share ideas on how teacher librarians might effectively collaborate with the school community in the selection of resources in a school with which you are familiar.

Time time time time time. The mantra of teachers and teacher librarians everywhere! ANYTHING is possible if the time to meet and discuss is made available to t-ls and team leaders. Effective collaboration from one teacher-librarian with 100+ teachers is not possible. I am able to keep tabs on Unit of Work across year-level subject teams via Teams, but this info changes on a daily basis, and I am expected to teach a Year 8 English class and provide library lessons for 14 classes fortnightly, as well as manage three distanced campus libraries with inadequate and partly unqualified staff. Collaboration – hah! Time and recognition of expertise would be a fine thing.

• Consider also how to engage your learners in selection of resources for their school library.

As previously noted, the community is able to place requests for specific titles via a range of means. We rarely censor requests – budget constraints, dubious literary value, and low value for money are the main reasons we reject requests.

• Who should have the final say on what is included? Why?

The library staff should have the final say. Experience, education, understanding.