As I reflect on this module of teacher librarians as leaders, I feel conflicted with feelings of being overwhelmed and also excited as I wonder of all the possibilities that lay ahead when it comes to being in the teacher librarian role. 

1. While assisting a parent in the library, his/her young child is running amok amongst the shelves.

I would excuse myself from talking with the parent and go over to the child by encouraging them to sit with a few books, or activities that may be in the library. I would also encourage them to collect the books that they may have taken off the shelf and put them on the circulation desk (as putting them back may pose to be a more difficult task). Once settled, I would go and address the parent again. This is all in the hope that the young child is willing to listen to someone, it may prove difficult if they respond with ‘no!’ 

2. The class outside the library is noisy and jostling each other whilst the class teacher is talking to a colleague.

I would attend the class and remind them of the expectations that are required when waiting for the teacher. I might nicely suggest that the colleagues plan a later time for their discussion, and they are more than welcome to hold it in the library.  

3. The class in the library is noisy and appears off task – under your supervision OR under a teacher’s supervision. 

Under my supervision, it would be necessary to refocus the class. Maybe the class needs a beak, do they need a reminder of the task? 

It is always tricky with another teacher’s class, as you don’t want to step on their toes. Maybe going over to particular students and engaging in conversation about the task and offering to help out with their work. A gentle reminder that they need to remain on task, rather than being noisy. 

4. It is the middle of report writing and you overhear two teacher colleagues complaining about the light teaching and reporting load of the teacher librarian.

This is a tricky one – rather than try and justify my role, I would offer to help. Was there anything I could do to help them? At my school the library coordinator is required to write report comments for all of the primary school students (they are often very similar) but she certainly has far more than me. 

I was attempting to answer these with a servant leadership style, but on the other hand you don’t want to be a doormat, where all the staff walk all over you, or expect you to step in when they are not in control. 

As a teacher librarian you have a dual role. One that is a librarian and one that is a teacher and being able to be a problem solver, information source and have knowledge of the curriculum, which seems like a huge undertaking. I certainly have hopes and dreams of how I would like the library to be, and what I would like to achieve, but I feel that I could potentially be walking into a mess and will need to pick up the pieces first before I can really delve into the full role of the teacher librarian. Then there might be the rocky road to establish myself as a teacher librarian, collaborating with teachers and leadership. Further investigation into advocacy, I feel is needed. It was a big topic to get my head around, and it may take awhile considering the library is currently running on its own and it will be a big job to update and promote the service that the library can be. What an overwhelming but exciting possibility. 

After completing this module, I am feeling overwhelmed, but I am also looking forward to the challenge of the teacher librarian role.

When I look at the library’s current situation, many elements are missing. The mission statement was completed in 2010, and I can not find an updated version. What the mission statement and rationale explained may have been relevant and used back then, but they need to be updated to reflect the current educational and school strategic policies. The library is doing a disservice to the students and staff, but I must remember that the current library coordinator is not a trained teacher librarian and feels she is doing her best. 

I have created a list of the required planning documents outlined in this module to help keep me on track when I am potentially in the teacher librarian role at the school. These include: 

• Finding and, if necessary, rewriting the policy documents – I can use what I learned in ETL503 to help.
• Create Strategic Planning documents
• Create a Mission Statement
• Create a Vision Statement 
• Documentation—Library Operations Checklist—Using the National Library of NZ checklist (n.d) to help, compile a folder (physical, online, or both) that has all of this documentation easily accessible. 
• Create procedures for how things should be completed. I have been told that these are currently in the coordinator’s head, but if she were to leave tomorrow, it would not be helpful for anyone. 

While this is a start, and I am sure there will be more to complete, it is very eye-opening to see what is required to keep a library together and running. I have always known that it differs from a classroom, but I did not know the exact details needed, especially in an emergency. Again, I have no idea if there is anything in place if something were to happen to the library. Is it a wait-and-see assessment? 

I will have to take one step at a time and gather a few other staff members around me to make taking on the library less overwhelming. Wong (2012) states that a library committee should be established to represent the interests of the stakeholders. Allowing the library to be represented in wider circles and not classed as an island.

I am looking forward to putting what I have been learning into practice, even though it is overwhelming. I don’t understand the extent of the mess that I am walking into. Thankfully, I have a good working relationship with the technician and assistant, and I hope that I will be able to lead them and take the library in a more positive and futuristic direction.  

National Library of New Zealand. (n.d) Getting started in your school library: An operations checklist. https://natlib.govt.nz/schools/school-libraries/library-systems-and-operations/library-operations/getting-started-in-your-school-library-an-operations-checklist

Wong, T. (2012). Strategic long-range planning. Library Media Connection, 31(2), 22-23.

The role of the Teacher Librarian is so vital to the school.

TL’s are there to support the teachers, they should facilitate training – I saw this in action on my placement last year, the teachers would come to the library to hold PD’s. The HOP would like to make changes to the staff room, but why not make changes to the library and hold staff meetings there, this way there is easy access to resources and the library can collaborate and share with the teachers. Our current library structure and layout is well behind the times, and really needs updating and major staff changes to bring it up to the 21st Century.

I don’t feel the library has a loud enough voice. It is classed as a specialist lesson, to give time release to the classroom teachers, but that’s it. It is not providing students with current skills to ensure they are leave school with the current technological skills.

I like this outline from Future Ready Librarians (Ford, 2016) that shows the people involved and the change process that could be followed when I am in the role.