Looking ahead to the future, it can be hard to determine what they will be like exactly. 

After watching Blended Library from the University of Konstanz, it was pretty interesting what can be achieved with the incorporation of technology. Would school libraries head in this direction, I’m not sure. Would I like them too, maybe. Maybe it would help the secondary students use the library more than they would. 

Our library collection is like the phoenix stage (Wade, 2005). It is existing and when the current TL leaves, a new one will take over. This will hopefully lead to the incorporation of new organisation and teaching the students new skills. 

In ten years time, I think there will still be library collections. Picture books will still be essential for the lower primary children. Non-fiction books are still essential for students’ learning to research. Research is an important skill to have and if you expect students to complete everything digitally then is that causing more harm than good, especially when it comes to students attending university? My favourite authors are still writing books and publishing them in hard copies, and whilst this might appear as old school, I don’t think they are going to change their ways – so there is always going to need to be a shelf for their books in a library. 

It’s hard to say what factors will determine the future of school library collections. I think the main factor is people’s perception of the library. There is a teacher that has said TL’s do very little work and this is alarming as they don’t understand the role of or utilise the TL to full potential. Will it depend on whether the principal is for or against the library which will determine the budget? How hard is technology going to be pushed into the library environment? Since I am not currently in the role, I am not fully aware of all the factors that relate to the library situation. There are so many variables that it might be a case of we will have to wait and see.

Wade, C. (2005). The school library: phoenix or dodo bird? Educational Horizons, 8(5), 12-14.

HCi Group Konstanz. (2014, August 1). Blended library [Video file].

After viewing A library story it gives the big picture as to the role of the teacher librarian. And to the detriment of the students, there are so many things that are taken away from them because the position isn’t always funded. The library teaches the students reading, inquiry and research, technology, evaluation skills, digital citizenship (Valenza, 2013) and so much more. When I think about the required work of a teacher librarian and what I will one day be faced with, it overwhelms me. But when I reflect on assignment three that I completed for an inquiry unit, that excites me. I currently supervise the students in the library at lunch times and to see the amount of students coming in to play chess, games, read books and also conduct clubs like origami and comics is very encouraging. The library is certainly alive!

As classroom teachers we are faced with an overburdened curriculum that we can’t possibly teach everything and we need the support of another professional, like a teacher librarian, to collaborate with, to teach and encourage students in their learning process. I know that it is mandatory for NSW schools to have a qualified teacher librarian, I read something that QLD is potentially lobbying to do something similar and hopefully VIC won’t be too far behind. Without teacher librarians our students are missing out on vital skills. 

Valenza, J. (2013). School library story. [Video]. Vimeo. https://vimeo.com/82208025