Understandings of the role of the TL in schools
“Google can bring you back 100,000 answers, a librarian can bring you back the right one.”- Neil Gaiman.
I just couldn’t resist to share this wonderful quote about the importance of a librarian in this era of information overload that is both overwhelming and completely perplexing.
Rightly called ‘Information Specialists’, my understanding of the role of the TL in any school setting is that if you are seeking quality information that is reliable, then your go-to person is your TL. We live in a world full of distractions where information on any topic can be accessed just by a right click. A TL acts as a sieve who can sift through the plethora of information so the students can have access to quality information.
The role of the TL is to always think of innovative ways to engage students to read more and to read widely. Our students are bombarded with literature; often they are not able to distinguish the difference between quality literature and other forms of writing. TL makes this easy by exposing students to different genres and working in collaboration with other teachers and often the wider school community to manage diverse teaching and learning resources . TLs ensure that required learning outcomes are met by employing a range of information processes such as Guided Inquiry Design Process (GID). This empowers students to build their research skills specially at a primary level and learn how to find a source of information that is reliable and safe.
https://guidedinquirydesign.com/gid/
I work at a school with 90% of students from EaLD background and the librarians have a huge role to play to ensure that their literacy needs are met. They do this by inculcating a love of reading through organising various reading challenges, book week celebrations, world book week, library lovers, book talks, book clubs, author meets, National Simultaneous Storytime and many other events.
When the classroom teachers are inundated with a vast curriculum to cover, Teacher Librarians share this massive task by using strategies to effectively integrate few of the KLAs into their library program. I have combined different KLAs like STEM, art, History and English by collaborating with other teachers/school leaders and innovating a program to meet the different abilities/needs of our students.
So, the new age librarians have surpassed the role of a traditional librarian who was mainly responsible to manage physical resources. In the 21st century, librarian’s role has expanded and in this digital age they are problem solvers, collaborators and technology integration leaders.
This quote by ‘Linton Weeks’ beautifully summarises the role of a librarian.
“In the nonstop tsunami of global information, librarians provide us with floaties and teach us to swim.”