The Role of the Teacher Librarian

A few years ago, I had reason to go down to the school library to pick up some faculty books that had mistakenly been returned there. I walked into the empty library, and upon not seeing the books already sitting on the circulation desk, set off in search of the librarian. I found her in her office, reading a book that she leisurely put down when she saw me standing in the doorway. I distinctly remember thinking to myself; “She gets paid to read books all day? That is the best job ever!”

I formed this opinion based on the fact that I never saw the librarian outside of the library. My sole transactions with her took place across the circulation desk, or rather in the doorway of her office. As far as I was aware, she existed in her own separate world, and we – the teachers and students – existed in another.

Over the years, I have reflected on this image of the siloed librarian, and since I took up a temporary full-time teacher librarian position in a high school in April, it is an image that I have been actively attempting to challenge in my own work. So what then, is my understanding of the role of the TL in schools?

First and foremost, the primary role of the teacher librarian is to teach. Revolutionary, I know. Although each TL has a recognised teaching background, the teaching of information literacy often falls to their care, perhaps because their work within the library seems to simultaneously occupy both a physical and digital space. ‘Information literacy’ encompasses the skills required and involved in inquiring, locating, evaluating and applying information appropriately (ALIA, 2006; ANZIIL, 2004). With the emerging technologies of Web 2.0 and the proliferation of information freely available online, equipping students with these necessary skills has become key to creating lifelong learners who are capable of being critical and active citizens of local, national and global communities (MCEETYA, 2008).

The second responsibility of the teacher librarian – although no less important than the first – is to foster a love of reading, both for learning and for pleasure. Although it is a controversial area of discussion, research suggests that as children reach adolescence their interest in reading for both information and leisure declines (Nippold, Duthie, & Larson, 2005; Purcell et al., 2012). It is important that in order to combat this decline, teacher librarians work alongside classroom teachers to ensure that they provide access to a wide range of reading materials, opportunities for students to select their own reading material, and provide experiences that engage students in social interactions about what they are reading (Gambrell, 2015).

The third and final job of the TL is the administrative management of the school library. This involves duties such as budgeting, ordering, purchasing, accessioning, and circulation. Although these tasks may be perceived as the ‘boring’ part of the job, they actually underpin the successful running of the library and ensure the TL can continue to fulfil the other functions involved in their role.

It is said that at the heart of a successful school is the school library. Well, if this is true, it could also be said that at the centre of the school library is a skilled and sought after teacher librarian.

Reference List

Australian and New Zealand Institute for Information Literacy [ANZIIL]. (2004). Australian and New Zealand Information Literacy Framework. Adelaide: Australian and New Zealand Institute for Information Literacy. Retrieved June 18, 2018 from http://archive.caul.edu.au/info-literacy/InfoLiteracyFramework.pdf

Australian Library and Information Association [ALIA]. (2006). Statement on information literacy for all Australians. Retrieved June 16, 2018, from https://www.alia.org.au/about-alia/policies-standards-and-guidelines/statement-information-literacy-all-australians

Gambrell, L. B. (2015). Getting students hooked on the reading habit. The Reading Teacher, 69(3), 259–263.

Ministerial Council on Education, Employment, Training and Youth Affairs. (2008). Melbourne Declaration on Educational Goals for Young Australians. Retrieved July 16, 2019 from http://www.curriculum.edu.au/verve/_resources/National_Declaration_on_the_Educational_Goals_for_Young_Australians.pdf

Nippold, M. A., Duthie, J. K., & Larsen, J. (2005). Literacy as a Leisure Activity: Free time Preferences of Older Children and Young Adolescents. Language Speech and Hearing Services in Schools, 36(2), 93-102.

Purcell, K., Rainie, L., Heaps, A., Buchanan, J., Friedrich, L., Jacklin, A., Chen, C. & Zickuhr, K. (2012). How Teens Do Research in the Digital World. Retrieved June 17, 2018 from http://www.pewinternet.org/files/old-media/Files/Reports/2012/PIP_TeacherSurveyReportWithMethodology110112.pdf