‘The Keeper of the Library’

Fifteen years ago I entered the world of teaching as a primary school classroom teacher. I have had the privilege of sharing classrooms with students across Kindy to Year 6 and I have been lucky enough to establish amazing working relationships within the school community. I have been inspired by many of my peers and I love being part a collective of professionals who contribute to an environment rich in active teaching and learning.

I have had a fascination with libraries for as long as I remember and in my capacity as a teacher this gives me the opportunity to share this love with my students. However, this initially proved difficult because as a young classroom teacher I felt a disconnect between the school library and the rest of the school. I had always considered a Teacher Librarian to be the teacher’s “go-to person” (Project Tomorrow, 2011, p.13), offering advice based on carefully sourced information, sharing research tips and resources, someone to bounce ideas off. Unfortunately, at my school collaboration and support were not proffered to the teaching staff and the students were often left befuddled by the sheer size of the collection and lack of direction.

The opportunity arose later for me to take up an acting Teacher Librarian role along with the responsibility of library management. Finally I began to appreciate the crucial role that a Teacher Librarian should play within the school.

I believe it is the Teacher Librarian’s purpose to work closely with teachers, to provide understanding, support and guidance regarding the literacy aims of their school. The direction of the library and its place in the school community must also be clearly defined with the introduction and reference to clear policies and processes. Furthermore, the Teacher Librarian should develop and manage a quality library collection with relevant and current resources for students and teachers. It is important to also consider “the increased variety and depth of the digital resources available for classroom use” (Project Tomorrow, 2011, p.13) whereby a Teacher Librarian “is emerging as a critical player in enabling the use of these tools in the classroom, taking on the twin roles of cheerleader and exploration sherpa.” (Project Tomorrow, 2011, p.13).

I was asked by a student the other day “Are you the Keeper of the Library?”. A great job description, but does this title give recognition to the many hats a Teacher librarian must wear? Furthermore, what are these hats? Gruden (2001) compares the responsibilities of Teacher Librarians to those of Construction Project Managers, thus presenting five main facets of the role; learning, leadership, cooperative planning and teaching, enabling and managing in a school library program. Whilst the Australian School Library Association (2014) outlines in detail the three major roles a Teacher Librarian holds; curriculum leaders, information specialists and information service managers. I believe this is just the tip of the iceberg and as I journey through my studies I will begin to understand just how multifaceted the role of the Teacher Librarian is.

I am pretty happy to wear the ‘The Keeper of the Library’ hat for the time being and look forward to collecting many more along the way.

References

Australian School Library Association. (2014). What is a teacher librarian? Retrieved from https://asla.org.au/what-is-a-teacher-librarian

Gruden, V. (2001). Role of the teacher-librarian construction: A metaphor and a graphic. School Libraries in Canada, 21(2), 14-15. https://search-proquest-com.ezproxy.csu.edu.au/docview/222482198?accountid=10344

Project Tomorrow. (2011, May). The New 3 E’s of Education: Enabled, Engaged, Empowered How Today’s Educators are Advancing a New Vision for Teaching and Learning. Speak Up 2010 National Findings. https://tomorrow.org/speakup/pdfs/SU10_3EofEducation_Educators.pdf