The Teacher Librarian – endangered or just misunderstood? A reflection on Karen Bonanno’s speech at ASLA, 2011 conference: A profession at the tipping point: Time to change the game plan. Often considered an invisible profession TLs are however unique in the world of education. It is through strength of character, clear focus, presenting a solid brand, […]
A reflection on Johnson’s 2018 methods of collection analysis Fundamentals of Collection Development and Management (Fourth Ed.) (Johnson, 2018) presents an apprised table (p. 288) that appears to contain a few updates including the consideration of e-resources. The aim of a collection analysis is essentially to asses a collection’s value not the quality (Johnson, p. […]
I’m not in this alone! I was asked to consider what qualities I would look for in preferred school library suppliers during the readings for Module 4 (Legal and ethical issues of collections). Oh yes, I have a list of qualities: I prefer to support local but sometimes pricing/availability and timeframe can be an issue. […]
Budget Considerations Whilst an overarching budget plan considers the mission of the library, Johnson (2018, p 102) looks to both internal and external factors that affect library needs and in turn shape the budgeting considerations. An “environmental scan” (Johnson, 2018 p. 102) or data gathering exercise must take place to establish the needs and wants […]
‘The Principal and I’ During my readings for Module 3 – The role of the teacher librarian – I was struck by how significant the relationship between the TL and the Principal really is. Haycock (2007) suggests that there is almost a symbiotic connection at play between the TL and Principal with both give and […]
Teacher Librarian in the Information Landscape Floridi (2007) uses the notion of ‘infosphere’ to capture the idea of a world of information in which we live, what it is and how we interact with it. The Information Landscape is quite literally an ever-evolving concept, impacted by constant technological developments as well as how we as […]
Definitions of Collection Management and Collection Development Reviewing the readings in module 1 I was left with the belief that both collection development and collection management involve interconnected and interdependent activities and to attempt to distinguish between the two is meaningless. The NSW Department of Education (2015) Handbook for School Libraries does not separate the […]
Information Society We are in an ‘Information era’, whereby everyone’s’ life has and is being impacted, affected, determined, to some extent, by technology. Webster (2002, p.8) gives us five definitions to consider when looking at the idea of information society. I would argue that it is difficult to rest easily on one definition as a […]
Thinking about Information An incredibly interesting way to begin ETL401, discussions around the nature of information. More precisely, how do we define ‘information’ and how does it in turn impact the way in which we communicate, learn and use information? Personally, I often use the word ‘information’. In my role I will use it when […]
I am married with two beautiful boys (aged 10 and 9) and two old cats. Hailing originally from the UK – Nottingham (Robin Hood, Maid Marion, Sherwood Forest et al) I moved over to Australia in the year 2000 taking up a post as a Ship Operator (Shipping = my ‘first’ career). Within 5 years […]