The Role of the Teacher Librarian

The role of the teacher librarian is multifaceted. They are, at their heart, teachers. Collaborating with teachers to teach information literacy and digital citizenship forms a large part of their role. Teacher Librarians are responsible for fostering a love of reading and learning: guiding users to literature and resources that inspire them to go further than they might have otherwise. They must be experts in the organisation of resources: library operation, budgeting, training and supervising support staff. They are responsible for collection development: sourcing, curating, and managing resources that meet the needs of the school community and presenting those resources in an accessible, inviting way.

Before beginning my Masters journey I had had the privilege of working in four school libraries, if only in a short-term relieving capacity. My job was merely to replicate the lesson structure and management techniques of the Teacher Librarians I was relieving. I did, though, have the advantage of seeing at least the public side of the role more clearly than I might otherwise have done. I came to see that the goal of each Teacher Librarian I relieved appeared to be similar. They were all concerned with the development of what they called “information literacy” in their students. Exactly what that is, I am not certain. I hope that this will form a large part of my studies in the years to come. My initial impression is that is has to do with the ways in which learners obtain, analyse and use information. I say ‘learners’ as opposed to ‘students’ because students who learn to be information literate will be able to apply this skill in a myriad of circumstances and challenges through out their lives, not just while at school. (Zervas, Stavrou, & Kounoudes, 2019)

Teacher Librarians foster a love of reading and learning (Robins & Stephenson, 2018; Valenza & Jones, 2012). Previously, I had thought that the role of the teacher librarian was simply to organise and check out books that students might like to read. This is indeed one goal. An abundance of literature exists to show that students who read regularly for recreation are better able to comprehend texts than those who choose other pastimes (Adkins & Brendler, 2015; Block & Mangieri, 2002; Castles, Rastle & Nation, 2018; Guthrie & Klauda, 2015; McGeown et al, 2015; Merga, 2015). Willingham (2017) argues that wide and varied reading is the most important activity that will help students develop into expert readers. Building a culture of reading within the school, then, is vital. The teacher librarian is uniquely placed to develop in students a love of reading for pleasure as well as for learning and to provide universal access to quality texts that might otherwise not be readily available. The organisation and presentation of those resources in an attractive, easily accessible way is a key skill that the Teacher Librarian brings to collaboration with classroom teachers.

The organisation and presentation of resources can have a clear impact on a student’s ability to locate and access the information they require. Gregory (2019) discusses the importance of determining the needs of the clientele and then guiding them towards the resources and services available. The Teacher Librarian has the responsibility of making those resources attractive and organised such that students and staff can easily access and use them. This may entail training of staff, managing budgets, curating resources and designing functional, attractive learning spaces for the resources to be used and enjoyed.

The role of the Teacher Librarian is complex but at the heart of everything is the students’ learning. They are responsible for resource provision, curation and presentation, collaboration with class teachers in the teaching of information literacy and building a culture of reading within the school.

References

Adkins, D., & Brendler, B. M. (2015). Libraries and reading motivation: A review of the Programme for International Student Assessment reading results. IFLA journal, 41(2), 129-139.

Castles, A., Rastle, K., & Nation, K. (2018). Ending the reading wars: Reading acquisition from novice to expert. Psychological Science in the Public Interest, 19, 5–51. doi:10.1177/1529100618772271

Block, C., & Mangieri, J. (2002). Recreational Reading: 20 Years Later. The Reading Teacher, 55(6), 572-580. Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org/stable/20205099

Gregory, V. L. (2019). Collection development and management for 21st century library collections: an introduction: American Library Association.

Guthrie, J. T. and S. L. Klauda (2015). “Engagement and motivational processes in reading.” Handbook of individual differences in reading: Reader, text and context: 41-53.

McGeown, S. P., et al. (2015). “The relationship between young children’s enjoyment of learning to read, reading attitudes, confidence and attainment.” Educational Research 57(4): 389-402.

Merga, M. K. (2015). “She knows what I like”: Student-generated best-practice statements for encouraging recreational book reading in adolescents. Australian Journal of Education, 59(1), 35-50.

Robins, D. and S. Stephenson (2018). “What’s So Great About School Libraries.” The Book Chook. from https://www.thebookchook.com/2018/10/whats-so-great-about-school-libraries.html.

Valenza, J. and G. Jones (2012, May-June 2019). “What Do TLs Teach?”. from https://www.abc-clio.com/uploadedFiles/Content/promo/Linworth_and_LMC_Files/LMC_MayJune12_WhatDoTLsTeach_Corrected_Poster.pdf.

Willingham, D. T. (2017). The reading mind: A cognitive approach to understanding how the mind reads. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass in Castles, A., Rastle, K., & Nation, K. (2018). Ending the reading wars: Reading acquisition from novice to expert. Psychological Science in the Public Interest, 19, 5–51. doi:10.1177/1529100618772271

Zervas, M., Stavrou, C., & Kounoudes, A. (2019). The Important Role of School Libraries in the Development of Students Information Literacy Skills. Qualitative and Quantitative Methods in Libraries, 113-133.