As a bibliophile and lifelong-learning-obsessed educator, going into the school library field felt like a natural step: I fancied myself surrounded by books; resourcing every subject; building the reading culture of the school, and teaching students information literacy.
After spending four years as a primary classroom and art teacher, I scored my ideal position: educator at the State Library of Victoria (SLV). In this role, I took students from Years 3-12 from schools all over Victoria on tours around the SLV. I also ran a number programs including on cartography, self-publishing, research skills and creative writing. Then the pandemic hit Melbourne, the SLV closed, and my job was suspended.
I then found a position in an independent school as a Library Assistant. At this point I was quite curious about what the Teacher Librarian (TL) position entails. I have been trying to figure it out ever since, especially as after a year in this role, I was asked to be the first and sole TL for the school. The school has 2000 students and 200 staff across three campuses, P-12.
As I was/am not library-qualified, I took my cue as to how to perform my position from the job description. The job description was so wide in scope that it really described the work of at least four people, but I tried my best to fulfil my position to the best of my ability, almost succumbing to a mental breakdown in the process. According to the Australian School Library Association’s Recommended Minimum Information Services Staffing Levels[1], a school that size would need six full-time TLs plus over a hundred hours per week extra support from technicians.
I wanted to do exciting activities with the primary students using kids’ literature as a catalyst for learning. I wanted to have students create plays, songs, and 3D art inspired by books. Yet it was impossible to be in every single class plus manage the Library at the same time. If the school wanted to offer Library as a specialist subject, they would need to invest in hiring more TLs, which leadership was not prepared to do. So I devised a simple formula where I created text responses each week so classroom teachers could run their own Library classes, and I would run one per class per term.
I felt extremely out of my depth so when I saw that the School Library Association Victoria offers free mentorship programs, I jumped at the opportunity. I have learned so much from my mentor, who is a consummate expert in the school library field. She inspired me to develop (along with the head of English) the successful Wide Reading program with the secondary students.
When an opportunity came up at a different school to work with secondary students in a team of three TLs plus two support staff, I jumped. Now I am still trying to figure out what the TL role involves, but so far I am working with the English department to build the reading culture of the school (no easy feat); resourcing the curriculum, and teaching students research and information literacy skills to support their assessment tasks. I am also very busy with marketing the Library’s services to students and teachers. I am really looking forward to my understanding of the role evolving throughout this degree.
[1] ALIA/ASLA (2020). ALIA Schools and ASLA Information services report: staffing in Australian school libraries. Canberra, ACT: ALIA/ASLA.