Month: February 2025

When comparing Bush’s (2015) four key elements of organisation theory (leadership, structure, culture and context) with Robinson’s (2010) video presentation (structural, cultural, and societal), I believe the key drivers for change that a teacher librarian could respond to through school library programs are:

1. Leading the integration of digital tools and resources into classroom teachers’ learning programs in conjunction with facilitating extra-curricular activities at school, such as coding cubes or digital literacy programs.
2. Preparing virtual learning spaces to allow students to access information, collaborate, and create projects online with the assistance of classroom teachers.
3. Support classroom teachers with student self-directed research projects.

Such programs would require support from the organisation. Considering Bush’s (2015) organisation theory, the four key elements would need to complement each other for the key drivers to be successful. The leadership of the organisation would recognise TLs as a driver for change (guided inquiry by Kuhltha et al., 2015). Consequently, the structure and culture of the organisation would be amended to reflect this, and the context also needs to align with the direction of leadership. Conversely, Robin’s (2010) theory shows that to incorporate such library programs meeting the curriculum (evidence-based by Robinson & Aronica, 2015), the organisation’s structure needs to be changed, along with cultural and societal values.

By responding to and supporting the key drivers, teacher librarians offer resources and services to meet their schools’ information needs (Edet et al., 2024). Teacher librarians are uniquely positioned to be leaders in creating a flexible, collaborative learning environment with innovation that will meet the demands of the current fast-changing educational landscape, including the emerging AI environment.

References

Bush, T. (2015). Organisation theory in education: How does it inform school leadership? CORE. https://core.ac.uk/download/pdf/162657439.pdf

Edet, A. N., Adamu, A. A., & Jatto, E. (2024). Library Management: Current Trends, Challenges and Prospects. Library Management, 6(1).  https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.13168695

Kuhlthau, C. C., Maniotes, L. K., & Caspari, A. K. (2015). Guided inquiry: Learning in the 21st century. Bloomsbury Publishing USA.

Robinson, K. [RSA Animate]. (2010, October 14). Changing education paradigms [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zDZFcDGpL4U

Robinson, K., & Aronica, L. (2015). Creative schools: Revolutionizing education from the ground up. Penguin UK.

TeraVector. (n.d.). Business People Attending Professional Training with High Skilled Coach [Stock image]. https://www.shutterstock.com/image-vector/business-people-attending-professional-training-high-1360373786

This unit focuses on the practical aspects of cataloguing in a modelled environment. As I studied this unit, I began reflecting on the role I would like to pursue within a library setting. I found the unit challenging, as I have no prior experience and do not currently work in a library that has a chance for me to explore all different types of cataloguing.

Many of the terms feel like a foreign language to me. The learning of indexing the collection and understanding a metadata search engine that allows users to search the collection through an online public access catalogue (OPAC) and access library catalogues outside opening hours on the web (Hider, 2024).

The Schools Catalogue and Information Service (SCIS) in Australia and New Zealand, allow records to be shared between library systems. During my practical exercises for this course, I found it confusing to use. I believe more guided lessons on how to use this resource are more valuable for students before letting them explore themselves and direct the answers to the exercises. I found that I was guessing the answer a few times. I required more guided lessons to feel confident enough to complete the exercise independently.

I believe a practical unit requires practical experience. As Milton (2010) explains in his book about the learning loop, where a person needs to understand and learn the activity by reviewing, educating and actioning.  As future information professionals, it is important to have a foundational knowledge of cataloguing and collection management, even if we are not planning to pursue this role.

References

Hider, P. (2024). At a Crossroads: Cataloguing Policy and Practice in Australian Libraries. Journal of the Australian Library and Information Association, 1-20. https://doi.org/10.1080/24750158.2024.2403165

Milton, N. (2010). The lessons learned handbook: Practical approaches to learning from experience. Elsevier.

Poirier, T.  (2017, June 8). Temples of Books. [Photograph]. Colossal. https://www.thisiscolossal.com/2023/05/temples-of-books/