In this episode we discuss different ways that the TL can advocate for their role and for the school library as well as how they might build connections with their community which further strengthen their position. We consider the importance of gathering evidence to highlight how the TL can make a difference to teaching and learning and the overall learning culture of the school.
Recorded 02/11/2022
Download the transcript in PDF format here.
Our guest
Our guest for this episode is Holly Godfree.
Holly is the national coordinator of the Students Need School Libraries campaign, striving to ensure that every student has access to a dynamic, well-resourced school library run by qualified library staff. She is a career educator in public schools including 15 years in primary and seven in senior secondary. She currently works at Lake Tuggeranong College in the ACT and as a casual academic at Charles Sturt University. Holly has written for numerous journals, has presented at local and national conferences and via webinars. In 2019, Holly was named the ASLA Australian Teacher Librarian of the Year.
Twitter: @HollysLibrary | Email: snslcampaign@gmail.com
Podcast highlights
Holly’s path to Teacher Librarianship. At 3:16 Holly shares how she came to begin working in school libraries.
Holly’s current role and working context. Holly talks about her current position from 5:30
The importance for continuing advocacy for the TL position and for the place of school libraries in schools. From 9:21 Holly explains her perspective on the importance and value of Teacher Librarians.
Strategies to build evidence of value. At 14:19 Holly discusses the ways in which she and her TL partner build evidence and strategies to maintain this evidence easily within everyday practice.
Creating connections with the wider community. Ideas on how to develop community connections are shared by Holly from 23:55
Further resources:
Holly leads Students Need School Libraries, and if you wish to learn more about this advocacy initiative or even better, become involved, check out the resources below.
The website for this initiative is https://studentsneedschoollibraries.org.au/. Here you will find a wealth of resources to draw upon in your advocacy efforts including research, media materials, newsletter entries etc.
Follow the campaign on Facebook here and view and share videos on YouTube.