License agreements vary depending on the purpose for which they were intended. License agreements may be intended for individuals or for organisations, in which case, the rights will differ.
The MICROSOFT SOFTWARE LICENSE AGREEMENT is not suitable for use in a school setting. This particular agreement entitles the user “the right to install and run that one copy on one computer (the licensed computer) for use by one person at a time” (Microsoft Software License Agreement). In a school setting, this license is not appropriate as there are many computers that would require the software.
The Microsoft School Enrollment Volume License should be used for schools. Within this license agreement, there are various options available depending on what is required by the school.
References
Microsoft. (n.d). School Enrollment Licensing Guide. Retrieved from file:///C:/Users/Donnalechte/Downloads/School_Enrollment_Licensing_Guide%20(2).pdf
Microsoft Software License Agreement. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://interact2.csu.edu.au/bbcswebdav/courses/S-ETL503_201730_W_D/Word_2013_English_73cd4bd0-863a-42d4-8da1-7ed333aaa640.pdf
Image: Nick Youngson CC BY-SA 3.0 Alpha Stock Images
Managing a library budget is part of the role of the teacher librarian (TL). Library budgets are often limited, which calls for the TL to carefully consider the way the budget is spent, as well as varying ways that funds can be generated. Lamb and Johnson (2012) suggest that an effective budget manager must be a collaborator, steward and a thinker.
An effective collaborator works with all members of the school community including students, teachers, administration and the wider community (Lamb & Johnson, 2012). Creating an awareness of budget challenges and opportunities allows transparency and understanding from all community members. It may also serve as a means or prompt to build relationships with other lenders such as local libraries, or provide opportunities for groups and organisation to donate funds which can be used to purchase much needed resources and equipment.
As a steward of the library, the TL understands the importance of seeking input from others in regards to the library collection. This allows the needs of the community to be front and centre, ensuring that money is spent where it is needed most. This might look like developing surveys to find out what resources the teacher feel they need, or talking to the school principal to find out what the current priorities are and then purchasing resources accordingly. A steward uses their resources wisely.
As a thinker, the TL shows innovation and expertise. They are creative with resources and may need to look ‘outside the box’ in order to obtain more. To demonstrate their worth, they need to show that they have ideas which will benefit the school community and have an obvious presence within the school.
As Lamb and Johnson (2012) point out, the TL will not always have access to money that they need and so they need to carefully manage what funds they do have and in some cases, look for funding elsewhere.
References
Lamb, A. & Johnson, H.L. (2012). Program administration: Budget management. The School Library Media Specialist. Retrieved from http://eduscapes.com/sms/administration/budget.html
Karen Bonanno’s speech at ASLA, 2011 conference
In Karen Bonanno’s speech at the ASLA conference in 2011, she responds to a claim made by Scholastic that teacher librarians are considered ‘an endangered species’. Bonanno argues that the teacher librarian profession is considered invisible by some, because people are not aware of what teacher librarians actually do and their contribution to academic excellence in schools. She highlights the fact that there was no visible evidence to show the impact of the school librarian and stresses the need for this.
Bonanno argues that we do indeed still need librarians but they need to make themselves more visible, and suggests that teachers must demonstrate the following qualities to demonstrate their worth and increase their visibility:
- Strength of character – Bonanno stresses the importance of having a presence within your school eg. having an online presence such as a blog. Essentially this means marketing yourself and building strong networks with others in the profession.
- Focus – Follow. One. Course. Until. Successful. Know your outcome and apply strategies until you reach your outcome.
- Brand – Bonanno says the TL needs to identify where they sit within the standards and have a strong sense of who they are and what they stand for.
- Relations – Bonanno suggests TLs need to focus on working with the people who will work with them rather than focusing their attention on those who don’t want to and probably never will.
- Little things count – what you do in your school that others don’t. Bonanno suggests being the person in the school who will assist staff and students in ways that others don’t.
A common theme throughout Bonanno’s speech is the importance of teacher librarians continually up-skilling to keep current in their knowledge, particularly in the area of ICT. She also suggests that TLs should focus their attention on the general capabilities within the Australian Curriculum because these allow the TL to bring in inquiry learning and critical and information literacy, and also support their colleagues in this area. While Bonanno believes that teacher librarians are still greatly needed in schools, she maintains that it is up to TLs to advocate for the profession by applying the above strategies to make themselves visible and prove their value and relevancy in the 21st century.
References
Australian School Library Association (ASLA) (2011). A profession at the tipping point: Time to change the game plan. Keynote presentation, Karen Bonanno . Retrieved from https :// vimeo .com/31003940
This week, the penny dropped. Life slowed down a little and I had the opportunity to spend time exploring some of the websites associated with the acronyms that regularly pop up in my class notes. As a classroom teacher, I am familiar with a few of these but there are also a lot of library associations that I know little about. Since I am a visual learner, I found it useful to list all of these down and visit them one after the other in order to gain an understanding about what each organisation does.
I’m learning that Australian teacher librarians love using acronyms but for us newbies to the profession, they can take time to commit to memory. For my own personal reference, and anyone else who is just starting out, here are a few associations with accompanying acronyms to get you started. Most of these links will take you to the role statements of the respective association.
ALIA – Australian Library and Information Association
ASLA – Australian School Library Association
AITSL – Australian Institute of Teaching and School Leadership
IASL – International Association of School Librarianship
IFLA – International Federation of Library Association
Hopefully these acronyms will be rolling off my tongue in no time but for now, this is a point of reference for me. I have no doubt I will be adding to this list in the near future.
