My very first blog shared my thoughts on what the role of a Teacher Librarian (TL) was and I freely admitted that it was a naïve and simplistic view.
According to Herring (2007), Purcell (2010) and Lamb (2011), the overarching goal of a TL is to create information literate students. The also agree that the task of being a Teacher Librarian is multifaceted, involving a wide range of roles, roles that must be prioritised from one day to the next to best meet the needs of students and staff. Easily written but much harder to put into practice. The big question is, how does a TL decide which part of their role is the most important while being flexible enough to adapt and adjust to the ever-moving goalposts set by new standards, curricula, and changes within the information landscape?
The answer is as multifaceted as the role of a TL itself. TLs need to be experts in all aspects of their job and understand that no one role will allow them to achieve the end goal of information literate students. Mastering all of the administrative tasks, being an excellent teacher, advocate for reading, school leader and collaborator does not guarantee success alone. It is only when all of these are combined that a TL can truly do their job well. And when we do our job well, we are making a lasting difference in the ways students learn and the way teachers teach.
As to which role is the most important, I think they are impossible to separate as they all contribute in different ways. Evaluating what to do less of so that I can do more of what makes the biggest difference for the library’s users should be something I undertake on a regular basis. I have already stepped away from managing other projects within the school and am now only focused on library related areas (except for when I sneak down to the school garden) but what else do I give up? All of my time, including breaks, are spent on the library. I could make less displays, not do articles for the newsletter, not run activities at lunch time so that I can re-shelve books, not offer before school support for staff seeking resources but this would diminish my capacity to meet the needs of my students and staff, rather than enhance.
Becoming better at each of the roles will be the best way for me to increase my impact and I do this through professional development, evaluation, reflection and adjustment.
Herring, J. (2007). Teacher librarians and the school library. In S. Ferguson (Ed.) Libraries in the twenty-first century: charting new directions in information. (pp. 27-42). Centre for Information Studies, Charles Sturt University. https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-1-876938-43-7.50002-8
Lamb, A. (2011). Bursting with potential: Mixing a media specialist’s palette. TechTrends : Linking Research & Practice To Improve Learning, 55(4), 27-36.
Purcell, M. (2010). All librarians do is check out books right? A look at the roles of the school library media specialist. Library Media Connection, 29(3), 30-33.