Tag: role of teacher librarian

Reflections on Leadership

Reflections on Leadership

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Through the ongoing isolation of the 2020 and 2021 calendar years in Australia, never has it been more startingly obvious that humans are naturally social beings. We humans crave social connection, interaction and relationships. In a blog entry on July 18, I suggested that “leadership is about people…a major role of the leader is to bring people together for a common cause regardless of differences.” Colvin (2000) presents a strong argument about people and leadership, suggesting that a group of people with united values comprises an awesome power to create, articulate and sustain such values for the benefit of others. In an organisation such as a school, leadership roles are appointed to create, articulate and sustain values and a culture which relate to providing the best possible educational outcomes for students in the context of that particular environment. Schools, therefore, are complex organisational structures that involve many levels of leadership, both internally and externally.

On commencement of ETL504, I held the narrow view that each individual leader exhibited a particular and singular leadership style when given opportunities to lead. This is highlighted in my introduction post on the discussion board, when I suggested that I was looking forward to “reflecting on my own leadership style” (Tuminello, 2021, July 15). Throughout the unit, my learning has led me to discover a range of different styles of leadership, as well as traits, and highlighted the importance of being able to integrate a range of these in schools to elicit the best outcomes. No one style is suited to every leadership role or responsibility, and it is the ability to adopt and integrate a range of styles and traits that makes a great leader in a school. Smith (2016) emphasises the requirement for schools to employ an integrated model of leadership to create effective schools that promote a positive school culture and encourage teacher satisfaction and performance.

As a budding teacher librarian (TL), it is important to consider the leadership styles and traits that are most appropriate to promote oneself as a leader in the school. School libraries envisage themselves as knowledge centres that play a key role in the promotion of literacy skills (Hartley, 2020). The definition of literacy has changed with rapid advancement in technology, and in the twenty-first century school libraries find themselves in the unique position to adapt and promote themselves as collaborative and exciting learning hubs that encourage innovation in pedagogy and learning so that the needs of twenty-first century learners are being met.

In a blog post on August 20, I reflected that it is up to the TL to see their responsibility as a leader in a school to “accept the challenges presented by rapid and dynamic technological change…by collaborating effectively via structured professional learning (PL) and collaborative planning and teaching practices.” From my perspective, the roles and responsibilities of the TL as a leader in a school lend themselves best to servant leadership, instructional leadership and distributed leadership styles. A shared dimension evident in all three is the ability to work with others effectively to achieve a common goal. I still believe that strong and effective collaboration with all stakeholders to demonstrate the important leadership role that the TL holds in a school is an optimal way to inspire others, lead from the middle, and promote the school library as a hub for exciting, twenty-first century learning experiences.

 

References

Colvin, G. (2000). Managing in the info era. Fortune, 141(5). http://archive.fortune.com/magazines/fortune/fortune_archive/2000/03/06/275231/index.htm?iid=sr-link1.

Hartley, C. (2020, August 4). Libraries, the heart of the school. Professional Educator, 1, 23. https://scis.edublogs.org/2020/08/04/libraries-the-heart-of-the-school/

Smith, B. (2016). The role of leadership style in creating a great school. SELU Research Review Journal, 1(1), 65-78. https://selu.usask.ca/documents/research-and-publications/srrj/SRRJ-1-1-Smith.pdf

The Challenge of New Opportunities

The Challenge of New Opportunities

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The Australian Curriculum is providing teachers and teacher librarians with many new challenges, including the need to continually improve personal knowledge and understanding of digital tools and digital environments. Indeed, if we are expected to contribute to an educative experience that prepares our students to function efficiently and effectively in 21st century society, then we ourselves need to accept a level of responsibility to develop our own skills and knowledge in relation to digital tools and digital environments. These tools and environments are likely to feature extensively in workplaces and in society in general for a long time to come.

Putting aside the complexities and politics of a teaching career, being a teacher provides a wonderful challenge for those in the profession to embrace and adapt to constant change. Certainly, it sometimes feels like the change is never ending and it can really induce a lot of stress! But ever the optimist, it is something I secretly love about being a teacher. Danielson (2007) describes teaching as a “flat profession”, whereby as we gain experience, our responsibilities are essentially the same as a new teacher. I don’t necessarily agree with this. Sure, there are similarities in being able to deliver exciting learning opportunities to students regardless of the stage of your career, or being passionate about your subject and content. However, I think that as we gain experience, it’s not a “flatline” but (hopefully) on an upward trajectory in terms of the richness of what we can provide! Our challenges and responsibilities change quite a lot. The responsibilities of a new teacher are to learn how to juggle life as a teacher, how to manage a class of students after being dumped headfirst into your own classroom with limited practical experiences, how to try a few different things just to see if they work and be OK if they fail, and be motivated to improve them to make them better, even if they do come off well. Experienced teachers have different responsibilities – they’re often no longer experiencing the aforementioned challenges, but rather a whole set of new ones.

A huge personal challenge for me is the rate at which technology, and in particular digital tools and environments, are changing. It is really difficult to keep up with all of the fantastic opportunities that the digital world presents, which in turn makes it feel like an enormous challenge! A great example of my ignorance in this field relates to coding. I find it extremely intimidating, I have never done it and I wouldn’t even know where to start. However, I acknowledge and accept that coding is likely a working/learning skill required to function in 21st century society. On completion of this masters, I will hold a leadership role in a school as a teacher librarian. Part of my role is to embrace such challenges, and acknowledge the importance of digital upskilling for the benefit student learning, and ultimately, a rich and useful education. Furthermore, I’ll probably have to inspire others to embrace them too!

Leaders in schools, including but not limited to senior executive members, teacher librarians and teachers, have a responsibility to accept the challenges presented by rapid and dynamic technological change. This includes everyone accepting a personal and professional responsibility to learn about digital tools and environments. I envisage a world where professional learning communities made up of teachers across all experience levels and all domains can commit to improving outcomes in digital skills (in the case of coding, these would include digital literacy, design thinking, problem solving, creativity, collaboration, etc.) for students by collaborating effectively via structured professional learning (PL) and collaborative planning and teaching practices. Collaboration in PL can lead to the kind of accountability, support and engagement required to actually implement the PL into the classroom setting (Cole, 2012). I am also as ambitious to think that in a secondary setting, and potentially even in upper primary settings, students could be contributors of skills/knowledge to professional learning in coding, alongside other experts in the field.

Leadership is about many things, but I think great leadership includes a strong element of foresight and anticipating what will be needed in the future. The state of our country at the moment is a wonderfully depressing example of leadership that has failed to employ foresight or anticipated what might happen next (and if it does, what are we going to do). To state the obvious examples, our response at both state and federal levels to the pandemic, our involvement and response to the events in Afghanistan, our response to the bushfires and to climate change in general…it’s quite frankly embarrassing. Instead, we are stuck being constantly reactive and backpedalling.

Digital tools and environments are certainly not new, and they are still ever-changing, but rather than be on the back foot, it is up to us to see the writing on the wall. The present and the future of education is certainly going to include these tools and environments, so it’s up to all of the leaders in schools to embrace them, and attempt to anticipate their use in the future. Collaboratively, we can be held accountable for each other to focus on providing authentic learning for the future.

 

References

Cole, P. (2012). Linking effective professional learning with effective teaching practice.
https://ptrconsulting.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/linking_effective_professional_learning_with_effective_teaching_practice_-_cole.pdf

Danielson, C. (2007). The many faces of leadership. Educational Leadership, 65(1), 14-19. http://www.ascd.org/publications/educational-leadership/sept07/vol65/num01/The-Many-Faces-of-Leadership.aspx

 

Resourcing the Curriculum of Today and the Future

Resourcing the Curriculum of Today and the Future

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Historically, change has been a recurring theme of human existence. Categorising these changes has been popular practice in understanding our history – for example the Industrial Age occurring between 1760-1970. Currently, we find ourselves as consumers of and contributors to the Digital Age or the Information Age which began in 1970 when transistor technology was developed. Libraries, including school libraries, have always been concerned with information as they have always housed collections of information in a variety of genres and formats. Thus, the so-called “Information Age” has impacted and continues to result in change for libraries and the collections they house.

Collection development is a central activity occurring in any library. Corrall (2018) suggests that a collection pertains to the entire notion of a library, and that the words ‘library’ and ‘collection’ are essentially synonymous. Where once the professional practice of collection development involved a much less diverse and interactive suite of resources, the Digital Age has seen a proliferation of information that seems to defy the constraints of space and time (Newsum, 2016). In relation to school libraries, SLAV (2018) states that “school libraries reflect and contribute to the achievement of the school’s mission by managing and curating equitable, inclusive and diverse physical and digital collections that reflect both a local and global perspective.” This statement reflects the need for school libraries to continue to develop collections that are driven by the needs of the community that they serve (Tuminello, 2021, March 3). However, following my engagement in this subject, I believe the collection should promote not only the consumption of new information and ideas, but also the creation. I believe that it is paramount for school library professionals to continue to be able to promote and encourage a life-long love of learning and growth for all students, regardless of the complexities that the digital age has contributed to the collection development role, now and into the foreseeable future.

Throughout this subject, I became particularly interested in the notion of selection versus censorship in the context of a digital age. As a future Teacher Librarian (TL), I certainly see myself as an advocate and supporter of intellectual freedom. However, there has to be a place for censorship in schools with access to the internet. Whilst the internet is an abundant resource for information that can resource and supplement the curriculum in a way that has not been done before, I bring into question whether the all of the information it provides is intellectual in nature, and therefore if the use of filtering in schools is compromising “intellectual” freedoms. In a blog post on April 13, I commented that “our communities have constant and uncensored access to the whole world of information. I would question this level of self-selection autonomy in the school context, and argue that internet filtering is necessary on some level in a school context.” However, whilst internet filtering is common practice in schools for this very reason, it is also as problematic. Johnson (2010) highlights some of the issues that occur when using blocking tools to filter what information is accessible to students and provides example of situations where student learning is negatively impacted by poor filtering decisions. Of note, his first suggestion to rectify these issues relate to the school policy that underpins internet filtering decisions.

The complexities of collection development in school libraries continues to evolve and change as the ongoing digital revolution influences publishing models and digital content. In such an age, school libraries should be promoting 21st century learning, and thus should access and acquire collections that provide this. However, to create such a collection requires professional decision-making that must be supported by policy should it aim to be ethical and accountable for the decisions made. A collection development policy (CDP) “aims to ensure equitable access to resources for all in the school community” (ALIA, 2017, p.4). In a blog post on May 14, I stated that “it is important to be able to be transparent, and to make conscious and systematic decisions that can be backed by the CDP so that questioning by stakeholders in relation to censorship, money and other issues can be answered and supported by documentation.” Whilst a CDP does provide a written document that supports the decision-making that pertains to the collection, it further supports the school library professionals by outlining the purpose of the collection and assists in future proofing the importance of the position of the library in the school. Thus, having a thorough and professional CDP that is regularly reviewed alongside the corresponding procedures is essential to justifying and promoting the worth of a school library.

Remaining relevant in a digital and dynamic age is a challenge faced by all libraries, including school libraries. On May 20, I commented that “the future of school libraries is directly related to the future of education, the future of learners and the future of content.” As mentioned earlier, in some ways it can be deduced that the library is the collection and the collection is the library. In order for libraries to justify themselves in a world where free and open access to information is afforded to anyone with an internet connection, they must be able to support their claims. A CDP allows the TL and the staff who collaborate to develop the document to provide a purpose and projection into the future for the collection development practices in a school. Prior to completing all of the modules, I made comment on April 13 that “the TL must have selection policy that is clear, strong and defensible to allow them the courage to make decisions that allow the community intellectual freedom.” I now understand that the policy requires more than just consideration of selection, but also pertains to identification, as well as acquisition, evaluation and deselection issues. If the policy is created collaboratively, and is able to succinctly address these principles, set goals and provide continuity, then the TL alongside the school community allow themselves the ability to be flexible and adapt to future technological changes, and can also demonstrate a clear vision that outlines the ever-changing complex notion of collection development.

References

Australian Library and Information Association School, & Victorian Catholic Teacher Librarians. (2017). A manual for developing policies and procedures in Australian school library resource centres. https://www.alia.org.au/sites/default/files/ALIA%20Schools%20policies%20and%20procedures%20manual_FINAL.pdf

Corrall, S. (2018). The concept of collection development in the digital world. In M. Fieldhouse & A. Marshall (Eds.), Collection development in the digital Age (pp. 3–24). Facet. https://doi.org/10.290/9781856048972.003

Johnson, D. (2010). Censorship by omission. Library Media Connection, 28(4), 48-49. http://dougjohnson.squarespace.com/dougwri/censorship-by-omission.html  

Newsum, J. M. (2016). School collection development and resource management in digitally rich environments: An Initial Literature Review. School Libraries Worldwide, 22(1), 97–109.

School Library Association of Victoria. (2018). Statement on school libraries. https://slav.org.au/Statement-on-School-Libraries

Literary Learning is for Everyone

Literary Learning is for Everyone

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At the commencement of my studies in ETL402, I had little experience or knowledge relating to the use of children’s literature to support the curriculum. As an experienced teacher across a range of subject areas in secondary schools (but not English) it had not occurred to me that the subjects I taught could be supported by literary learning as it had not been presented to me, either by other staff or students or during professional development activities.

Initially, I held the narrow view that literary fiction is used to address the English curriculum in schools but is otherwise enjoyed as a hobby. In a blog post on March 8, in relation to graphic novels and wordless picture books, I made the comment that “it is uplifting to think that we can advance beyond our notions of what we have always thought something to be, and challenge these ideas for the benefit of future generations.”  The concept of this statement can also be applied to my views on the integration of literary fiction. Cornett (2014) describes the value of including literary arts across the curriculum, emphasising that literature encourages a reader to make personal meaning of themes, helps students build empathy and respect, and helps students deepen their understandings and engage in creative inquiry.

It is difficult to engage in a curriculum-based unit and not apply the content to the curriculum areas that you have the most experience in. However, it is important to be receptive to new knowledge and research. The completion of the assignments and course content of this subject has opened my eyes to the value of using literary fiction to teach and facilitate learning. On a basic level, literature presents a conflict that requires a solution, and this drives the plot. This allows students to imagine possibilities, connect ideas and draw conclusions (Cornett, 2014). What I have learnt is that this type of creative inquiry need not be exclusive to an English classroom and can provide incredibly rich learning experiences across a diverse range of subject areas. In fact, I even learnt about bibliotherapy, the use of books and stories to support social and emotional needs (Heath, Smith & Young, 2017) and had never come across this in 8 years of teaching mental illness. On April 13, I wrote a blog post and made the comment that “as TL’s, it is our professional responsibility to encourage students…to engage in and enjoy reading.” I would like to suggest that it is the professional responsibility of all teachers to encourage and engage students in reading.

Embarking on a new career as a TL is as daunting as it is exciting and provides an opportunity for me to reconsider my educational philosophy. This subject has opened my eyes to the potential of children’s literature to address the curriculum in a way that is genuinely engaging and exciting. In a post on March 8, I stated that “my vision…allows engagement of all children in quality literature existing in a diverse range of genres, forms and formats and accessed through both print and digital publishing.” Whilst this still holds true, I would like to add that the value of literature lies in its ability to provoke personal connection, and a true sense of understanding of ourselves and society.

 

References

Cornett, C. E. (2014). Integrating the literary arts throughout the curriculum. In Creating meaning through literature and the arts: Arts integration for classroom teachers (5th ed., pp. 144-193). Prentice Hall.

Heath, M. A., Smith, K., & Young, E. L. (2017). Using children’s literature to strengthen social and emotional learning. School Psychology International, 38(5), 541-561. https://doi.org/10.1177/0143034317710070

Would we build them?

Would we build them?

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Parkes (2010) poses the question: “If libraries didn’t exist, would we build them today?”
Libraries of the past were the beacons of knowledge, the keepers and preservers of the books. In current times, information and knowledge are easily and freely accessible most of the time, largely thanks to the dawn of the technological age. Physical resources still exist. They are still highly relevant and have a place in society just as digital resources do.
But libraries provide something that no online environment can (at the moment). A human, face-to-face interaction that can lead the horse to water, and allow the patron a physical experience with a book (or other physical resource). Whilst online environments can still provide a vast range of high-quality and engaging resources, they cannot replace the personal relationship or interaction that you can have with a librarian, nor can they offer the physical experience of turning a paper page and the feel of a book. Perhaps I’m nostalgic or a bit of a romantic, but this experience contributes to my love of books and reading.
It is based on this that I think libraries would still be built today. Perhaps smaller, perhaps differently, perhaps to include more technological advancement – but still, they would be built.

Now, that statement is a hypothetical situation that doesn’t exist because we do have libraries. They were built, and they still are built. The ways in which we arrange the libraries to encourage active participation in reading behaviours are being studied. In particular, the organisation of the fiction collection has been scrutinised. Where once these collections have simply been organised according to the Dewey Decimal Classification (DDC), a quantitative system in which the fiction section is the least specifically organised, now libraries are seeking to depart from the DDC system and move towards classifying this section by genre to make books that may be of interest to the user easier to find. Whilst genrefication can be challenging to roll out, especially given how many genres there are, reclassifying the library’s fiction collection by genre gives students more ownership of the fiction collection and allows them to find materials that genuinely interest them (Moeller & Becnel, 2019).

As TL’s, it is our professional responsibility to encourage students and the whole school community to engage in and enjoy reading. Let’s make it easier, not harder, for our young people to get excited about reading and empower them to choose their fiction based on what they’re interests are.

References

Moeller, R. A. & Becnel, Kim E.  (2019). Why on earth would we not genrefy the books? A study of reader interest classification in school libraries. Knowledge organization, 46(3), 199-208.

Parkes, D. (2010). Web 2.0 and libraries: Impacts, technologies and trends.

Selection, Censorship and the WWW

Selection, Censorship and the WWW

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Selection, as I see it, is a professional responsibility whereby the TL selects resources for the school library that meet the needs of the curriculum, the students and the whole school community. These selections are based on a selection criteria, and decisions to select the resource are made regardless of whether the selector believes the resource may incite controversy within the community that the library serves. The TL must have selection policy that is clear, strong and defensible to allow them the courage to make decisions that allow the community intellectual freedom.

The following quote offered in Module 2, Developing Collections, hits the nail on the head:

Selection … begins with a presumption in favor of liberty of thought; censorship, with a presumption in favor of thought control. Selection’s approach to the books is positive, seeking its value in the book as a book and in the book as a whole. Censorship’s approach is negative, seeking for vulnerable characteristics wherever they can be found – anywhere within the book, or even outside it. Selection seeks to protect the right of the reader to read; censorship seeks to protect – not the right – but the reader himself from the fancied effects of his reading. The selector has faith in the intelligence of the reader; the censor has faith only in his own. In other words, selection is democratic while censorship is authoritarian, and in our democracy we have traditionally tended to put our trust in the selector rather than in the censor (Asheim, 1953, p. 63).

Jenkinson (2002) suggests that selectors look at resources with an open mind – they are trying to see the positive value of the resource and how such a resource might meet the needs of the curriculum and the students. Whereas, censors see the resources with a negative lens and tries to find ways of excluding resources based on words, topics or themes that may exist. In many instances, this is done without consideration of context.

All of the above considered, the role of the TL is to avoid being timid and neutral, and encourage resource collection that allows the school community intellectual freedom and is as progressive as possible.

However, when considering the world wide web (WWW), our communities have constant and uncensored access to the whole world of information. I would question this level of self-selection autonomy in the school context, and argue that internet filtering is necessary on some level in a school context. With physical resources, we are able to offer literature and resources appropriate and educational for particular age groups and not for others. The internet and digital resourcing takes this selection criteria away if we are unable to filter the information being accessed. The power of media outlets to push their own agenda in this space (in particular, political agenda), and the algorithms that exist to propagate false information, is quite terrifying in my opinion. After watching The Social Dilemma in 2020, I was compelled to delete all of my social media for this reason. That said, I think it is of particular importance to educate everyone with access to devices, and not just young people, about the power of such intelligence. “Advancing technology is both our saviour and our doom” – Olaf, Frozen II.

Another example I would like to draw upon here is the sexually objectifying portrayals of women in the media, and young boys’ access to pornography. There is a large body of research that exists demonstrating that regular, everyday exposure to this content contributes to greater tolerance of sexual violence toward women, higher levels of body dissatisfaction, greater self-objectification, and greater support of sexist beliefs (Ward, 2016). In this context, I would question whether all of the information available on the WWW is, in fact, intellectual in it’s nature. Don’t get me wrong – being able to discuss these issues in a safe space, such as a classroom environment, is of the greatest importance. But there is a difference between intellectual content and just simply content. Questioning the purpose behind the creation of the content is a part of the selection process. Being able to filter what is available to students on the internet is extremely important policy in this context. Sexual and pornographic content is contributing to some of the biggest issues in our society, and filtering access to this type of information online is an important tool in the battle against sexual exploitation, violence against women and domestic violence, and human trafficking.

Therefore, as TL’s in a rapidly growing technological environment, making sure that the selection policy can address the issues above and allow for robust discussion amongst the school community, but still allow and encourage a filtering process that considers the appropriateness of what is available on the internet is paramount. Whilst I don’t personally see a “fine line” between selection and censorship (I believe them to be essentially opposites), I think there is merit in filtering on the internet whereby students can access information that is harmful, untrue and has the potential to incite violence and exploitation.

References

Asheim, L. (1953). Not censorship but selection.Wilson Library Bulletin ,   28, 63-67.
Jenkinson, D. (2002). Selection and censhorship: It’s simple arithmetic. School libraries in Canada, 2(4), 22.
Ward, L. M. (2016). Media and Sexualization: State of Empirical Research, 1995–2015. The Journal of Sex Research, 53(4-5), 560-577. https://doi.org/10.1080/00224499.2016.1142496
The Times They Are A-Changing

The Times They Are A-Changing

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Young people in Australia, and indeed across the world, go to school to learn. Learning is an emotional experience that needs to be lived in order to change us. It is really not acceptable, given what we now know about learning, to stand at the front of a classroom and teach to a test. However, as a secondary school teacher who has worked across six schools in ten years, I found myself stunned at how much of this tired old model exists. I reflected in my blog that we need “to be conscious that we are not repeating the way we’ve always done things and expecting an outcome that addresses the changes in the world and the speed at which it is changing.” The sentiment of this statement remains, however my reflection did not begin to suggest how we might practically change the educative experience for young people in schools in Australia. At that point, I had not learnt about inquiry learning.

Charles Darwin said “We are always slow in admitting any great change of which we do not see the intermediate steps.” Inquiry learning challenges us to break down the silos of subject areas, allow students to learn about what they are passionate about and foster lived educational experiences. Furthermore, inquiry learning has the ability to address two issues simultaneously: the information issue that has arisen from rapid advancements in technology in a short space of time, whereby it is critically important for consumers of information to be able to evaluate the authenticity of information, and the issue of the need for pedagogical change with a goal to move away from behaviourist models and towards constructivist models. As leaders in education, teachers, TLs, and other school leaders have a responsibility to contribute to building a community of twenty-first century young people who are agile problem-solvers and lifelong learners. We must foster students who know when they don’t know, and know how to find out. A novice in this field, I find myself truly excited by the prospect of inquiry learning models. Within the realms of the school library, teacher librarians (TLs), teachers, students and school leaders alike can be drawn to libraries for a learning journey, their purpose being to promote deeper thinking, learning and adventure.

The ability to simultaneously teach curriculum content and apply 21st century learning skills with a subject expert and an information expert at the helm is an exciting prospect for young people in Australia. Where a unit of curriculum content requires research, inquiry learning provides a scaffold for all stakeholders to engage concurrently in information literacy instruction guided by the TL, and curriculum content guided by the subject teacher in a (hopefully) captivating way. Whilst many approaches to inquiry learning are employed in Australian schools, I see the Guided Inquiry Design (GID) model as an optimal model if the TL is given the opportunity to contribute to the unit as a full teaching partner. My blog post in response to 5.3b Guided Inquiry outlines the advantages of GID as I see them. The level of detail provided in the model allowing a platform to integrate and assess 21st century learner skills, the opportunity to implement experiential learning in a classroom setting and the invitation for collaboration – between teacher librarian and teacher, and between students too. Whilst this is ideal, schools are indeed time poor environments that have historically been resistant to change. In light of this, there are challenges that are presented by GID. My response to 5.3b Guided Inquiry also highlights these challenges, being change management – reluctance by leadership, teachers and students to be accepting of the approach, the time constraints of the GID unit, and leadership and teachers misunderstanding of the role of the TL leading to GI not being accessed where it could be used effectively and improve student learning. Other models still seek to embed information literacy in curriculum, and should not be discounted. Should the teacher or TL be time or resource poor, these models still support deeper learning than simply teaching referencing or research skills in one lesson, and can be more appropriate given other constraints, such as time or budget.

The role of the TL as a debated topic was news to me at the beginning of this subject, and indeed this course. But on reflection, I can happily admit my rudimentary understanding of the role. Prior to beginning the course, I saw the role as a colleague in a school who a teacher could draw upon if they wished to jazz up a unit, or get some fancy resources to make their lessons a bit spicier. However, I have come to realise that the TL is an intermediary role requiring collaboration, creativity, innovation, critical-thinking and problem-solving, and could truly be the bridge of change for education paradigms.

Madame Pince (reimagined)

Madame Pince (reimagined)

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Growing up with both my parents as teachers, a love of learning and reading was fostered in me from a young age, ultimately inspiring the decision to become a teacher myself. However, as a young person I was not inspired by the libraries or Teacher Librarians (TLs) that I was exposed to. Perhaps that contributed to my preconceived ideas of libraries as terribly boring places run by glaring, prowling old women who were purposefully unhelpful (sorry!). These notions were further fed by my love of the Harry Potter series, where Madame Pince the librarian ticked all of the above boxes. Flash forward to my secondary schooling and once again, these ideas were reinforced by the TLs, who seemed more interested in our eating, drinking and talking habits (strictly not permitted!) than our quest for knowledge in the realms of the bookshelves. I strongly believe that sadly, these formative experiences shaped my interactions with TLs early in my career as a teacher.

My first role was at a school in regional Victoria, teaching Health, PE, Maths and VCE Psychology. Unfortunately, the only time I interacted with the TL was purely selfish. I wanted to loan some books to read for the holidays. They weren’t curriculum related, either. This, after all, was the role of a TL. The gatekeeper of the books. At no other point in my four years at this school did I believe that the TL could help me, or my students, engage in the curriculum. In fact, I thought that they would make my classes decidedly uninteresting and lead to disengagement. I was unfairly projecting my own negative experiences on my students and the TL in this school, and I will never know what wonders could have been achieved with a more open mind.

Returning to Melbourne, I was offered a role as a VCE Psychology and Maths teacher, and a leadership role as Year 10 Coordinator at my old high school. And boy, had things changed in that old library. Year 10 students had to complete a Personal Project, and the TL at the school was the coordinator of said project. As Year 10 Coordinator, I worked closely with the TL to support the students to get the most out of this opportunity. Through her wonderful leadership and partnership with students, staff and parents, the projects that our students created were nothing short of phenomenal. Furthermore, the Learning Commons was a busy space, littered with colourful opportunities for learning and collaboration. Conversation was encouraged and you could drink water (still a hard no on the food). Our obligatory partnership inspired me to seek the TL’s expertise in developing curriculum, including assessments and resources for mine and my students’ learning. My eyes were opened to the potential of the TL, and a little spark was ignited in me.

ALIA (2004) propose that the value of the teacher librarian lies in the combination of their skills and knowledge in both curriculum and pedagogy, and that of library and information management. My understanding of the role of the TL has changed dramatically over a short period of time. I now appreciate the TL as a collaborator who is able to expertly develop and resource the curriculum, whilst supporting stakeholders to navigate the complex and ever-changing information environment.

REFERENCES

ALIA. (2004). Standards of Professional Excellence for Teacher Librarians. Retrieved July 21, 2020 from https://www.alia.org.au/about-alia/policies-standards-and-guidelines/standards-professional-excellence-teacher-librarians