Teacher+Librarian+Role

=Teacher Librarian Role=

Initial understandings of the role of the teacher librarian were limited: I believed they encouraged students to borrow books and processed these loans; they fostered a love of literature through the sharing of good books; and helped students find information they needed.

As I began ETL401 and ETL503, I quickly learned about the importance of @resourcing the curriculum and providing leadership in integrating the teaching of @information literacy. A clearer understanding of the teacher librarian role came from the investigation of an information literate school community and how the teacher librarian can support this.

Spence (2005) helpfully used the analogy of a toolkit which enabled the teacher librarian to be well prepared to do the job. A range of readings suggested the tools included:
 * leadership - taking a leadership role (Herring 2007). The significance of this was expanded upon in the subject ETL504.
 * collaboration - working with executive, teachers and students (Haycock 2003) proactively (Spence 2005)
 * knowledge of information literacy skills - to develop information literate students (Herring 2007)
 * teaching skills - to provide support to students and timely intervention (Hay and Foley 2009)
 * up-to-date ICT skills - being at the forefront of information communication technology skills (Spence 2005)
 * resource management - identifying curriculum needs, charting information available and acquiring others as required (Henri 2005)
 * an information rich environment - with a wide range of good resources that include "print, multimedia and online" (Hay and Foley 2009)
 * a welcoming and safe environment (Sherman 2003)
 * support and advice - from the wider teacher librarian community (Spence 2005 & Oberg 2005)

In reviewing this list, it is not exhaustive, but still overwhelming. It seems that the teacher librarian needs to be a superhero and a saint. Henri (2005) and Herring (2007) acknowledge the breadth of the role and suggest the need to prioritise according to current needs of the school community.

From the above list, collaboration seems the key (Haycock 2003). It is important because it provides the foundation for work with both the executive and the staff generally. When working with the executive, Cass (2004) demonstrates it can help bring about the policy change critical for curriculum review, resource allocation and establishing a collaborative environment, all of which is needed to build an information community (Haycock 1999). When working collaboratively with teachers, skills can be taught across the curriculum, instead of in isolation in segregated library lessons.

From the readings it also became clear that collaboration needs a number of factors for its success:
 * 1) It takes time, pressure and support from the principal for successful collaboration (Haycock 1999).
 * 2) It takes time and commitment from the teacher librarian to work with teachers to identify student needs; develop units of work that give relevant experience in using a variety of information sources; and guide the learners' development. (Hume 1999)
 * 3) An up-to-date knowledge of the school's curriculum needs and the resources available (Henri 2005) including electronic resources (Herring 2007).
 * 4) Priority given to working with those that have already begun to change, or are open to collaboration, as they will provide a model and show the need to those not ready to embrace it (Henri 2005).

As evidenced from the above reflections, my view of the role of the librarian and its significance has certainly been greatly expanded as a result of this course.