Now that the first
assignment has been submitted, I feel I should do a bit of catch up on this
poor abandoned blog.
I slipped behind on
the readings and attempt to summarise some of the key points garnered from
module 2.
The Role Of the Teacher Librarian
After the multitude
of readings on this subject, I have come up with my own mini definitions of the
5 main roles of the teacher librarian (Melissa Purcell's headings).
Information
Specialist - deals with information.
Both it's acquisition and it's use. As information specialist the teacher
librarian primarily assists students and teachers in locating information and
then ensuring that they are effectively using this information.
Program Administrator - keeps the library running.
As program
administrator the teacher librarian is concerned with the day-to-day running of
the library. This encompasses everything
from staffing to managing the computer system to collection management to promoting and supervising all programs run by
the library whilst ensure that the library is meeting the needs to the school
community.
Leader
- promotes the library.
The continued
existence of the school library can be attributed to the unfailing work of the
teacher librarian as leader. They work
with the school executives and the school community to ensure that the library
offers programs that meet the needs of the entire school community. As leader the teacher librarian also ensures
that the teachers within the school are getting the most from the library.
Teacher
- ensures learning occurs in the library.
During class library
sessions, the teacher librarian takes on the role of teacher to ensure that all
students within their school become information literate. This task encompasses the teaching of book
skills, research skill and even technology skills. In this role the teacher librarian can
sometimes co-teach with classroom teachers or may take on this responsibility
individually.
Instructional
Partner - knows the curriculum.
As an instructional
partner, the teacher librarian must collaborate with teaching staff at the
school to assist in the development of units of work that accurately support
the curriculum and the needs of the school community. They can assist with the writing, teaching
and resourcing of the curriculum for the whole school.
The teacher
librarian wears so many different hats, it often amazes me that it all falls
under one job title. Though, when you
think of the number of different roles you fulfil as a classroom teacher, I
guess it isn't really too different.
Key Readings
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).
Wagga Wagga, NSW: Centre for Information Studies, Charles Sturt University.
Lamb, A., &
Johnson, L. (2008). School library media specialist 2.0: a dynamic
collaborator, teacher, and technologist. Teacher Librarian, 36(2), 74-78.
Retrieved from http://ezproxy.csu.edu.au/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=ehh&AN=43699030&site=ehost-live
Purcell, M. (2010).
All Librarians Do Is Check Out Books, Right? A Look at the Roles of a School
Library Media Specialist. Library Media Connection, 29(3), 30-33. Retrieved
from http://ezproxy.csu.edu.au/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=ehh&AN=55822153&site=ehost-live
