Entering into this course I was looking for a change of
career. I thought teacher librarianship (TL) would be less stressful than the
classroom management issues I faced previously. I thought TL would be a quiet job where I would manage a collection and that was about as far as that went, a 'traditional library' setting. I now see that the role of the teacher
librarian goes far beyond simply stacking shelves.
I have now discovered that there is a large depth and scope to the role of the TL. A few of the roles to be fulfilled by the
TL include leader, teacher, collaborator, manager, critic, advocator, creator,
information specialist, explorer, tester, challenger, administrator, evaluator,
and facilitator (MacMeekin, 2013, & Obst, 2013a).
Pulling apart a couple of these:
- The TL is to be an explorer and tester of new technologies, resources and programmes.
- The TL is a creator of library websites, library blogs, how to videos or podcasts, and much more (Valenza, 2010). I am, inspired by library collection Pinterest sites like Saint Mary’s College Library and Kansas City Public Library where the librarian is also a collection curator and book critic.
- The TL is a challenger of school community, aiming to change preconceptions of the library and the role it plays (Obst, 2013b). The TL will challenge the school to try new programmes and challenge a reader to give a new book a try.
The word cloud, below, captures a picture of my blog posts so far. From this I see two roles which I have discussed the most;
to be a teacher of skills needed for information literacy and to be a collaborator. I feel the five most important reasons for collaboration are for; student achievement, higher expected learning, quality
of teaching, consistency of teaching and to better meet individual learning
needs (Obst, 2013c). With the support of collaboration the TL is to act as programme facilitator of guided inquiry and information literacy
models and to be a teacher of the
generic and information use skills needed to produce information literate students (Obst, 2013d) .
While I had hoped for a less stressful job it became obvious from the onset that this was an naïve ambition. Through the readings I found there was a need for the TL to be a leader and to 'prove their worth' to the school. There is little room for quiet hard work in the background. Without the support of the principal and the school
community the TL would not function to their fullest. In 'blog task 1' I looked at
the roles the principal needs to play to support the TL implementing collaboration initiatives. These roles are supervisor, model, manager and mentor (Obst, 2013b). With all the possible roles a TL can fulfil
I feel now that the principal is even more critical as they are required to enable the TL to carry
out those roles and then expect and ensure the TL carries out the roles. I feel a lazy principal can create a lazy TL.
Personal Reflection
on Assignement 2
My understanding of what information literacy is has changed
during this course. One of the most helpful modules was Module 4. In this module I was able to mindmap ideas and definitions from the readings to get a clearer
picture of information literacy (Obst, 2013e). Unfortunately this came after assignment 1 had been submitted. It was
clear I did not have a full understanding of information literacy and library
skills at this point. During the final essay task I felt the ‘feelings’
Kuhlthau (2013) described during the Information Search Process. I felt
uncertainty, confusion and anxiety. Having not been a librarian or English
teacher prior to coming into the course I found understanding some of the terms
quite difficult. I felt a sense of
hopelessness and frustration as I approached the task and questioned why I was even doing it. I
felt the dip Kuhlthau described and it was not until I was well into the
research assignment that I felt I was making headway. I had to teach my husband
about the ISP and Big6 models so that I could have a grasp of them. Reflection
on this process has helped me to better understand constructivist learning theory and
the ISP model which allowed me to build on my understanding from blog task 2 (Obst, 2013f).
In my forum introduction to the ETL401 class I mentioned that I wanted to work in a specialist library, preferably in a university science faculty library ( Obst, 2013g). While I feel there is a long way to go in my learning journey this is still a goal. In the meantime I hope to make a positive impact on my local school, which does not have a teacher librarian, to change the perceptions on what the TL does and offer practical advice received from this subject and course.
References
Kuhlthau, C. (2013). Information
Search Process. Retrieved May 9, 2013 from
http://comminfo.rutgers.edu/~kuhlthau/information_search_process.htm
MacMeekin, M. (2013). 27 things your teacher librarian does,
retrieved from An Ethical Island blog, May 20, 2013, http://anethicalisland.wordpress.com/2013/04/12/27-things-your-teacher-librarian-does/
Obst, H. (2013b, March, 19). ETL401 Blog task 1: Principal Support [Blog post] Retrieved May 9, 2013 from
http://hannahobst.blogspot.com.au/2013/03/elt401-blog-task-1-principal-support.html
Obst, H. (2013c, May, 6). ETL401 Mod 5 [Blog post] Retrieved May 9, 2013 from http://hannahobst.blogspot.com.au/2013/05/elt401-mod5.html
Obst, H. (2013d, May, 7). ETL401 Blog task 3 [Blog post] Retrieved May 9, 2013 from http://hannahobst.blogspot.com.au/2013/05/elt401-blog-task-3.html
Obst, H. (2013e, April, 17). ETL401 Mod 4 [Blog post] Retrieved May 9, 2013 from http://hannahobst.blogspot.com.au/2013/04/elt401-mod-4.html
Obst, H. (2013f, April, 24). ETL401 Blog task 2 [Blog post] Retrieved May 9, 2013 from http://hannahobst.blogspot.com.au/2013/04/elt401-blog-task-2.html
Obst, H. (2013g, Feburary 28). Introduction [ETL401 Student Cafe] Retrieved May 9, 2013 from Charles Sturt University Website http://interact.csu.edu.au/portal/site/ETL401_201330_W_D/page/5280d584-59ce-4587-00c6-9c8f32a9a667
Valenza, J. (2010). Manifesto for 21st Century Librarians, School Library Journal Blog. Retrieved
May 20, 2013 from http://blogs.slj.com/neverendingsearch/2010/12/03/a-revised-manifesto/
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