Re- thinking the role of a Teacher Librarian

As I was looking for more information to read on Teacher Librarians, I stumbled on this great presentation from slideshare. I have used some of their presentation in my class. Like most webtools, it is free to register. It is good that people create slideshows, videos because sometimes it is easier to understand rather than reading 10 pages long essays.  Re-thinking the role of the teacher-librarian in a post literate society

View more PowerPoint from International Association of School Librarianship

"All of these five roles-leader, instructional partner, teacher, information specialist, and program administrator-are interconnected; one cannot be performed without the support of the others. Teaching for learning requires collaboration with classroom teachers and students to design engaging lessons and units of study (as an instructional partner), knowledge of what technologies can support learning (as an information specialist), effective program administration to ensure quality resources are available for learners, and leadership to establish the way forward."

--Empowering Learners: Guidelines for School Library Media Programs (AASL, p. 18)

Dear Diary,

I came across this wordle today. It made a lot os sense to me. I think that a librarians role should not be taken as separate entities. Just as the words in this wordle are inter connected....so are the roles of a teacher librarian....that is if we want to impact on the students' learning.

What’s in a Name?

A principal recently inquired about changing the title of her school librarian to something that would describe her leadership and instructional role. She thought “librarian” sounded old-fashioned and sent a message of “keeper of books.” The title for the school librarian has evolved since the first appearance of school librarians in the early 1900s. “Media specialist” was in vogue in the early 1970s as School Library and Department of Audiovisual Instruction (DAVI) standards merged. Today, with the advent of technology and renewed emphasis on student learning, “teacher-librarian” is more widely used. Simply put, school librarians are teachers first.

Nancy White
 http://www.edtechmag.com/k12/issues/august-september-2008/the-role-of-today-s-librarian.html

Which one is it really?????

-teacher
 - curriculum advisor
 - information professional
 - resource manager, advisor and selector
 - trainer for students, teachers and school assistants
 - collaborator
 - computer technology advisor and troubleshooter
 - internet trainer and supervisor
 - network coordinator
 - literacy consultant and advisor
 - cataloguer
 - librarian

Dear Diary,
Why is there so much discussion about a teacher librarian's role? I have just finished looking at a few articles about roles of a teacher librarian and each named no less than five roles.... some examples of which are:

"Angus(1993) identified an extensive list of roles that are undertaken by a TL. Each one of the 18 items on her checklist amounted to almost a full time position."

"ALIA/ASLA joint statement on TL(1994) identified 17 different facets of the role with seven separate areas of responsibilities."

After reading these articles.....one person came to mind...Superman!!!! Yes, to be able to perform these roles you have to be able to dodge bullets, leap in a single bound, lift a building with a finger.... to cut a long story short ...be supernatural!!!! Panick strikes once again.

Then Dr. Herring saves the day!!!! "It is clear that no teacher librarian could possibly fulfill all these roles at the same time and teacher librarians who MANAGE THEIR TIME EFFECTIVELY prioritise roles according to the current needs of students, staff and parents in the school community."

Then I decided to make a list out of the numerous lists of what I think my role is according to the needs of my school community.....teacher: 94% of our students are non english speaking and come from third world countires who do not have access to the internet so it is my job to teach them to use technology the best way it can help them learn, ....collaborator: it is my job to work hand in hand with the teachers, to assist them with their teaching programmes to help our students not only improve their English but to be life long learners....information specialist: assist teachers by providing them with resources that they need to improve their teaching programmes and assist students by providing them with resources they need to help them learn....curriculum leader: work principals and senior staff to ensure that information literacy development is our major school focus....librarian:  acquiring, weeding, maintaining resources, budgeting, providing a stimulating and helpful environment....

I love my job and I want to be the best in what I do.... not to compete with others but to be remembered by my students and co workers as someone who has contributed to their growth as a learner.
And in so doing, I will keep an open mind, be flexible to change and constantly keep myself updated with the latest trend.

topic 1

Dear Diary,

This entry is a bit delayed. I was meant to enter this sometime last week but I was soooooo busy finalising my program...anyway, i had a play with the ebsco , informit data bases and quite overwhelmed.....WOW!!!! Have started to save some articles, journals for reading later....(hopefully helpful with my assignment)....anyway(again)....I began to wonder how is the librarian from csu  able to gather sooooo much resources....then thought of my own library....I feel mine is not well resourced but then again I am in primary so I probably do not need that much....so the question is....How does a librarian know that she has a well resourced library???? is there a checklist...so I tried to find some answers and this is what I gathered:

• the creation of policies to guide material selection
• replacement of worn or lost materials
• weeding of materials no longer needed in the collection
• planning for new collections or collection areas
• cooperative decision-making with members of school community

from Collection Management: a concise introduction by John Kennedy

I suddenly felt really important!!!!!! The future of the students is on my hands!!!!!!