"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