To be a leader in the library...can be compared to a life cycle of a tree
Because it is looked after well, then the first leaf comes out....when a teacher librarian has got what it takes to be an effective leader then she can start branching out....starting off with the creation of a vision....how do I see my library three years from now...how will my library impact on the learning of the students....how can I support the staff and lead the whole organisation to the new millennium...
With more care it then becomes a small plant.....from a vision...the teacher librarian can start innovating and leading the change...the TL will be a staff developer by teaching the teachers how to utilise technology.....the TL will not wait for students and teachers to come to the library but instead she will come to them and inform them of what is in the library and demonstrate how it can be useful to them....she will collaborate with the whole schoolbecause she knows that collaboration is one of the tools which will help identify and meet the needs of the student.....
And with more TLC (tender, loving, care).....it develops into a small tree...leadership does not end by starting something...it has to be continuous by constantly giving support and resources.....this will not only help create trust but will help establish and maintain relationships which are critical to the success of good leadership (Winzenried, p. 70) thus creating a school with a strong culture....organisations which are open to change have a higher rate of succeeding than those who refuse to embrace it....
Then it grows into a strong, healthy tree which would withstand any bad weather and would live for many. many years.....it will serve its purpose of giving clean air, shade, food, protection from flood...and most importantly help create more trees.......by being consistent with what a teacher librarian has started to do then she would have helped create a relationship of mutual stimulation and elevation that converts followers into leaders( Burns, 1978).......a teacher librarian does not need to carry all the burden herself because she would have then passed on the knowledge through effective managed succession and so responsibility will be widely distributed.......
I would like to share this video I found which talks about school leadership in the library......
The ideas mentioned in the video is not something which is new. In fact most teacher librarians are already into it. I think it is now a matter of going out there and showing them what you've got. As Tapscott says....one of the principles of an open world is EMPOWERMENT!!!! Knowledge needs to be distributed so that it becomes more spread out so that no one person will have control("Four Principles", 2012).....if everyone has a reciprocal part to play then they will be dynamically engaged (Belbin, p.98).
References:
Belbin, R. M. (2010). Chapter 9. The art of building a team. Team roles at work (2nd ed., pp. 97-106). Amsterdam: Butterworth-Heinemann.
Kotter, J. (n.d.).
Kotter International - Change Leadership. Kotter International -
Innovative Strategy Implementation Professionals. Retrieved January
28, 2013, from http://www.kotterinternational.com/our-principles/change-leadership
Mansfield University, (2011, October 18). School Leadership: Leading Libraries into the Future. Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4RzmrhDmjeQ
Marzano, R. J., Waters, T., & McNulty, B. A.
(2005). Some theories and theorists on leadership.
School
leadership that works: from research to results
(pp. 13-27). Alexandria, Va.: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development;Retrieved
from http://site.ebrary.com.ezproxy.csu.edu.au/lib/csuau/docDetail.action?docID=10089219
TED (2012, June). ) Don Tapscott: Four Principles for the Open World. Retrieved from
Winzedried, Arthur (2010). Visionary: Leaders for Information(1st ed., pp.63-94). Wagga Wagga: Centre for Information Studies.
