Back to School

Today I had my first ‘library session’ at the local primary school, and it was great! The Teacher Librarian was very friendly and helpful, and she even put me to work straight away – I got to do ‘borrowing’ with her Year 3 class, and I also updated their ‘Premier’s Reading Challenge’ booklists. I also spent some time tidying up book shelves, which actually helped me to find start to work out how the library is organised and what sorts of resources it has.

Debbie, the TL, was able to shed some light on what some of my assignment questions are all about, from a professional’s perspective, and she also pointed out some resources that I might be able to refer to for guidance. See, TL’s are great!

We also chatted about the realities of working as a TL, which can often be quite different to the ideals that are espoused in some of the literature I have been reading. Debbie said that her biggest problem is that many of the teachers at her school are very resistant to change, so she has had to take minute steps to implement some of her ideas over the past 6 years that she has been working at the school. She said she feels she has been successful in some of her goals, like getting boys to read more, and having all children complete the Premier’s Reading Challenge, but she has not been able to convince her colleagues that cooperative planning and teaching is a good idea: they see it as too much work, and they hate the idea of having someone watch them teach.

Debbie did mention that she has quite a supportive Principal, however, and he has helped her to get class teachers into the library for library sessions: all infants teachers stay for the whole session, and primary teachers stay for half. She said this has been a small step away from simply dropping the class off for RFF, and it has helped her to gain more respect and appreciation from her colleagues as they have seen the effort she puts in to her lessons, and they have noticed the impact she has made on their students’ learning.

I was also very pleased to learn that Debbie is very familiar with a lot of the current literature, so we were able to discuss some of it in the context of what actually happens in the ‘real world’. Today’s meeting has really helped me to put some of what I’m learning into perspective, and I’m looking forward to returning to the school library next week to learn more!

Fast forward 3 months!

How time flies! My last post was three months ago, and much has happened since then!

Bub arrived safely on the 16th of April, which was fantastic because she just made it to 37 weeks! So my family and I have been busy adjusting to having a new baby in our lives. We are so lucky that she’s such a relaxed and content little girl. She is now almost 12 weeks old, and I think we’ve all settled in nicely.

So, it’s time to think about uni again, as the new semester starts next week! I can’t believe how fast the time has gone. I am looking forward to getting back into it. I just hope I can find enough time to study – I’m only doing one subject at a time, so that should help. Wish me luck!

Another setback…

Wow, what an interesting week!

A couple of days after hearing from Deborah, I had a serious think about my situation (two kids under three and a third on the way very soon), and the fact that I’m falling further and further behind in my studies, despite recently dropping down to one subject per semester… and decided to defer until next semester 😦

Two days later, I ended up in hospital with some pregnancy complications, the end result of which is that I will probably have this baby within the next week – eek! So, this has completely confirmed for me that my decision to defer was the right one. I’m disappointed, as I thought this semester would probably be my easiest one (while I have two kids and not three) but I guess I didn’t consider the exhaustion factor of late pregnancy, as well as the swollen feet and back pain whilst trying to sit for long periods at the computer to study!

Due to my hospital stay, I wasn’t able to meet up with Deborah during the week, either. However, after the school holidays I am hoping to catch up with her and try to negotiate spending some time in the library anyway, as I still think it will be a fantastic experience for me, and will certainly give me a better start when I try uni again later on in the year.

So, all is not lost! Just a small hiccup along the way 🙂

Success!!

Just when I was feeling so discouraged, a wonderful Teacher Librarian from a local school has just contacted me and offered to help me with my studies!! Her name is Deborah and she sounds lovely. She said she felt she owed it to the profession, as there are many more TLs approaching retirement age than there are coming into the profession. Plus, she mentioned she did her training under similar circumstances to mine and found she really needed the support of practising TLs to get her through. I can’t wait to go and meet her next Wednesday, as I think it will really help me to connect what I am learning to the ‘real world’. Hurrah!

More ‘Elements’

Gosh, I’m not even a teacher librarian yet, and I already feel overwhelmed by the number of ‘elements’ I have had to add to my initial concept of a teacher librarian’s role! Now here’s another one: action research and evidence-based practice.

Action research formed a major part of my undergraduate studies in education, so I’m very familiar with it. We used to moan and groan at the thought of another action research project, but now I’m more comfortable with the concept and can definitely see the benefits of being a reflective practitioner. How else do I find out whether the techniques I am trying are actually working? How else do I engage with current research and try to improve my practice?

So, in regards to teacher librarianship, action research and evidence-based practice would be a main priority, for me. I guess I should have seen it coming!! It’s possibly even more important for a teacher librarian to base their practice on gathering evidence, due to the increasing need for accountability that teacher librarians seem to be facing in schools these days.

This week we were asked to think about which ‘elements’ of a teacher librarian’s role we would choose as priorities, and how we would make these priorities clear and ‘palatable’ to the wider school community.  At this point I would have to say that I am leaning towards evidence-based practice, collaboration with classroom teachers, integrating information literacy skills with content outcomes, flexible scheduling and inquiry-based learning as major priorities, but these may change as I continue on my teacher librarianship journey.

I think one way of clearly demonstrating, and making palatable, my priorities to the school community would be through research and evidence-based practice itself. If, as a teacher librarian, I could give clear-cut evidence that the priorities I had chosen were helping students to improve not only their information literacy skills, but also their deep understanding of and engagement with content (which according to Todd (2007), is even more important),  then I think they could find little to argue with.

Reference

Todd, R.J. (2007). Evidenced-based practice and school libraries: from advocacy to action. In Hughes-Hassell, S. & Harada, V.H. School reform and the school library media specialist (pp. 57-78). Westport, CY: Libraries Unlimited.

Can’t catch up!

Today I decided to drop down to one subject per semester, so I’ve said goodbye to ‘ETL503: Resourcing the Curriculum’ for the time being! I’m a little bit sad about it, as I really wanted to make a good start and get two subjects out of the way before bub arrives, but it’s probably for the best. I’m so far behind at the moment, due to our technical difficulties. Plus, things aren’t getting any easier on the pregnancy/parenthood/total exhaustion front either… so yes, probably best to just slow down a little. Baby steps!

I also have yet to hear back from any of the schools I approached for experience in the library, which is a bit disheartening. With the first assignment looming, I really need to get going on this. Will have to make some calls and send more letters next week.

Bit of a glitch…

Oh, the joys of internet access! I have just experienced two weeks without any reliable internet connection (have had to resort to walking to my in-laws to borrow theirs), and I can only wonder how I ever coped without it!! Even things like deciding what to wear each day become harder without instant access to the Bureau of Meteorology Website!!! However, we have now changed providers and are back on track – heaps of catching up to do as far as uni work is concerned, as I haven’t been able to do anything for almost a week. Yikes!

No more books?

I’ve been thinking again about Johnson’s article on libraries for a post-literate society and whether or not he means that eventually there will be no need for printed books.

Personally, I think there will always be a place for ‘books’ in my own life. By Johnson’s definition, I could be considered moderately post-literate. But being of the generation that, while having access to computers, internet, etc. was still encouraged to read print and write with pen and paper, I still enjoy the peace and quiet that simply sitting and reading brings: no screens, bright lights, noises, distractions, just the printed words and my own imagination. I think it is important for ‘technology-users’ to have a balance in their daily activities between time in front of screens and away from them, and books are one way of maintaining this balance.

However, it remains to be seen whether the future generations will actually need this balance – if there comes a time when there is no demand for printed books, then I guess we’ll know!

Collection Management

Today it’s all about Collection Management, and digital versus print resources! Somehow I can’t help thinking that starting this journey at a time when libraries seem to be expected to have a majority of digital resources, is actually a good thing. There seems to be a lot of debate in the field about what the right balance is between digital and print. Coming in now, as a complete novice, might help me to keep an open mind and just accept the way things are heading, and learn how to do it, whereas some (not all) seasoned TLs may struggle. After all, there seems to be so much involved: Johnson (2007) says that even though the process is the same for both types of resources, digital resources can be more complicated to manage for various reasons, such as their constantly changing nature, the difficulty of getting good reviews, the necessity of purchasing subscriptions and licences, and how to make the information accessible both onsite and offsite. However, his suggestions for how to go about doing all of this make it all seem much less daunting, really.

I’m still getting my head around just how much libraries have changed (and will probably continue to change) in a short space of time. Another two articles that highlight this point are by Johnson (Libraries for a Post-Literate Society) and Lee (A Library Without Books).

Johnson argues that, in order to serve an increasingly ‘post-literate’ client-base, libraries need to offer so much more than was traditionally expected, such as a wide range of digital resources and services, including the capacity to “teach the skills necessary to produce effective communication in all formats” (Johnson), which is something I had never before considered. Librarians of the future (or now even) really need to know their stuff!

Lee brings up an interesting argument about whether there is even a place for ‘libraries’ and ‘teacher librarians’ in schools anymore. He advises that, if they haven’t done so already, all ‘libraries’ should close and re-open as ‘Information Services Units’ with ‘Directors of Information Services’ running them. I think Lee is correct in suggesting that the school ‘library’ as we once knew it (ie. a place where books are kept) is destined for extinction: the concept of a ‘library’ has expanded a great deal to encompass so much more than just ‘books’. He seems to be saying that, unless libraries and teacher librarians evolve with all of the changes to technologies, information services, skills and formats, then there will be virtually no point in having a school library, as it will be outdated and not achieving much in terms of teaching children information literacy. Changing the name of the ‘library’ and the ‘teacher librarian’ would clearly indicate to the wider school community a distinction between the ‘old’ and the ‘new’ way of doing things. But I don’t think this has actually happened in many schools so far – at least not in the ones I’ve visited recently…

So much reading…

I have just been reflecting on some reading again, and I have come to a few realisations.

Being a ‘new scheme’ primary teacher working only casually/part time for the last year, my experience in school libraries is very limited. Before starting this Teacher Librarianship journey, I had a vague idea that the role of the Teacher Librarian went a little beyond simply ‘managing the library’ to also include teaching children research/information skills during RFF. My ideas have now changed dramatically, especially after reading and reflecting on Herring’s (2007, p.30) portrayal of the multi-faceted role of the teacher librarian. It includes aspects of the role that I had never considered before, such as “Curriculum planner”, “Website developer”, “Information literacy leader” and “Staff manager.” I now realise that, potentially, the role of the TL could be so much more than I had originally envisaged.

I say potentially because, even though the NSW Department of Education and Training School Library Policy states that TLs are to be collaborative partners in all aspects of planning and implementing the teaching and learning that goes on in schools, and that they should work in partnership with the Principal to ensure this happens, I really am yet to witness any evidence of it. Of course, this may be due to my limited exposure, but still, in all the schools I have attended and/or taught at, ‘library time’ was a once-a-week activity during the class teacher’s RFF time; the library was often closed up to two days a week; and the teacher librarian was rarely seen or heard of.

One exception was at the school where I did my final prac: the TL was relatively new to the school and was obviously trying to carve her own space within the wider school community, instead of slipping quietly into the ‘tucked away’ role of her predecessor. She really was advocating her own role, contributing to staff meetings, speaking at school assemblies, and encouraging teachers to use the library (and her) more, outside of their scheduled time. She even said once at a meeting that she felt lonely and hidden away from the rest of the school, and was used to having groups of children coming to the library throughout the day to study or get help with research tasks, so could they please, please, send her some kids every now and then!! I now wish I had taken the time to find out more about this woman and her experiences as a TL, but at that point I wasn’t really considering a career in teacher librarianship myself. However, in hindsight I really think she was the kind of dynamic, enthusiastic, self-advocating teacher librarian and leader that I will aspire to become throughout my teacher librarianship journey and future career.

Another realisation for me on this journey is the way I think about the term ‘collection’. Until starting this course, a primary school library ‘collection’ could really only mean ‘the books’, and perhaps a few web resources (but surely not extensive databases?). Libraries have definitely evolved since I was in primary school (in the 90’s!), but it still comes as a surprise to me that the trend towards ‘digital collections’ that I experienced at university, should also be occurring at a primary school level. When I think about how I used the library as a primary school student, the emphasis was definitely placed on the fiction section and ‘reading for pleasure’. However, if, as Herring (2007) argues, the primary school library collection is to reflect the educational goals of the school as a whole, then it makes sense that the majority of resources should be non-fiction, and even non-print.

Reference

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.