Part C
Task: A Critical Synthesis of your reflection on how your view of the role of the teacher librarian may have changed during the subject. This should include examples captured from your personal blog and from your contribution to and reading of the ETL 401 forum. (about 750 words)
My view of the Teacher Librarian when I first began this course was a very simplistic one. It was drawn from my dealings with Teacher Librarians as a student and as a classroom teacher. A Teacher Librarian was someone who:
* introduced new books to children and fostered a love of reading.
* covered, catalogued and shelved books.
* processed borrowings and returns.
* was used for RFF.
On completion of my first semester, I now view the role of the Teacher Librarian as a unique and Multi-faceted one.
It encompasses :
* The Advocate role (both of their unique role and in the promotion of lifelong learning)
* The Colloborative (not only with Principals, staff and students but also the wider school community and other Teacher Librarians) and the Curriculum Leadership role
* The Instructional Technologist role
* The Library Management role
* The Instructional role
* The Information specialist role
* The Information literacy role
(Adapted from the Summary of the Association for Teacher -librarianship, list of professional competencies for Teacher Librarians from Blog post entitled: The changing role of the Teacher Librarian in the Twenty-first Century).(Brown, 2009, June 3)
The areas that I feel my views have most changed include the Advocate role, The Instructional Technologist role, The Information Specialist role and the Information Literacy role.
The Advocate Role of the Teacher Librarian:
As I have never held the position of Teacher Librarian I have gained a greater insight into the importance of Advocacy in the role of the Teacher Librarian. I see that it is the Teacher Librarian's role to inform others, especially Principals and Classroom Teachers of their unique role and usefulness to the entire school community. Elizabeth Mackinnon (2009, Mar 29), in the sub - Forum:Topic 2, comments on how a positive view of the Teacher Librarian may be achieved by referring to the Odberg reading, stating that there are three ways TLs can ensure this respect; clear communication, developing professional credibility and working ‘to advance school goals.’ ( p 16).
The Instructional Technologist Role of the Teacher Librarian:
At the beginning of this Semester I was overwhelmed by the technology involved in the role of Teacher Librarian and I had very little knowledge of technology other than creative word processsing, publishing and the use of powerpoints. I expressed thoughts of the role of the Teacher Librarian and the use of technology when reflecting on Residential School, "I now realise that the Teacher Librarian has to be the most Technologically 'savvy' and able to resource the latest information for all users within the school community." (Brown, 2009, Feb. 24)
Further participation in Forums and drawing conclusions from readings to add to my blog revealed that technology had brought many changes to the role of the Teacher Librarian. Through the Subject ETL 503 I have gained even more enlightenment into not only the use of technological resources within the school library but also in the Teacher Librarian's role in selecting, deselecting and evaluating these resources.
I have a greater understanding of how technology may be used by the Teacher Librarian to enhance Information Literacy both now and in the future such as remixing Library Collections for Digital Youth. In my blog entry entitled "YPulse and the Digital age" ( May 22nd, 2009), I reflected on a reading regarding a summit that was exploring the future of content. It introduced some of the Web 2.0 tools that may be used to improve the delivery of content to learners and advocacy of the use of social networking sites as a way for Teacher Librarians to connect with students.
The Information Specialist and Information Literacy roles:
As a classroom teacher I now realise that I have seen only a small fraction of what the role of the Teacher Librarian encompasses. After joining OZTL_NET I reflected in my blog “What we teach and do” ( Brown, 2009, May 26) on a post which had reiterated the importance of teaching Information Literacy and emphasising the importance of the unique role of the Teacher librarian:
“ Instruction in Information literacy during training is important for the TL......Whilst classroom teachers who are placed in the TL role without qualifications may be literate..........they do not have the expertise in the use of Boolean Strategies for effective searching databases.....or actually teaching students a research framework or note-taking skills....and much more”.
In conclusion, I believe that Michael Stephens' 3 essential duties of librarians and the broad themes of the Melbourne Unconference in 2007 in my post entitled "Reading - The Australian Journal VOL57 No.1, 2008" may also be applied to sum up the essential roles of Teacher Librarians : Learning to learn,
Adapting to change and embracing change, Scanning the horizon, Empowering users
and Unblocking information. (Brown, 2009, June 7th)
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