When I signed up to study for my masters in teacher librarianship, I was eager to learn how to better perform my role as a teacher librarian (TL). As I worked my way through the modules in ETL401, I began to realise that there were many gaps in my understanding of the role I should be playing in my school. I believe that my misguided understanding was probably due to lack of training and role models, and the uninformed expectations of my colleagues. I subscribe to a number of listservs and find that these help immensely to increase my knowledge and understanding of teacher librarianship, but to be perfectly honest, it is the reading and research I have done since beginning ETL401 that have really made an impact on my understanding of the complex role I need to play in my school. Having the opportunity to read forum postings by fellow students and make my own contributions to them has encouraged me to question some of my teaching practices and to make changes where necessary. I consider this to be an essential part of being a teacher as we are also learners and learning together can enrich our experiences (Roulston, 2010, September 4).
My learning from ETL401 helped me to realise how valuable it is for a TL to work on a flexible schedule. I discovered that it is more important that classes are booked for lessons after the teacher and TL have planned collaboratively and not booked on a permanent basis (Haycock, 2003). “It's my time that needs to be more flexible so that I can to try to cater to every year group's needs and collaborate with them when planning.” (Roulston, 2010, July 25). I had been working on a fixed schedule (which only allowed me enough time to see infant classes) because in my school this is expected of all our specialist teachers. After meeting with my principal and showing him the benefits of a flexible schedule, I have now moved away from my previous timetable.
As I worked my way through the topics, I realised that there is more important learning that needs to take place not only in the library, but in the whole school environment, and my priority has to be to begin creating an information literate school community (ILSC). It is my responsibility to see that an information literacy (IL) policy is written and adopted (Hore, 2010, August 10) in order for our students to be able to access, use and manipulate information in a thoughtful manner (Henri, 2005, p.19 and McKenzie, 2005, p.144).
I discovered that communication between my principal and I needs to be regular and focused on our students’ IL needs; he needs to be informed and educated. In the past I thought that one of the ICT teachers would be the driver of any initiatives in this area, but now I realise that I am the one that should be leading the way. I need to focus more on the library being seen as a centre of learning and not just a place where we keep resources (Herring, 2007, p.27). Our library is a busy, vibrant centre, but it is underutilised. “I can see that we have a long road ahead of us to raise the profile of our libraries and to show that we do more than just store books and read stories!” (Roulston, 2010, July 19). I now understand that collaboration is the key and I must make time to meet with class teachers to plan units in order for us to begin creating an ILSC.
For the past year I had been looking for a library curriculum that I could use to teach library lessons. Being a classroom teacher for over 20 years, I was used to having a curriculum to follow, but no matter how hard I trawled the Internet, I couldn’t find one. And then the penny dropped. “Now I realise that I've been searching for the impossible. It's the products of collaboration between the TL and the teachers that form the curriculum - it's not something that can be bought online or from a bookstore. It's the planning that meets the needs of the learner that is the basis for what needs to be taught in the library.” (Roulston, 2010, August 5). This “light bulb moment” has totally changed and informed the way I plan and teach.
I will finish with a quote from librarian Joyce Valenza, as I feel that it illustrates the kind of library environment I wish to create. “You understand that library is not just a place to get stuff, it is a place to make stuff, collaborate on and share stuff. Not a grocery store, but a kitchen!” (Valenza, J., 2010). An exciting and challenging time awaits me!
