Chapter 1

Ok so while I have a little time left on my hands I think it would be astute of me to post what I think the Teacher-Librarian role is about as a starting point for my learning journey.

Initially before I started this course I didn't really know anything about the teacher-librarian's role in the school. I didn't even realise they were a teacher (duh!). My preconceptions were that the librarian was there to manage the library - to loan books to students, follow up on their return, care for the books, buy new books, etc.. It never really occurred to me that there were many other aspects to the position.

As I started the readings for this course (ETL401) my eyes began to open wide. Oh no - you mean I have to do so much more than look after books! But on further reading it all began to make sense.

The school library is one of the most important rooms in the school. It is where students can study and learn at their own pace without teachers pushing them through the curriculum content. It is a place where answers to questions and problems are sought and constructed. It is a room full of past, present and soon-not-to-be-future resources that are at the fingertips of students. And this room is under the care of the teacher-librarian.

The role of the teacher-librarian is first and foremost to educate students. (Hence TEACHER-librarian and not librarian-teacher). As the library is the centre of information it is information skills that must be taught by the teacher-librarian. As students seek answers the teacher-librarian is there to guide students down the research path to ensure students use effective technologies and resources to solve their questions.

I think at this point my favourite definition of information literacy comes from Doyle (1994, p. 40 - in Teacher librarians and the school library[Herring, 2007, p. 33]) as he explains it as "the ability to access, evaluate, and use information from a variety of sources, to recognize when information is needed, and to know how to learn'.

So I think at this point it becomes clear that I have little understanding of the role of the Teacher-Librarian. So from here I am going to stop rambling and go back to the readings to take notes about the role of the teacher-librarian. I'll keep you updated.

Ciao