When I told people I was doing a Masters to become a Teacher Librarian, the most common reaction was one of incredulity. Why do you need a Masters to be a librarian? At the start of this course I also had a very stereotypical image of a teacher librarian. Along with many in education (Zmuda & Harada 2008, Oberg 2006, Eisenberg 2006) I had no idea of the plethora of tasks involved, the responsibilities, the influence a teacher librarian had, and the incredible benefits he or she could bring to a school (Oberg 2002). This image is being corrected, but there is still a way to go and at least one obvious hole in my developing knowledge.
My first attempted definition of a teacher librarian reflected my ignorance: “a Teacher who is also a qualified librarian” (Soon, all will call me Master! 24/02/11). I managed to recognise that curriculum knowledge and relationships are important and vaguely described collaboration on February 25th (Relationships with staff) before I knew what collaboration was. However it was an extremely basic understanding. I was still in the mindset that teacher librarians mostly just find resources for teachers, and this is why they need to meet with them.
Module 2 and assignment 1 – examining and defining the role of the Teacher librarian – certainly opened my eyes to how amazing and multifaceted this teacher librarian creature could be and how dynamic the field was. The list of spheres they influence is huge and just seems to increase the more reading I do. The field is dynamic. It touches areas such as staff development, curriculum, teachers, resources, technological developments, media, storage, and behaviour (Purcell 2010, Eisenberg 2006, Herring 2005) but it is not tied down. As I read more and more about how important a teacher librarian is (Martineau, 2010, Oberg, 2002) I was slightly stunned that “there is a ... dichotomy between how undefined the role is and yet how vital it seems to be. Everybody says how important and vital they are, yet no-one seems to be able to say exactly what they do”. (Amazed at how vital yet unknown, 16/03/11, para.1).
A comprehensive definition still eludes me, and maybe it is part of the nature of the beast. I agree with Purcell (2010) that the role description itself is constantly changing and the ability to learn new tasks and adapt the role to shifting paradigms is needed. “any attempted definitions of the role of a TL could possibly be like photographs in time: they may be very relevant for right now, but in time – a year, a few years, or a decade – they will not match the current needs and expectations.” (Topic 2 forum, 8/03/11, 10:03pm)
Researching for both assignments saw me drawn to authors such as Hassett (2007) and Warlick (2007) who challenge the ‘sacred cows’ of traditional libraries and ways of thinking. One message I have received loud and clear is that there is a change with not just how ridiculously accessible information now is, but that the next generation see information differently, as raw material to transform or create with. Libraries cannot be containers to hold information anymore and librarians are no longer gatekeepers. People must be their own gatekeepers and be guided as how to do this ethically. I never expected to be teaching ethics as part of the teacher librarians’ role, but I understand why this is necessary.
Module 5 (Collaboration) and parts of Module 1 (The Role of a Teacher Librarian, Principal Support) started the development of a recognition that many factors determine exactly what a teacher librarian can do within a school. A perfect school where the teacher librarian is valued and supported is rare. In reality, the exact role a teacher librarian will have within a school will probably be determined by “the school and its priorities”. (Topic 2 forum, 12/03/11, 4:43pm). As with teaching, one will still aim and strive for perfection but realise that one may have to settle for less.
The journey cannot be over there are still gaps. I approach being a teacher librarian very much from the perspective of a teacher. Much is said on my blogs and forum posts about how it is like teaching, or how to make the teacher’s job easier, or how teachers can be helped by teacher librarians. Very little is said how the teacher librarian interacts with or influences students or other staff members – a gaping hole. I now know that these are also the clients of the teacher librarian that need to be included in time and effort – especially students (Hassett, 2007).
