Teacher Librarian as Educational Leader

Greetings Not-So-Tiny-Humans,

This week I will be discussing the role of the teacher-librarian (TL) as an educational leader. Often, the extensive work of the TL goes unknown to students and families but in actuality, the TL plays an integral role in the school community. Most people assume that the TL's job is to read read to students, organize materials, facilitate book-borrowing, and deal with late/lost items, and yes, these are requirements of our library staff; however, the job entails much more than just administrative duties.

Harvey, C. A. (2005). What should a teacher expect a school Library Media Specialist to be? Library Media Connection, 23(5), 23. The exhaustive list detailed by Harvey (2005), describes the many hats that the modern TL balances throughout the school year.

(Source: https://media.giphy.com/media/biswAb44h0q349QvTE/source.gif)

I would like to delve deeper into the roles of "staff developer"(educational leader) and "collaborator." Educational Leader Much like the library itself, the TL acts as a source of information for administration, colleagues, students, and families. It is therefore the responsibility of the TL to keep themselves informed of the latest resources and supports available to the school within the librarianship network. "The education of staff is paramount. The world of information and access to information changes on a daily basis. Keeping staff informed of new resources and tools has to be a priority for every school librarian. New pedagogies, teaching tools, professional publications (both online and print) are all areas where the school librarian can help colleagues in the classroom" (Diggs, 2011, p.56). TL is obligated to involve themselves in Professional Learning Networks within and outside of their school districts. Attending Pro-D's, conferences, and seminars will assist the TL in being aware of up-to-date information. Additionally, participating in online forums and subscribing to librarianship newsletters such as http://www.lm-net.info/ and https://www.tk421.net/librarylink/ may be another way that the TL keeps themselves and staff informed.  
The TL should not only be informed about, but also be fluent in, current pedagogies. As an educational leader, the TL should be a resource for staff members about the latest pedagogies in education and how to access the information and materials to carry out said pedagogies. For instance, the TL at my school has created an entire section just for teachers complete with reference items such as The Zones of Regulation, The MindUp program, Adrienne Gear's Writing Power, and The Six Cedars. It was up to the discretion our TL to source these resources and present them to staff before they were agreed upon to purchase. Resource selection is a large part of the TL's role as educational leader. Lastly, Teacher-librarianship is very much entwined with technology. The TL is typically the contact for all things technology-related within the school. Similar to resource selection and pedagogies, due to the fact that technology is rapidly evolving, the TL must keep a close eye on the latest technologies available to staff and students. Collaborator As stated by Harvey (2005), "For a school to have a successful library media program it takes everyone (the library media specialist, teachers, administration, and the library media staff) working together for the benefit of the students" (p.23). There are many ways in which the TL can promote collaboration but I think one of the main strategies would be to provide times for teachers to visit the library outside of their scheduled library time. As we know, teachers are busy but we need to find the time to plan outside of instructional hours. The TL should make it known that they are open to any questions, comments, or other forms of communication via email or daily interactions. The TL must set the stage to make staff feel welcome to ask about resources, technology, or even collaborative projects. Collaboration starts with relationship building. The TL should make every effort to get to know their colleagues and create an environment in which they feel comfortable. As featured in my previous post, providing a welcoming environment including the addition of pillows, soft materials, soft lighting, and comfortable seating the TL will be more likely to encourage visitation and collaboration amongst staff members. By being an educational leader and having an excellent working knowledge of pedagogies, resources, and technology available, the TL will likely build a trust with the staff which is necessary for collaboration. The Canadian Library Association (2014) defines collaborative teaching as "One or more classroom teachers and/or one or more learning specialists (e.g., teacher-librarian, learning commons teacher) plan, each, coach and assess a learning event together. Library technicians and/or assistants or support staff work with teachers to support a learning event as directed by the teachers" (p.26). In order for collaborative teaching to occur, much planning and dialogue between the TL and classroom teacher must first take place. The following chart demonstrates the CLA's (2014) proposed continuum of collaboration within the School Library Learning Commons (SLLC):

 Collaboration is a two way street but it is up to the TL open up the SLLC and start the conversation.

Inquiry in the Early Years

The TL's role as educational leader and collaborator may prove to be incredibly helpful for young students engaging in inquiry. The TL's comprehensive knowledge of resources and technologies available to the school would be beneficial to supporting students in researching and developing their inquiries. The TL may guide children in their inquiries through teaching them the best ways to search for information, both on- and offline. Additionally, the opportunity to collaborate with classroom teachers can bridge the gap between the SSLC and the general classroom. For older students (i.e. Grades 1 and 2) collaboration may look like students choosing topics of either individual or small group interest which the TL and classroom teacher may assist by guiding children to finding appropriate resources or teasing out their questions. Alternatively, for younger students (i.e. Kindergarten) the collaboration may be structured as the TL taking a group of students while the classroom teacher takes another to inquire about a topic as a whole group. Either way, the TL's expertise and collaboration time would be a great support in guiding young learners through their inquiry processes.

References

Canadian Library Association. (2014). Leading learning: Standards of practice for school library learning commons in Canada.  Ottawa: ON (p.17) see Fostering Literacies to Empower Life-Long Learners

Diggs, V. (2011). Teacher librarians are education: Thoughts from valerie diggs. Teacher Librarian, 38(5), 56-58. Retrieved fromhttp://search.proquest.com.ezproxy.library.ubc.ca/docview/875201232

Harvey, C. A. (2005). What should a teacher expect a school Library Media Specialist to be? Library Media Connection, 23(5), 23.