Last Blog for 2012

This will be my last blog for the year.  2012 has been a good year for completing things.  The first and most important thing to have completed was my Master of Education, Teacher Librarianship, a course I started in July, 2011.  I can’t believe has taken me 18 months to complete.

It was tough at the time, but in retrospect, I learned so much and am happy to say achieved my ultimate goal of a change of career into Teacher Librarianship.  At my recent graduation ceremony at Charles Sturt University at Wagga Wagga campus, I was proud to say that I had secured a new position in my newly chosen field as a TL at Brighton Grammar School.

The challenges await me at this school will be many, but some I anticipate are coping with full-time work in a library, dealing with boys only after working in co-educational settings for over ten years, and all the new information I will need to acquire as I come to understand the workings of a new educational environment.

I have started to read books that I believe young adult boys would be reading, and to understand the new National curriculum and its assessment system.  In my new role as a TL in a senior boys’ school library, I hope that I will use all the knowledge and skills I have acquired over the last eighteen months, as I learn many, many more and keep up to date with new technologies and methodologies in a stimulating educational atmosphere.

Reflection on Finishing Masters in Education (Teacher Librarianship)

It was with great relief that I learned of my final marks and that I had successfully completed the last two subjects in my Master of Education in Teacher Librarianship.

It had been a struggle as I found a number of the subjects introducing me to completely new material and I had to learn new technology skills.  These were a challenge in themselves and writing to a recipe was a further challenge.

Fortunately, I have been able to find a really good library in which to volunteer one day a week in order to help me get some experience in a library. I am learning how to weed rigorously according to the particular needs of the users and to make decisions regarding cataloguing of resources.  I am also being given responsibility to create fiction lists for History subject teachers while learning how the circulation process operates using Amlib.

The librarians are incredibly patient and generous in teaching me how their library operates and allowing me to gain invaluable experience which is mutually beneficial.  I quite enjoy shelving as well.

I am loving being a Teacher Librarian.

What am I going to love about being a Teacher Librarian?

Collaborating with literature, students and teachers.  Designing learning programs and finding appropriate resources with which to teach them.  Discovering new ways for technology to integrate with literature and curriculum.  Witnessing the waysthat technology can be managed as a learning tool and that resources are only as good as the skills of the people who realise them.

What I learned in ETL402

I loved this subject.  It allowed me read and learn and discover new ways of reading and learning, as well as new ways of teaching.  I learned that Teacher Librarians need to be knowledgeable about lots of reading resources, and to be flexible, innovative and  adaptable to new teaching and learning strategies.

I learned how important it is for Teacher Librarians to be up to date with curriculum, and to be aware of the possibilities for collaboration and integration of literature, in all forms, across all subject areas.  It was exciting reading young adult fiction and realising that stories continue to be one of the most powerful mediums for teaching and learning. 

Everyone loves a good story, and if it is well told, able to immerse the reader in the moment, and help them to focus in order to understand, appreciate and derive pleasure from their experience of the story, then it will be remembered and the act of reading will have been productive.

I now know how important it is to read young adult literature and to be able to recommend titles to young readers, to be able to discuss storyline, plot, character, setting and genre with them.

Most of all, I loved reading and writing about something I have always loved--reading.

ETL402

What I learned in Children's Literature in Education ETL 402

I learned that fiction has an essential role in enhancing the curriculum through literary learning. I presented a case for using fiction in Year 7 History in the Australian National Curriculum using supporting evidence from current literary research on the principles of reader-response, cognitive, transactional and developmental literary learning theories.  Incorporating current examples of children’s fiction and teaching strategies, including on-line tools, my paper emphasisesdthe important role of the Teacher Librarian whose knowledge of educational pedagogy and collection development, communicative and collaborative skills, and their understanding of the needs and vision of their school, in creating a reading culture across the whole school community.

Reflection on ETL505 Bibliographic Standards in Education.

What  I learned from studying ETL505, Bibliogrpahic Standards in Education

 

ETL 505, Bibliographic Standards in Education was a really challenging subject. We learned to define bibliographic description and describe its importance in providing access to information.  As information agencies, school libraries need to consider how they can be an effective, integral part of the school’s educational programs.  To enable information literacy, cooperative planning, teaching and involvement in curriculum development, Teacher Librarians need to focus on the easy recovery of resources.  The increasing availability in electronic form of information generally and of new kinds of information particularly created the need for a redefinition and integration of the different categories of "information" organisations (Rayward, 1998, p. 207).  This has prompted a shift towards bibliographic description that emphasises the intellectual content and substance of the work itself (Hider, 2008, p. 303), as well as a more consistent and powerful way to facilitate resource access (Copeland, 2010, p. 14). As school library collections include an increasing variety of resources, an important aspect of the TL’s role is keeping up to date with appropriate and efficient means of meeting users’ needs in retrieving the information held within the print, audiovisual, digital and other sources. Therefore, clear, flexible frameworks, consistent guidelines and internationally accepted standards that enable more independent student search, selection and retrieval of resources will be welcomed by TLs whose time and expertise can be utilised elsewhere.

Cataloguing and assigning Webdewey numbers to resources, then truncating them against SCIS guidelines was a challenging task.  It taught me the value in effective bibliographic organisation, the importance of knowing the resources in your collection, and of the need for make accessibility easy for those who seek the information (Hider, 2008), p. X).

Reflection on ETL504

There were many things I learned from ETL504.  These include the CBAM change process model, styles of leadership, vision statements and the notion of the library as an iCentre (Lyn Hay) where technology, teaching and information leaders in the school come together. 

I had never heard of change process models before and it makes so much sense to embed an understanding of the emotional responses people have when asked to learn new methods using new technology.  I had never identified the different styles of leadership before either, nor thought about how to work with these styles and continue to be effective in my profession.  It was also interesting to learn that it was possible to be objective and separate the issue from the leader delivering the issue.

Being asked to create a vision statement and thinking about its practical application was another interesting exercise, as it forced me to think about the essence of the library profession. This not only reinforced the central role of the library within a school, but provided an opportunity to articulate that role in a meaningful way.

ETL504 had great relevance for the classroom and library environment.

ETL507 Study Visits

I have just completed Study Visits in Melbourne for my Professional Practice course for th MEd (TL).  Having been to the Victorian State Library, SWETS Services, NGV Library, CAVAL and the La Trobe Library, Public Records Office and the Melbourne City Library, it was really meaningful to see libraries with a new understanding of their value as a service to the community, their high level of commitment to their patrons, their professionalism, generosity of spirit as well as their concerns.

Overall, I learned that there is a far greater variety of librarianship skills and range of library services than I had previously imagined.  I learned that librarians are passionate, highly skilled and generous in their willingness to showcase their facilities and services, to share their knowledge and to be adaptable and innovative in maximising technology for the purpose of making access to information easy for users.  Most of all, people involved in information management services care about their customers; about the quality of service they provide, pay great attention to detail and are very focused on the specific purposes of their organisation.  It was so inspiring to see so many people enjoying their work, engaging with people, getting great satisfaction from providing access to information and using their skills to problem-solve despite constant budget and space restraints.

TLs as team leader

TLs form alliances in schools by being visible and demonstrating their purpose.  They are the "information managers" in the context of the school.  By identifying the training and development needs of their colleagues, TLs can provide help and support where it is needed.  Law and Glover (2000) discuss the importance of teams having a "common task" and of recognizing the "complementary contributions" members make to shared goals (p. 4). TLs who manage their time in order to allow time for training and supporting their colleagues (p. 6), who build relationships and demonstrate understanding and cooperation (p. 14) are better able to lead teams.

I agree that the personal qualities of empathy, warmth, and  good communication skills enable TLs to build effective teams. Law and Glover (2000) also mention genuineness and concreteness and the importance of sharing the school ethos (p. 15) as necessary ingredients in building effective teams.

Reference: Law, S. & Glover, D. (2000). Leading Effective Teams.  In Educational Leadership and learning: practice, policy and research (pp. 71-86). Buckingham, England: Open University Press

ETL503 Final Reflection

Part C Reflection

Writing a collection management policy has been one of the most pertinent activities for me in learning about the role of the Teacher Librarian (TL). In writing this document, I have learnt about the decisions that TLs make in managing a library collection and how those decisions affect the teaching and learning community they serve.

I learnt that TLs need to be accountable for the decisions they make (Kennedy, 2006, p. 11) in every aspect regarding the collection in their library.  In making those decisions they are required to show professionalism (Kennedy, p. 17) in terms of their understanding of the needs of their teaching and learning community (Hughes-Hassall & Mancall, 2008, p. 33; Wall & Ryan, 2010, p. 9, to have knowledge of the curriculum, be willing to collaborate with other staff members, and have clear goals on the nature of the collection and the purposes and aims it will achieve. Writing this policy document made me think more deeply about the TL’s commitment to education in the broadest sense.

There are four aspects of being a TL that I have learnt from creating this policy document.  Firstly, a Library must be a learner-centred environment where the resources match the user’s needs and learning styles (Wall & Ryan, 2010, p. 9) and that there are professional tools to help TLs become familiar with those needs (Hart, 2003, pp.88-91; Bishop, 2007, pp. 19-24).

 Secondly, I learnt of the need to use professional tools in selecting resources and to use professional judgement in managing all areas of the collection; in acquiring, budgeting, weeding, accepting (or refusing) donations and gifts, evaluating, as well as in dealing with challenges to materials in the collection (Kennedy, 2006, pp. 17-20; Wall & Ryan, 2010, p. 11; Hughes-Hassell & Mancall, 2008, p. 33-36). There are many aspects to the professionalism required by a TL.

Thirdly, by writing this collection policy document, I learnt that TLs need to be collaborators who draw on a range of knowledge including information about the specific context of the collection, and the wide range of choices in selecting resources in terms of type and format (Kennedy, 2006, pp. 20-21; Wall & Ryan, 2010, pp.11-12).  TLs not only need to be aware of current available resources, but also be able to anticipate the future needs of their clientele. This means being ahead of their users!

Finally, TLs need to be flexible.  They need to accept that the library collection is constantly developing and never “complete” and is the reason some (American Library Association, 1983, 1996 in Kennedy, 2006, p. 4) prefer the term Collection Development to the term Collection Management.

As a specialization, collection management- and writing a policy document- demands not only professional knowledge of the processes of selecting and acquiring, but diplomatic skills in weeding, budgeting, evaluating and dealing with challenges to the collection. This taught me that TLs need to be leaders (Wall & Ryan, 2010, p. 12) as well as learners, a resource guide as well as an agent of change.  They need to have knowledge of educational theory and practice and be in tune with their community of users

References

Bishop, K. (2007). Community analysis and needs assessment. In The Collection programin schools: concepts, practices and information sources (4^th ed.)(pp.19-24). Westport, Conn.: Libraries Unlimited.

Hart, A. (2003). Collection analysis: powerful ways to collect, analyze and present your data.  In C. Andronik (Ed.), School Library Management (5th ed.). (pp. 88-91). Worthington, Ohio: Linworth.

Kennedy, J. (2006). Collection Management: A concise introduction (rev. ed.). Wagga Wagga, NSW. CSU

Hughes-Hassell, S. & Mancall, J.C. (2005). Selecting resources for learning. In Collection management for youth: responding to the needs of learners (pp. 33-51). Chicago: American Library Association

Wall, J. & Ryan, S. (2010). Resourcing for curriculum innovation, Melbourne, ACER Press