Re: [LM_NET] Honest Response Needed

[Barbara Braxton <barbara.288@BIGPOND.COM>]

I believe that the response to this quote lies in identifying just what the role of 
the library is in a school, and in your school in particular.  What is it that we 
want students and teachers to be able to know, understand, value and do because of 
its presence and the investment in its staff and resources?

If it is to have students who are information  literate - able to identify when 
they have a need for information; know how to locate the most appropriate source; 
read, interpret, evaluate and select the information that meets their needs; and 
then use that information in new ways - then clearly the roles that Ms Woolls 
identifies are paramount.

She is NOT saying that the role of information manager and all the clerical-type 
duties that that entails is not important.  She is saying that the teaching role 
should take precedence, and that means meeting staff and students' needs when they 
have them, rather than putting them off because you are cataloguing or shelving or 
whatever.  Of course we have to have our facilities as up-to-date and ordered as 
possible, but not at the expense of student learning.  

ASLA , the Australian School Library Association  have developed a document called 
Standards of Professional Excellence for Teacher Librarians 
http://www.asla.org.au/policy/standards.htm that might be of use.

However, in Australia, you cannot teach in a school and have duty of care of 
students without having a full 4-year teaching degree (or its deemed equivalent) so 
everyone who teaches in a school library has at least that - they may not 
necessarily have  library qualifications on top of that. So, essentially, we are 
all teachers, first and foremost.  Therefore, the split among media specialists 
that some are referring to is not a position I am familiar with.  


An interesting discussion because I think it is encouraging us to examine the big 
picture and what it is we do within that.  It is too easy to be swamped by the 
daily detail.
Barbara

Barbara Braxton
Teacher Librarian
COOMA NSW 2630
AUSTRALIA

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