Libraries can’t afford to be sentimental.
There is little doubt that libraries need to be discarding print collections that can quickly become out-of-date or out of favour, especially in the face of stiff competition presented by up-to-date and deliciously instant digital resources. And whilst it can be alarming to see libraries ruthlessly culling books from their collections (see previous post called ‘the cull') we recognise that libraries are not really diminishing at all. They are of course expanding due to the seemingly limitless offerings of the web and e-resources where an astounding range of information previously never imaginable is available at the tap of a key. The problem is, are TL’s adapting?
My early investigations into the role of the Teacher Librarian led me naturally to the Director of Library Services at a rather lovely Ladies' College in Melbourne at where I work as a teacher. I was greeted at the entrance to the library by a trolley of free good quality books, an experience recounted in my blog (‘the cull’, December 2 2011). Perplexed, one of my first questions to the Director of Library Services, Jane, was regarding the question of replenishing the stocks, to which I received the astonishing reply that no, the plan was to permanently reduce print stocks by 10% a year. I quickly learned that in the digital age, a significant proportion of existing library collections are already anachronistic and that there was a need to strike the balance between print and digital collections (Hay & Todd, 2010) which took into account our changing world.
What’s in a name?
In terms of the different terminology used by the two, I think there are benefits to Purcell’s American terminology ‘Media Specialist’ as the terms ‘Media’ and ‘Specialist’ present an appealing emphasis on the idea that information comes via a variety mediums, challenging the notion that libraries offer information just in the form of books. It also emphasises the professional standard of the TL being an expert in this field. As the term ‘media’ denotes the print, digital, audio, audio visual and web forms, it’s worth re-considering the language we in Australia use to describe the role, given the evolving library landscape and its digitisation.
Some observations…
What are student’s like these days? Constructivist theory suggests that students need to be actively engaged in research, that they are using evaluative skills rather than passively receiving information (Herring, 2007 p 28) therefore that combined role of Information Literacy Leader and Information Specialist is more critical than ever. The TL must assist in this process of finding and evaluating resources most suitable to the task. Our friend Herring also sees that the collaborative aspect of the role of the TL is not just in helping create curriculum material but that ‘information skills’ are taught by the TL and this is actively integrated into classroom teaching (Herring, 2007. p 28)
And on the
question of ICT?
Standard 2.2 which states that
teacher Librarians should “teach appropriate and relevant use of ICTs and
information resources” is interesting. I don’t have the space to elaborate on
this in my essay but I think this standard may fall out of the realm of the
Teacher Librarian. Many schools today have technology experts who already teach
ICT as a separate subject area. Many Teacher Librarians may see their role not
as stand-alone technology experts but rather as agents who use technology as a means to an end. Is it fair to include this as
a specific standard? While Teacher Librarians need to have acquired technology skills in order to fulfil this criteria, do
they need to actually teach ICT? As part of the whole, there is no doubt that
the technological know-how of the teacher Librarian if the future is critical,
but is it questionable whether they should be the the professional responsible
for teaching it. 
I made a fantastic wordle out of Herring's entire article but I can't seem to copy it across. I CAN offer a mini version though: Key words seems to be school, information, literacy, students and teacher. Let's see what happens when we do Purcell... Ok, hers seems to have Media and Specialist as the stand out words. Unsirprising given that the TL is a Media Specialist in the Northern Hemisphere. Other than that, same stand out words: Information, school, specialist, students, library... I think they are on about the same thing, don't you?
PURCELL'S CLOUD
oh and here are some references...
ASLA. (2004). Standards of professional excellence for Teacher
Librarians. http://www.asla.org.au/policy/standards.htm.
Barack, L. (2010,
August 1). Librarian and Steampunk Fan Gwyneth Jones Set to Rock ISTE. School
Library Journal,
http://www.libraryjournal.com/slj/printissuecurrentissue/885900-427/librarian_and_steampunk_fan_gwyneth.html.csp.Corney, A. (2011, November 28). the cull. Retrieved December 16, 2011
Hay, Lyn and Todd, Ross. (2010, February). School Libraries 21C: the conversation begins. SCAN, 29(1), pp. 30-42.
Herring, J. (2007). Teacher Librarians and the School Library. In S. Ferguson, Libraries in the twenty-first century: charting new directions in information (pp. 27-42). Wagga Wagga, NSW: Centre for Information Studies, Charles Sturt University.
Purcell, M. (2010,
November/December). All Librarians Do Is Check Out Books, Right? A Look at the
Roles of a School Llibrary Media Specialist. Library Media Connection, 29(3),
pp. 30-33.
