Professional+Commitment


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= 3 Professional commitment = = = // Excellent teacher librarians… // // 3.1 model and promote lifelong learning // // 3.2 commit to the principles of education and librarianship // // 3.3 demonstrate leadership within school and professional communities // // 3.4 actively participate in education and library professional networks //

Excellent teacher librarians:

• empower others in the school community to become lifelong learners

• undertake research which informs evidence-based innovation in school library programs

The teacher-librarian at site 2 is currently involved in a research study in conjunction with a university. This involvement allows her to both develop her professional knowledge and skills as well as inform her library practices and program. I plan to follow this teacher-librarian’s lead by engaging with both larger-scale studies and small-scale, personal research to ensure the currency and effectiveness of my professional practice.

• engage in debate on educational issues within the school community

• create and foster library-related professional development opportunities for staff

In addition to providing a carefully planned Information Literacy program as discussed in Standard 1.1 to assist students to develop key knowledge and skills to enable them to become life-long learners who make constructive contributions to society, I plan to incorporate an idea I saw at site 5. The Teacher-Librarian has set up a display rack near the entrance of the library to display magazines for teachers to browse. These professional magazines include The Literature Base, Magpies and Reading Time. Rather than keeping these magazines in the library office or trying to spread them around the teaching staff the display board allows teachers to easily see what new material is available and discover professional literature that may inform their professional knowledge and teaching practice. The Teacher-Librarian at site 2 has taken a leadership role in the school in regards to professional development and I plan to follow her lead. I would extend the idea of a display board by including a professional development calendar and notice board to promote PD opportunities to staff. Although many schools put professional development schedules in the staffroom I feel that by including information in the library the teachers may be encouraged to visit, and make use of the library and its staff and services.

Excellent teacher librarians:

• are dedicated to excellence in professional service

• emphasise a learning and teaching focus in school library programs and services

See Standard 2.1 for information regarding Collection development according to curriculum

• promote the profession of teacher librarianship in their schools and the wider community

**•** foster a reading culture through the active promotion of literature

Reading is a core skill for learning but school libraries are also places where reading for pleasure is fostered (Education and Employment Committee, 2011 pp. 49). In order for a reading culture to be established within a school or library students must be immersed in a literature-rich environment. Todd, Ross (2010) describes effective school libraries as being ones that promote and encourage reading for academic achievement and lifelong learning through reading enrichment programs and providing the skills to enable students to interrogate diverse information sources and build their own understandings and viewpoints. All SPP sites utilise book week and book fairs heavily in order to promote literature within their school communities. In addition the teacher-librarians create book displays within the libraries regularly. For example the teacher-librarian at site 7 created a display at the entrance to the library to promote the work of Roald Dahl. The teacher-librarian at site 2 displays popular books, series books and new releases to encourage the students to borrow from the library. I plan to incorporate book displays into my future library in order to promote literature in general and the library collection in particular. [] has some fantastic ideas for library displays and I plan to use some ideas I have seen on this site in my future library. Many libraries including SPP sites 2, 3 and 7 make great use of author visits to engage students in literature and foster a love of reading. The teacher-librarian at site 7 often uses [] to access authors. This site allows the teacher-librarian to find out when particular authors are in their area and available for a school visit. I plan to use this site in my future role as a teacher-librarian to book author visits and engage my students in the world of literature. As mentioned in Standard 1.3 I plan to introduce book clubs into my future library to further encourage a community of passionate readers within the school community. I also plan to include regular book recommendations in the library section of the school newsletter. Finally I plan to advocate initiatives such as the National Year of Reading in 2012. The Senate Inquiry reveals that ‘the Committee is of the view that a National Year of Reading could be an effective mechanism for library organisations and DEEWR to work together in promoting reading and literacy (Education and Employment Committee, 2011 pp. 50).

See Standard 1.3 for more information on Promotion of Reading

• participate in continuing professional development

Recently I had the opportunity to attend the Future Libraries Conference in Brisbane. I found this experience invaluable and plan to attend other relevant conferences in the future in order to maintain my professional network and knowledge. Due to my personal interest in technology I plan to attend professional development opportunities focusing on technology in order to keep up-to-date on technological developments and therefore be able to provide current, relevant resources and assistance to both staff and students in my future school.

Excellent teacher librarians:

• actively engage in school leadership and participate in key committees

The teacher-librarian at site 2 plays an active role in curriculum development, consulting with the principal and teaching staff to develop the school’s curriculum and ensure that the library’s resources support that curriculum. From my experience at site 2 I have been able to see the value that can be gained from including the teacher-librarian in curriculum development. As a result I plan to join the curriculum development committee in my future school and ensure that the library caters for the particular needs of the school community. I also plan to become an active member of the school ICT team as I believe technology greatly impacts the role of the teacher-librarian and can be a highly important tool for the teacher-librarian when providing library services and learning programs.

• promote and nurture a ‘whole school focus’ on information literacy policy and implementation

See Standard 2.2

• build and foster collaborative teams within school and professional communities

See Standard 3.4 for information regarding involvement in professional communities.

See Standard 2.2 for information regarding collaboration with school staff.

• provide effective and transformational leadership to school library and information services staff

Teacher-librarians must be leaders in the library staff to ensure the smooth running of the library. Carefully designed, and highly visible, policies and procedures are essential to ensure staff know what is required and are able to carry out tasks with minimal instruction from teacher-librarian. See Standard 1.4 for information regarding collection management. This section outlines the managerial role of the teacher-librarian in library management, in relation to both staff and resources.

Excellent teacher librarians:

• model the sharing of knowledge

• actively participate as members of professional communities

Whilst undertaking SPP at site 2 I had the opportunity to attend a Teacher-Librarian network meeting. These T-L networks are a fantastic way for teacher-librarians to connect with other teacher-librarians in their local area. Upon appointment to the role of teacher-librarian I plan to become involve with the local T-L Network. Extending on this network are ASLA, and ALIA. I plan to become an active member of both professional groups in order to connect with the larger Teacher-Librarian and librarian professional communities. Through my membership I plan to take advantage of the professional resources such as current research and literature that both associations offer to their members. In addition I subscribe to the OZ_TL listserv [|http://][|listserv][|.][|csu.edu.au][|/mailman/listinfo/][|oztl_net]. This network has given me numerous ideas that I plan to introduce into my future library. Through OZ_TL I also have a network of teacher-librarians that I can access at any time though a simple email. Recently I had the opportunity to attend a teacher-librarian conference and not only expand my personal network but also develop my knowledge of the current standing of the profession and issues impacting on teacher-librarians such as the National Curriculum and professional advocacy. I plan to continue to take the opportunity to attend future conferences during my career.

• demonstrate collegiality and mentor colleagues • promote library and information services to the school and the wider community

During my time at site 2 I was able to begin the development on the library’s new website. I have been working with the teacher-librarian to develop the site that will link to the school’s main website. The library site homepage will feature the library’s mission statement, staff roles, opening hours, a calendar of upcoming events and other relevant information and quick links such as links to the ASLA, ALIA, SLAQ and The Learning Place websites. The site will feature pages containing information and resources for teachers, including a professional development calendar, and students. The student webpage will link students to useful search engines, author websites and specific curriculum resources. This page will be able to be used in both library lessons and classroom lessons. The library website will also feature a page on the library facilities showing a map of where the library is located in the school, photos of the recent building process and photos of the current layout of the library. In addition there will be a page for upcoming events which will contain information about such things as book fairs and author visits. A final feature of the website will be a book review page in the form of a blog where the library staff, students and teaching staff can post book reviews and comment on others’ reviews. I am continuing to work on the website with the site 2 teacher-librarian and we are aiming to have it fully functioning to start the new school year in 2012. I believe this site will allow the teacher-librarian to promote the library to the school community and larger community predominately through the upcoming events page, facilities page and teacher resources including professional development opportunities. The site will also work to encourage the school community to become more involved in the library’s activities and build a literature community through the book review blog. These features of the website will allow the library to strengthen its presence in the school community and ensure it continues to be considered a valuable resource. I plan to use this experience to develop a similar library website in my future library.

A further way I believe libraries can develop a strong presence within the school community is to include library news in the school’s newsletter. Many of the SPP sites I have visited regularly submit a section in the school newsletter to promote upcoming events. I would like to incorporate this into my future work and perhaps extend it by also including regular book reviews, by students predominantly, in order to promote the book review blog and foster a strong literature appreciation community.