Keeping the Teacher in Teacher Librarian... Learning Centre or Book Repository?

Given my last blog post, I have been asked what will be lost to library programs in secondary.

No final decisions have been made; however some suggestions have been to staff a library with a teacher librarian but no clerical support, or a library with clerical support but no teacher librarian.

I can speak from personal experience as my previous teacher librarian position, where I was for 17 years, never had adequate aide time - 5 hours or less a week - and for 12 of those years I was an 80% teacher librarian.

Here is a section that was annually included in my year end report for 17 years:

I consider the most important function of being a teacher librarian to be the curriculum development, information literacy, and literature appreciation components of a library program.

Unfortunately, due to lack of clerical support, many daily library administration tasks need to be completed by me. The five hours of aide time assigned to the library has never been adequate and are mainly spent completing circulation management tasks such as compiling overdue material lists. This lack of aide time is a constant frustration and limits the time available to spend on curriculum development.

In the absence of adequate aide time, I complete the duties normally assigned to clerical support staff, such as:

* receiving, and processing a wide variety of learning resources
* receiving materials, supplies, and equipment
* preparing orders for resource materials
* preparing bibliographies of materials for consideration for purchase
* processing mail, new materials, discards, and rebinds
* maintaining circulation procedures
* maintaining catalog records in electronic format
* maintaining a pamphlet or information file
* shelving of resource materials
* compiling and/or typing bibliographies, resource lists, unit plans, correspondence, orders, reports and/or overdue notices
* producing and/or assembling displays and other promotional material
* conducting an inventory of resources

Having to complete the above tasks, limits the time available to spend on my professional duties as a teacher librarian, which include, but are not limited to:

• Administration of the Learning Resource Program
• Professionalism and Leadership Activities
• Cooperative Program Planning and Teaching
• Promotion of the Effective Use of Learning Resources and Services
• Selection of Learning Resources
• Information and Reference Services
• Design and Produce Learning Resources
• Acquisition, Organization, and Circulation of Learning Resources

A teacher librarian's expertise in Curriculum Development, Literature Appreciation and Information Literacy is not utilized if the Library Administration Clerical duties become the focus of the job.

Furthermore, secondary school library hours are facilitated by both the teacher librarian and library aide. Noon hour supervision is often shared by the teacher librarian and the library aide. The library aide allows for the teacher librarian to take a lunch break at some point, either before or after noon hour, or during noon hour when the teacher librarian has a noon hour meeting.

School libraries could potentially be closed at noon hour.

Although, by contract, teacher librarians can have a prep period, we never take the time. If our job becomes maintaining a collection as oppose to curriculum development, then this prep time becomes important. This time is also important if the teacher librarian teaches a scheduled class. Therefore, the library could be closed a block or two during the day.

A library staffed with a library aide but no teacher librarian becomes a room with books that circulate. No collection development, no literature appreciation foci, no information literacy skills taught, no curriculum development, no teaching of research skills, no cooperative planning with teachers.

Furthermore, teacher librarians often take a leadership role in the adoption of new technologies. They have both the pedagogical and technical skills to do this. This leadership role becomes increasingly difficult to fulfill if the teacher librarian becomes a library clerk to maintain the collection.

Take a look at the blog entry below for information and background research as to how teacher librarians support the educational program and impact academic achievement.

Dr. Ken Haycock has summarized studies related to school libraries in The Crisis in Canadian School Libraries: The Case for Reform and Re-Investment, including the impact on student learning, best practice and recommendations.

So... to answer the question what's best for school library programs? For a school library program to be exemplary, to impact student achievement, both are needed. School library programs are the great equalizing factor in the educational program that provide support for all curricular areas - our students deserve no less.

"Libraries will get you through times of no money better than money will get you through times of no libraries."
--Anne Herbert (1950- ), The Next Whole Earth Catalog: Access to Tools

Again, please forward this post to anyone who you feel should read it.
Back to the fun stuff in the next post - I promise!