Saturday, February 27, 2010

Concerns in the 80s still relevant today

I've just finished reading Hazell, A. (1990). School library and information services in Australia. In M. Nimon & A. Hazell (Eds.), Promoting learning: challenges in teacher librarianship (pp. 17-22). Adelaide : Auslib Press.

It has absolutely floored me that some of the key concerns that Hazell wrote about, based on libraries in the 1980's, are still relevant today. The key concerns/points that I took from this paper included:
  • Budgets: Teacher Librarians and/or administrators are dealing with shrinking budgets, but at the same time are required to cater to differing learning styles, genders, cultural and socioeconomic backgrounds and disabilities.
  • Cooperation: Classroom teachers and Teacher Librarians really do need to work cooperatively in the development of the school curriculum and in teaching information skills.
  • Ensuring the production of information literate students.
  • Teacher Librarians need to establish their role within the educational structure of the school and be the strongest advocates for their role.
  • Schools need to ensure that Teacher Librarians are appropriately trained.

But most of all.... How can the Teacher Librarian and classroom teacher be seen as partners in student learning if the Teacher Librarian only acts as relief for the classroom teacher once a week?

Now the big question... How can we stop another Teacher Librarian in training from making the same points and asking the same questions in another 20 years time?

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