In the survey I conducted with school librarians, majority of whom are from schools that have partnered with Scholastic's Reading Program, four relatively new roles emerged from the shift to online and the digital rendering of library services and programs. These are: 1) teacher of media and information literacy skills; 2) content creator; 3) research facilitator and 4) technology consultant. Previous to the pandemic, I think that there are school librarians who are performing one or many of the four roles. However, not all school librarians are doing so. Either that, or such roles are seldom being discussed among school librarians, round table discussions and professional assemblies. This is all rhetoric and further research is necessary to establish a theory of professional practice.
Each requires specific skills and competencies from the school librarian. What is common among the four new roles is the skill to collaborate with staff in the library, teachers, school leadership and members of the internal school community reaching out to society at large.
Collaboration in schools and educational institutions are anchored on the studies and philosophical works of Lev Vygotsky, Jerome Brunner and John Dewey. It is a social skill that makes use of highly developed communication skills as well as the emotional and moral courage to listen to a partner when completing shared tasks. When a school community perceives the library as an essential part of its ecosystem of learning, it is not impossible to have the school librarian as partner, team member and collaborator in key projects and programs in the school. This is the ground work for Embedded Librarianship.
From selected readings and resources as well as reflections from my own practice, I made conceptual maps on collaboration in school libraries and the teacher and librarian partnerships. These are models we can refer to when we need to examine, reflect and plan tasks that involve the facilitation of research skills, the co-teaching of academic writing and the creation of content in online platforms or in physical formats.
School Librarians coordinate and cooperate with students, faculty, academic departments and student services, most especially the school leadership in planning and implementing services and programs. Furthermore, school librarians create paths for networking and linkages with members of the school community and the society at large. This model is common to many school libraries where the librarian provides access to information, resources and reading materials. Being a liaison of valuable information is a comfortable role that school librarians can do using varied technology tools. In this time of the pandemic, when school campuses closed down, libraries went online to continue the coordinating and cooperating roles. On the other hand, a school community can optimize the library and its precious human resources when the school librarian is part of the instructional and academic teaching force.
Collaboration in this framework is seen and applied as a shared process. The roles of the teacher and the librarian may be different but each lend to the realization of tasks and projects that lead to effective and meaningful learning experiences. It is important to establish a shared goal and an understanding of the complementary skills of the teacher and the librarian.
I have blogged about specific tasks, projects and teaching partnerships. Follow the Teacher and Librarian Collaboration link to read about them. Below is another visual map that illustrates the teacher and librarian team up.
The actualization of this model would depend on how the school leaders perceive the school librarian. The level of competencies of both the teacher and the librarian are factors in making this model a reality in many schools. Collaboration entails trust and so, personal attitudes and behavior toward each other come into play. Some teachers are not comfortable to work with the school librarian despite encouragement from the school leader. But, a creative and people oriented librarian can make it happen by deliberately communicating and planning with colleagues. These things take time, a lot of patience and strategizing.
References:
The Many Faces of School
Library Leadership. Coatney. Sharon. Editor. Libraries Unlimited. California:
2010.
Montiel-Overall,
Patricia. Toward a Theory of Collaboration for Teachers and Librarians. AASL,
2005 (PDF)
Standards for the 21st Century Learner. American Association of
School Librarianship. Chicago, Illinois: AASL, 2009
Trilling, Bernie and
Charles Fadel. 21st Century Skills:
Learning for life in our times. California: Josey Bass/ John Wiley Sons, 2009.
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