Using Literature to enhance the Primary Maths Curriculum

Dianne McKenzie

Written for course requirements for the M.App. Sc. in TL through Charles Sturt University. 2000. Updated 20 May 2002

Literature in school education has moved beyond the english curriculum as other subject areas discover that childrens literature has both relevance and value as a teaching tool. Its use is being encouraged in science, music, history, geography, art, foreign language study, IT, design and technology, multiculturalism and maths.

 

It has been discovered that literature opens up a new world of experiences which help children learn better with a more personal relationship to the subject, than if they didn't have literature. In subjects where the textbook was the main tool of learning such as maths and science, literature is now used in conjunction with the text book to help children see the everyday application of the topic at hand and hence through literature be able to apply the topic to their lives. Text books have traditionally presented concepts impersonally and from a single perspective, whereas literature provides multiple perspective spurring children to formulate concepts and generalizations about the subjects. ( Berson, Jouzts, & Walsh 1999)

 

At first glance, there does not seem to be too much connection between the maths curriculum and literature, but if one goes beyond the initial difference in symbols used, there are many ways that literature can enrich the maths curriculum. The NSW Maths Curricullum for K-6 (1989) acknowledges that there are many tools for effective maths instruction, and the lines between separate subject domains is blurred with many subjects being integrated into the maths curriculum and the same in reverse. This gives students the opportunity to build their learning on what they already know and make the curriculum more interesting, and as a consequence, more enjoyment is derived from the subject, and hence more learning takes place. Maths concepts and practicalities can be found in many subjects such as art, music, geography, science, english, history and being able to cross over subjects and develop an integrated curriculum, the teacher not only helps the child develop a whole perspective on the world, but gives them the opportunity to see how their world overlaps and relates continually, rather than have everything compartmentalized with no relation to each other. With this integration the teacher can use resources and lessons from one subject area and apply them to teach many concepts for a number of subjects. (Kolstad 1996) This saves on time and resources and the children may also have a deeper learning experience from it. In this time of information overload children need more than facts and figures, they need to be information literate, and know how to learn what they need. The integrated curriculum gives this opportunity with flexibility across the subjects so that students can see the big picture and allow them to move freely from one subject to another to take what they need and integrate it into their lives. (Welchman-Tischler 1992)

 

The NSW K-6 Maths Syllabus (1989) recognizes that literature in the syllabus can enhance comprehension, and that students interest in maths can be developed through the use of literature. As part of the comprehension aspect the syllabus states that language plays an important role in the formulation and expression of maths ideas and is important in bridging concrete and abstract representations. The four interrelated processes of learning are talking, listening, reading, and writing. (NSW K-6 Maths Syllabus p.26 1989) Literature can be a part of this process in the teaching of maths concepts as it has been found that children who read more literature are better at expressing themselves through reading, writing and orally due to having a larger vocabulary and being exposed to more descriptive language through their reading. (Krashen 1998) The children who are readers are also not frightened by new reading material as they have had previous experience at new material. By using literature in the maths curriculum, it not only helps the children become better mathematicians, but also better readers, writers and speakers from the additional opportunities to practice these skills (Kolstad 1996)

 

The NSW K-6 Maths Syllabus (NSW Dept of School Education 1989) states that 'it is when we reflect on our own experiences that we learn from them' (.p25) Reflection allows us to relate our knowledge appropriately to other situations. By using literature in the maths curriculum, the students are able to personalize the experiences in the story, make it their own, or store it until they do experience something similar and then be able to relate it to themselves. (Whitin 1994 a) It helps to make maths more meaningful by giving an experience of how it can be applied in everyday situations rather than just having to deal with numbers. The NSW K-6 Maths Syllabus (NSW Dept of School Education 1989) also states that teachers need to provide opportunities for students to talk and write in their native language, which will help to clarify their understanding of a maths concept. Rab (1998) takes it further and encourages the use of learning journals, and again it will be literature upon which children will use as a springboard to help them clarify their understanding.

 

Many maths problems are word problems where students need to have a a grasp of vocabulary, grammar and comprehension before being able to answer the problem correctly. (Eddy 1997) They need to be discriminate readers and those children who read more will have the advantage with word problems. By using literature in the class, the teacher can help students build confidence with word problems by using the storys as word problems and helping students work through them and building a base. (Eddy 1997 ) The NSW K-6 Maths Syllabus (NSW Dept of School Education 1989) recommends the reading of storys, poems and songs for mathematical meaning, along with other media, and all the language used needs to be familiar to the child, or at least at the childs ability level to make the maths work relevant and to build confidence. This is supported by Kolstad (1996)

 

There are a number of ways of using childrens literature in the maths curriculum. One is to provide a context or model in which the skill to be learnt is introduced through literature as a theme or topic unit, (Welchman- Tischler 1992) sparking an interest in the concept or skill through the literature. (Friedman 1997)

 

The introduction of manipulatives, or concrete working units can be done through literature by giving ideas or support to the medium used. An example given very often is the book- 'The Door Bell Rang' (1986) by Pat Hutchins (cf Whitin 1994a) from which cookies are introduced as the manipulative and the concept of division is introduced to the children in a real situation which the children can identify with. The children then can be extended further to think of their own situations and write their own literature based on this real problem presented through the book, thus, another use is in inspiring and creating new real maths experiences and problems. (Welchman- Tischler 1992)

 

Childrens literature can be used to pose interesting problems or present familiar problems in a different perspective. This can help children realise the variety of situations which many people use maths for real purposes. (Welshman- Tischler 1992 and Eddy 1997) It also gives the children the opportunity to test important maths concepts in a non threatening arena, which further boosts their confidence in this subject. (Kolstad 1996)

 

Another use is to prepare children for a maths concept or skill by using the book as a stimulus, an example given by Whitin (1994 b) is ' Many is How Many?' (Illa Podendorf 1970) where estimation is introduced as a topic through the story. By the real situations presented in the story the children can learn what relevance estimation is to them and its relevance to the environment and context. (Whitin 1994 b) Through the story the children can develop a concept further by discussion on the story, 'communicate mathematically' (Whitin 1994b) acting out the story, writing about the story, creating new problems and solving these, leading to reflection and hence internalization of the concept. (Welchman- Tischler 1992)

 

Literature can also be used at the end of a unit to review a concept of skill learnt - giving further opportunity for personalizing the concepts and internalization. (Welchman- Tischler 1992) There are also books which deal with 'maths morals' and attitudes rather than maths skills which could be used as part of motivation or through opening and closing exercises.(Friedman 1997) These 'maths morals' books entertain and support the notions of rules of thumb and logic - generalizations through maths which through their understanding makes for better reasoning and makes for more meaningful maths. (Friedman 1997)

 

Literature in maths can also be used to address multiculturalism issues , through stories outlining different cultures and how they use mathematics in their lives, this could be extended to a historic theme where non fiction and fiction stories could be used to illustrate maths applications through time and how it permeated individual lives and society. (Piccolino 1998) Through these stories the children could then examine how maths permeates all phases and aspects of their own culture far beyond the classroom applications. (Piccolino 1998) Whitlin (1994) suggests that stories can help children see maths as a way of thinking about their world rather than it being an isolated part of it. Through books and stories children can relate to maths as an everyday part of life.

 

When learning new maths concepts, children must discover the maths relationships themselves, creating information from their own experiences visually, tactually and auditorily.(Kolstad 1996) When a story is read to a child they receive the auditory component, if it has pictures it fulfills the visual, and if it doesn't the same is achieved through imagination and what they picture in their mind. Literature provides visuals that help to clarify key ideas and concepts. (Bosse 1995) If the children move beyond the story and act out either physically or with manipulatives they receive the tactile part of the learning process, and the concept is internalized. (Conaway 1994)

 

Letters, symbols and numbers are a primary method of communication in the world (Balas 1997) Literature brings these elements together, maths is a form of language and combined with literature it provides context , meaning and motivation by supplying a common setting and environment. (Balas 1997) This is supported by the NSW K-6 Maths Syllabus (p.26) (NSW Dept of School Education 1989) where it states that language, with mathematical symbols and diagrams, plays an important part in the formulation and expression of mathematical ideas, and serves as a bridge between concrete and abstract representations. A study was conducted on a literature based curriculum for social studies in a secondary school, it was found that the students who were in a literature based curriculum were able to recall 60% more information than students who were in a control class, who were not exposed to literature. (Smith 1993 - cf in Ford, et al (1998) Other studies also quoted in Ford et al (1998)(Guzzetti, Kowlinski & McGowan 1992) found that students involved in a literature based instruction acquire more concepts and greater conceptual understanding than they do through traditional instruction. Although these studies were based on social studies, the possibilities of greater learning potential has been demonstrated for a literature based maths curriculum.

 

There is no limit to the type and number of books which have a maths base to them. Welchman- Tischler (1992) states that there are many books which relate to maths, some directly addressing a maths skill such as numeration and shapes and others with a maths concept as a by product of the story. In all cases Welchman- Tischler (1992) emphasis is that the stories could be and should be read outside of the maths context and enjoyed for their literary content first. Kolstad (1996) supports this by saying that the book should be read for its literary content so the students can relate to and enjoy the plot, setting and character of a story, then the new maths skill can be related to the positive and meaningful context of the story. Eddy (1996) emphasizes that literature is another tool and like anything used it should not be over used any more than it be underused and that the story should not be 'twisted' in order to suit mathematics purposes.

 

The books need to be chosen with regard for their significant aspects of the topics at hand, focusing on issues that are essential for understanding a concept. (Berson, Jouzts, & Walsh 1999) Literature should be a way to enrich a classroom, not the sole basis for instruction, used to introduce multiple perspectives, reinforce ideas, create multidiscinplanary contexts for learning and to create meaningful experiences while engaging the imaginations of the students. (Berson, Jouzts, & Walsh 1999) The use of literature in maths is also not confined to the elementary school as there are many novels which could be used at the secondary level that have many aspects of maths incorporated in their themes - Alice in Wonderland, and Gullivers Travels being two mentioned by Whitin (1994 b)

Teachers of maths need to be constantly on the look out for improving the depth, the range, and quality learning experiences for students to make the best connections between the curriculum and learning. Linking literature with these experiences is just one way to help students link their world with maths and make it a part of their lives with understanding, interest and motivation. While childrens literature should not become a substitute for hands on experience, stories and follow up activities can be incorporated in the curriculum with success. Many children's books depict activities and situations similar to those that children have already experienced or are bound to experience, providing an accessible and exciting vehicle to present facts and concepts in a form that is motivating and understandable to children. Children's literature is an effective vehicle for motivating students to think and reason mathematically. Incorporating literature into the curriculum helps students to experience the wonder that is possible in mathematical problem solving and allows them to set a connection between maths and what it is really is in their world. Literature in the maths curriculum is a powerful tool, it generates interest and motivation, provides context, invites communication and connects maths with the rest of the childs world.

 

Bibliography

Balas A.K. (1997) The mathematics and reading connection. ERIC Digest database http://www.ericse.org/digests/dse97-2.html accessed 26 April 2000

 

Barclay, K. Benelli, C., Schoon, S.,(1999) Making the connection Childhood education 75(3):146-152 Spring. accessed through Ovid via CSU database 14th April 2000

 

Berson, L.S., Jouzts, M., Walsh, D.T. (1999) Connecting Literature with k-8 National Geography standards. Social Studies 90 (2):85-92 March accessed through Ovid via CSU database 14 April 2000

 

Bosse, N.R. (1995) Mathematical pathways through literature. Grade 6. Creative Publications. Mountain View CA USA.

 

Conaway,B., (1994)Connecting literature,language and fractions. The Arithmetic Teacher 41(8)p. 480 accessed through Proquest via HKUST database 26 April 2000

 

Eddy, M. ( 1997 ) Childrens literature in mathematics instruction. http://falcon.jmu.edu/~ramseyil/mathpict.htm accessed 8 April 2000 last updated 8 Oct 1997

 

Ford, M.J. McClure Dobyns,S.M., Poe, V.L., (1998) Using the Internet and Children's literature to understand cultures. http://pdts.uh.edu/insite/elec_pub/HTML1997/di_ford.htm accessed 8 April 2000, last updated 2 April 1998.

 

Friedman, J.E. (1997) What is the math moral of the story? Childhood Education Vol. 74(1) pp 33-35 Fall accessed though Ovid via CSU database 14 April 2000

 

Kolstad, R. Briggs, L.D. (1996) Incorporating language into the mathematics curriculum, a literature survey. Education Vol. 116 (3) pp 423-431. Spring. accessed through Ovid via CSU database April 14 2000

 

Krashen, S., 1993 The Power of reading:insights from the research . Englewood, Colorado:Libraries Unlimited, Inc. cited from Abell, J. (1999) The Impact of the use of school libraries on student achievement. Access. August. p. 21- 23.

 

Moss B., Noden, H. (1995) Trade Books across the Curriculum. Reading Teacher. Vol. 48(8): pp.725-726 May. accessed through Ovid via CSU database 14 April 2000

 

NSW Department of School Education (1989) Mathematics K&endash;6 maths syllabus. NSW Department of School Education Sydney. Reprinted 1999 by the Board of Studies NSW http://www.boardofstudies.nsw.edu.au/ accessed 10 April 2000. last updated 30 April 2000.

 

Piccolino, A.V. 1998 Intergrating multicultural activities across the mathematics curriculum. Nassp Bulletin. 82 (597) pp 84 - 87 April

 

Rab, H., (1998)The power of the pen: Journal writing in secondary school mathematics classrooms. The Guide to Math and Science Reform. http://www.learner.org/theguide/feats.html#poires accessed 28 April 2000 last updated 16 Feb 2000

 

Thrailkill C., (1994) Math and Literature: A perfect match. Teaching PreK-8. Vol 24(4) p.64 accessed through Proquest via HKUST database 26 April 2000

 

Vandergrift, Kay.E., (1995) Linking Literature with Learning http://www.scils.rutgers.edu/special/kay/linkages.html accessed 14 April 2000 last updated January 24 2000

 

Welchman-Tischler, (1992) R. How to use children's literature to teach mathematics. Reston, VA: National Council of Teachers of Mathematics, 1992.http://www.enc.org/reform/journals/enc2285/2285.htm accessed 26 April 2000, last updated 21 Jul 1999

 

Whitin, D., (1994) Promoting mathematical explorations through childrens literature. The Arithmetic Teacher. Vol 41(7) March accessed through Proquest via HKUST database 20 April 2000

 

Whitin D. Apr 1994 Exploring estimation through children's literature The Arithmetic Teacher. Vol. 41(8) p.436 accessed through Proquest via HKUST database 20 April 2000

 

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-----------------------------32225120609084 Content-Disposition: form-data; name="userfile"; filename="opac_cataloguing_of__websi.htm" Content-Type: text/html OPAC Cataloguing of Websites

Critically discuss if the SCIS method of classifying websites is the best option of providing our users with effective access to the internet.

 

Dianne McKenzie

Written for course requirements for the M.App. Sc. in TL through Charles Sturt University. 2000. Updated 20 May 2002

 

The internet is a relatively new medium of information retrieval, each day it expands at a previously unknown speed in the information organising world, with any individual or organisation having the power to publish with little or no expense or expertise or standardisation, which leads to much more information being available quickly, relatively easily but with varied standards and usefulness. Since the inception of the internet, the end user of this information has been the one who has been responsible for locating the resources required by them, sorting through the menu of what is available and selecting the resources they deem most appropriate for their uses, in many cases not considering the quality and legitimacy of the resources found. Users appreciate the new freedom with regard to locating information, however, due to its size and rapid growth the internet has fast become unwieldy for the casual information seeker and there are many attempts at organising the internet to make retrieval easier and more relevant.

 

The internet allows schools to increase their resources infinitely with little cost, (Harden 2000 ) however these resources need to be organised into a system which facilitates accessibility so that students can find what they are looking for both in traditional mediums and the new medium of the internet. The librarian needs to let the users know what is in the collection, regardless of the format of the materials (Campbell & Cox ). The catalogue with the advent of the OPAC has become an avenue for provision of resources rather than a catalgue of ownership of resources, and as such needs to include such resources as relevant websites and other internet based resources. (Morgan 1995)

 

Many students in schools have internet access from home, and use search engines to find resources for their work in preference to looking up a book for various reasons. (Anderson 1998) These reasons include the novelty of the internet, the convenience of doing it from home at any time that is possible, the infinite scope of information available to choose from, the currency of the internet information and there is the perceived notion that it is quicker to look up the internet using a search engine than it is to visit a library and sort through the traditional mediums. The latter reason has in fact been proven incorrect, that the internet can take longer to find the relevant and necessary information,(Anderson 1998) the initial searching may be quicker but the sifting through the sites and irrelevant information takes time. At this point children do not have the information literacy skills to benefit in great degrees from the internet and they need to be steered toward appropriate sites to save both time and frustration, and to ensure they stay on track. This is where the listing of websites on SCIS OPAC is a useful tool for all librarians.

 

Web sites are like any other resource which is added to the library, they must be selected according to the selection policy criteria to ensure quality and reliability of information to users, with selection based on the same care and attention given to any other resource. (Anderson 1998) The websites which have been catalogued by SCIS have been selected for their usefulness in the educational setting, to save time, librarians could accept this criteria, however they should still investigate the site to see its usefulness for their own clientele. By SCIS providing the website address, time is saved in the searching process for the school librarian. Many librarians use the SCIS OPAC to search for new resources, and the provision of websites on the OPAC gives it a new dimension with the websites readily available for use at no further acquisition cost with direct access from the SCIS OPAC for selection and immediate use. In this way the SCIS OPAC becomes more of a dynamic working tool than just a catalogue of available resources that have been catalogued correctly.

 

The use of the Dewey Decimal Classification (DDC) system by SCIS to catalogue the website is the most user friendly method of cataloguing and organising the resources than any other system currently available. More schools and libraries use the Dewey System than any other system in their physical library collection , it is already part of the organisation, retrievability and access systems of schools, and it would also appear to be one of the most applicable systems to the internet based resources. (Olson n.d.) One of the major factors in using the Dewey system is the familiarity it has throughout the world for both users and librarians and hence a new system of organisation does not need to be learned.

 

Through the SCIS use of the DDC system and standardised subject headings all resources will be accessed when a subject search is utilized on the school OPAC,with all resources treated equally, without the searcher having to look into another part of the OPAC or even go to another database such as an external database or search engine to find the websites required. This equal treating of resources allows for more effective browsing , and allows users to look for related items that may not previously been identified as relevant and may even turn up traditional resources which may not have been considered but are of greater value than the possible websites. (Olson n.d.) The DDC also allows for broader and narrower searches and keeps all the subject in one context. In the case of the internet it is possible for more than one call number to be applied to a website due to it not having a physical nature that needs to have a place on a shelf. (Kajosalo 1997) This is particularly useful when the website is so multifaceted that it could apply to many subject classifications and would also increase its accessibility. See the example in Appendix A, this videorecording is classified under mammals, however, if it was a web site with so many diverse subjects covered, it could also be classified under each subject, making it searchable under DDC as well as keywords for each of these topics. Using classification numbers makes the search more powerful and eliminates irrelevant hits, and reduces time in scanning through unrelated topics.

 

The DDC system has been proven over a hundred years to be consistent, applicable and flexible enough to keep up with information trends and new developments. It has a sufficiently wide topic coverage for classifying internet resources (Vizine - Goatz 1998) and has sufficient depth of coverage in the schedules and tables to be considered a viable tool for accessing internet resources. It is a universal system which can be used for foreign language classification, useful for websites that complement foreign language study of for students for whom the English language is not their first language. (Olson n.d.) It allows for specific searches and because the web site needs to be assessed for the Dewey number and subject headings, at the same time it can be evaluated for information integrity and appropriateness for the intended user. The Dewey system is well supported and is well maintained and updated to keep up with trends in information processing. It is a simple system which is being simplified further for the internet application (Olson n.d.)

 

Cataloguing and classifying websites does have problems that are specific to the internet which include defining where the multifaceted sites begin and end, with the inclusion of hyperlinks to other sites and hence where best to classify it. (Campbell & Cox 1997) There is also the problem of website addresses changing or ceasing to exist due to the fluid nature of the internet, and the problems of sites themselves changing content and becoming less useful or not being maintained and the information becoming dated and again less useful. (Anderson 1998) The other problem identified is that most internet sites will require original cataloguing and classification, and that descriptive cataloguing techniques and standards are difficult to maintain due to the more informal nature of the internet. (Sandberg - Fox 1998) These problems impose a heavy burden on catalogue maintenance and time for the SCIS cataloguer, but if it is done through a centralised cataloguing system and made available to all SCIS subscribers it is time saving for the librarian offering the website from their OPAC, and multiply this by many thousands of school librarians trying to organise and catalogue their own sites, it is many hours saved by the librarians as a collective body. One of the major problems which limit the potential use of the SCIS website records is the limitations of the school computers to take the user from the catalogue page straight to the web page, there is still the necessity in most schools to record the URL by hand (increasing the margin for error) and then access it through the internet or smart terminal. For the SCIS records to be fully utilized, smart terminals need to be an integral part of every school library and OPAC. (Morgan 1995)

 

When compared to other methods of website accessibility the system adopted by SCIS is currently the most efficient with the use of the DDC, SCIS subject headings and descriptive cataloguing techniques giving many access points available for retrieval. (Sibley 1998) The reliance on the use of the search engine for website retrieval, where keywords using Boolean strings are used in non formal language to locate the resource have limited success in accessibility because the resources retrieved are selected on keywords which are selected by the web site author and in many cases this leads to repetition and a low standard of resources, and in some instances, the more relevant and quality sites are not selected by the search engine for 'commercial ' reasons (Anderson 1998). In many instances the web site had to be registered with the appropriate search engines - time consuming and biased. Use of the search engine for all research leads to different sites being accessed at any time and is reinventing the wheel and time consuming both in terms of real time and internet time and tying up resources. (Vizine-Goetz 1998) Also,the librarian is surrendering their selection policy to the web masters and organisers of these utilities. The metasearch engine where many search engines are searched by a mega search engine, and the most relevant sites selected, are a little better but still have the limitations mentioned above, in many cases just amplifying the problems. The inherent problems with these systems is that the language used to search by the user is usually not specific enough to access the most relevant resources, and then the user is left to wade through the irrelevant sites to find something they need. They also do not given any indication of the quality of the resource and the user is left to their own judgment as to whether a site had credibility and was based on fact, this is a difficult skill for children. (Olson n.d.)

 

Utilization of front pages for the search engine 'manufacturers' who place web sites that are registered with them under subject headings and making them accessible this way is also unsatisfactory. This makes the search one step easier but still leaves the problems of wading through massive amounts of irrelevant information, and the quality of the site could still be questioned, as the selection process is usually commercially based, and each engine is so different in their selection criteria. It also limits the number of possibilities of web sites when there is obviously so many more to choose from. The subjects are listed alphabetically and sometimes are annotated to give an idea of what the site is about. The problems are that the list needs to be constantly rearranged to remain alphabetical, and the lists can become long and tedious to browse through, particularly seeing the internet is still growing very quickly. (Sibley 1998) The home page of Yahoo Australia is an example of this. http://au.yahoo.com/

 

There are also many sites which attempt to organise different sites into subject relevant structures such as Australia's Cultural Network http://www.acn.net.au/websites/sitelist.htm which attempts to bring together and organise web sites which are about Australia. This is organised in a heirachial way but is still based on the alphabet, however it does have a search facility which overcomes the searching time, but still is not conducive to effective browsing. The link to this comprehensive website still needs to be catalogued somehow to let students know it is available.

 

The bookmark system can work well if there are not many resources to file, however it requires movement through many levels, is not searchable and is very time consuming to browse through when there are too many levels, it also does not allow for annotations or other information to be added to it and cannot be transferred to other machines or formats without visiting the web sites individually. (Anderson 1998)

 

Another system which has been implemented is the school library website where useful websites are organised into useful subjects areas, some have a search facility such as Trinity Grammar PL Duffy Library (http://www.students.trinity.wa.edu.au/library/) and others do not. These are not linked to the OPAC and hence need to be searched separately when looking for resources on subjects. They can also take time to browse to find the most suitable subject heading for the topic the user is interested in and require more time to create new topic areas.

 

Other sites such as BUBL Information services (A national information service for the higher education community http://bubl.ac.uk/) have organised their list of internet sites on the Dewey Decimal System, without giving the number on screen, but all the relevant topics are grouped together according to the specific nature of Dewey. This is a site which is easy to browse and also provides a search facility by title, author, subject similar to an OPAC. This resource is useful in that the cataloguing information has been supplied and can be used as an addition to SCIS to download websites. There are also many other useful sites who have catalogued the websites according to descriptive cataloguing techniques and Dewey Decimal Classification.

 

The method that SCIS is using to introduce websites into the school OPAC is at this time the most efficient and applicable method available. It is a proven system and one which is adaptable to the current requirements, being transportable and flexible. It is imperative that internet resources are incorporated into the school OPACs so that students and teachers are educated to understand that all resources are equal in access, time can be saved through using the school OPAC rather than using the search engines and the sites that have been selected are the best the librarian can find on the topic. The end users need to learn that the internet can be harnessed and life made easier through the library OPAC just as physical resources are.

 

 

 

Appendix A

 

SCIS No: 774566

Title: The common threads. 2. Section 6A [videorecording].

Call Nos: 591 COM a12

591 COM 20

Physical Description: Videorecording

Subject(s): Mammals.

Moths.

Nervous system.

Body temperature.

Plants.

Publisher: Melbourne : Educational Media International, [1980?-1989?]

Description: 1 cassette (67 min.) : sd., col.

 

Notes: Title from cover.

Contents Note: Contents: Desert hopping mouse - Mate location by a moth - Investigating the nervous system - Regulating body temperature - Why plants bend toward light.

 

Bibliography

 

Anderson, C. 1998, Cataloguing of Internet Resources (online). http://www.yprl.vic.gov.au/yprl/cantintres.html [Accessed 7 Nov. 2000]

 

Australia's Cultural Network 2000, http://www.acn.net.au/websites/sitelist.htm (online) [Accessed 10 Nov. 2000]

 

BUBL LINK 2000 Catalogue of selected internet resources. Last modified July 2000. http://link.bubl.ac.uk:80/ISC15 [Accessed 7 Nov. 2000]

 

Campbell, D.G. and Cox, J.P. 1997, Cataloguing Internet Resources (online) May 1997. http://magi.com/~mmelick/it97may.htm [Accessed 7 Nov. 2000]

 

Harden, R. 2000, Collecting Internet Resouces - the issues for UK public librarians (online). Last modified June 9 2000. [accessed 7 Nov. 2000]

 

Kajosalo, E. 1997, Issues related to Cataloguing of Internet Resources. A paper prepared for LIS598 - Applications of Technology in Libraries at the University of Alberta (online). 20 Mar 1997.www.slis.ualberta.ca/598/erja/rep_html.htm [Accessed 7 Nov. 2000]

 

Morgan, E.L. 1995 Adding Internet resources to our OPACs. (online) http://www.lib.nscu.edu/staff/morgan/adding-internet-resources.html [Accessed 7 Nov. 2000]

 

Olson, N.B. (Ed) n.d. Cataloguing Internet Resources: A Manual and practical guide. (online) http://www.oclc.org/oclc/man/9256cat/toc.htm [Accessed 7 Nov.2000]

 

Sandberg-Fox, A. 1998, Task Force on metadata and the cataloguing Rules, Final report 21 August 1998, Appendix: cataloguing Problems with Web Sites. ALA.http://www.ala.org/alcts/organization/ccs/ccda/tf-tei9.htm#bibl [Accessed 7 Nov. 2000]

 

SCIS 2000 Cataloguing of Internet Websites:Report on the SCIS website cataloguing trial, May 2000. http://www.curriculum.edu.au [Accessed 9 Nov. 2000]

 

Sibley, B.P. 1998, Cataloguing Internet Resources: Organising the Web in the local library and beyond (online). July 7, 1998. www.geocities.com/SoHo/Coffeehouse/3231/catweb.html [accessed 7 Nov. 2000]

 

Trinity Grammar PL Duffy Library. 2000, http://www.students.trinity.wa.edu.au/library/ [Accessed 10 Nov. 2000]

 

Vizine - Goetz, D. 1998. Using Library Classification Schemes for Internet Resources (online). http://webdoc.sub.gwdg.de/ebook/aw/oclc/man/colloq/v-g.htm [Accessed 7 Nov 2000]

 

Yahoo Australia 2000. http://au.yahoo.com/ (online). [Accessed 10 Nov.2000]

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-----------------------------32225120609084 Content-Disposition: form-data; name="userfile"; filename="popular_literature_in_scho.htm" Content-Type: text/html Popular Literature in school

Popular Literature in the School Library, does it have a place?

 

Dianne McKenzie

Written for course requirements for the M.App. Sc. in TL through Charles Sturt University. 2000. Updated 20 May 2002

 

The debate on the inclusion of popular literature has been going for as long as popular literature has been a part of our culture. From its inception it was shunned as trash, poor in quality and unfit for consumption by children, and certainly not of a calibre worthy to be included in a public or school library.

 

Popular literature first made its appearance in the late 1800's, serving the masses with its fast action plots, easy to read dialogue and most importantly, its low cost. With the introduction of the dime and magazine novels, everyone could afford to read, and have a collection for themselves. It was a little later that public and school libraries became a part of society, and in all cases, the popular literature was not included in the collections, even though it was and still is the most popular genre of reading. Still the argument rages into the 21st Century with even more popular literature to censor from school libraries. The arguments both for and against its inclusion are compelling and strong, that one must firstly define what popular literature and quality literature is so as to know what is being discussed, then examine the benefits and disadvantages of including popular literature in the school collection, and then to offer strategies for librarians on how popular literature can be managed if it is to be incorporated into the collection without detriment to the works of quality..

 

Popular literature is that which is massed produced, usually separated by its simple language, possible use of illustrations with mass appeal. Coming under this heading are newspapers, magazines, readers digest, simple novels, series novels,condensed novels, comics, books based on screenplays and other 'popular' media characters.It is generally described as being written in undemanding language, a repetitious style, with stereotypical character and formula plots with a predominance of dialogue over description. (Foster 1997) Popular literature can include fiction and non fiction and is generally regarded as a light read as in it doesn't require the reader to examine too much within themselves, nor is it too taxing on the intellect. In the case of non-fiction, the simplified language and reliance on pictures which sets it apart from 'quality' non -fiction.

 

Quality literature has been described as having more descriptive language, presentation of more abstract concepts, dealing with deep and controversial issues and development of character through the circumstances they are challenged with, allowing the reader to become one with the character. (Richards et al 1999) It involves sophisticated syntax and vocabulary with compound sentences. where the authors are not scared to introduce 'hard' words and vocabulary into the story. In fiction the reader is challenged to empathize with the emotional and mental state of the characters. with the author taking great care in setting the scene and mood of the story, such as found in Ruth Parks novel Playing Beatie Bow (Saxby 1999) The language can be figurative and abstract, (Swartz 2000) with the book able to incorporate visual as well as literary challenges, added decoding skills are required to participate fully in this type of literature. (Saxby 1999)Examples of this visual and intellectual challenge is found in My Girragundi, where simple change of font sizes sets a different tone for the pages. Also 'All my Dangerous Friends' (Harnett), where the same story is told through the book by two different characters, giving their versions to the story, using different fonts and page colours to distinguish between characters.. Saxby 1999 states that quality literature "challenges the reader intellectually and should pose tough philosophical questions, feed the soul, quicken the spirit and challenge any reader to embrace life in all its fullness". In essence in a work of quality everything is made believable including mood, plot and characters. Lindsay (1999) believes that books should 'nourish, enlarge, enrich childrens souls by promoting enquiry as well as enforcing readers self esteem.' Quality literature is thought provoking, allowing the reader to measure their own reaction to the situations and characters presented. Quality literature can change peoples perception and understanding of life.

 

Put simply, popular literature is simple and easy to read with not much in the way of intellectual challenges where quality literature is complex and requires more skill with higher cognitive processes utilized in its reading. With this extremely simplified separation of the two types of literature, where does the place of both stand in the school library? The school library needs to be a dynamic place. with an aim to encourage the love of learning and reading, and to be a place where students can learn new skills and knowledge and be a place of excitement and interest where they want to visit. With this in mind I believe that popular literature has a place in the school library alongside the quality literature.

 

One of the main draw cards for popular literature is its high interest, children like to read these books and it has been shown in many studies that interest is the key to why children choose to read. (Krashen 1993, Greenlee et al 1996, Worthy 1999) Worth (1996) states that interest is the key element in learning, without it , low to no learning occurs. When students have an interest in what they are reading they will frequently transcend their so called reading level. This is due to the interest motivating and facilitating the reader to go beyond the surface level of information and move to a deeper level of understanding. Worthy (1996) in another study found that the factors of both interest and access improves learning motivation, effort and attitudes to reading. It is an important resource for learning that is related to cognition. Intrinsic motivation and inherent in interest is choice. Choice is affected by interest, which is influence by individual needs and background. (Swartz and Hendricks 2000) Krashen (1993) found that self selected reading leads to more volume of reading and generally the books that the children choose are harder than those that are chosen by influencing adults. Swartz Hendricks (2000) found that for students to become independent readers they need to choose and respond to literature. Factors influencing choice include topic/ subject matter, author, writing style, cover appearance, recommendation from others.The relationship between popular literature interest and the school library is an important one. Part of the processes of finding resources one is interested in is having access to it. Worthy (1999) found that students have very specific individual preferences, and schools, in a many cases, do not have what they want with. this mismatch being most marked for reluctant readers. This implies that school do not cater for students interests and hence their needs in literature to become proficient readers. Empirical evidence suggests that more boys than girls are reluctant readers. Pritchard (2000) found that when boys are interested in what they read, they read as much as girls, and that boys motivation to read is greatly affected by their interests whereas girls are more likely to give something a try even if it is not their main interest. Pritchard also observed that there were three key factors which are critical for boys to begin to read voluntary at school and home - choice, opportunity and access, the latter two factors being areas which can be provided by a well stocked library of materials which will allow the choice to be a real choice.

 

If children want popular fiction, and the school can provide it, what benefits beside interest, choice, opportunity and accessibility can popular literature provide? It has been censored because it has been perceived as being of no benefit to the reader, yet research has shown that it does play an important role in the development of avid readers. Popular fiction offers a starting point, and in the case of series fiction, these are most often the the first chapter books that children read by themselves due to their easy vocabulary, style and syntax. The reader gains confidence in being able to master these 'big' books and this easiness makes the transition from being read to to reading solo easier. (Ross 1996) If children enjoy their first book, they will look for another similar. Series books and other popular literature offer this choice, and makes selection less traumatic, risky, confusing and time consuming as the reader knows what to expect from the story. (Ross 1996) This expectation gives the reader a guarantee of reading satisfaction before they start.

 

In the case of author series books, the repetition of the formulaic storyline minimizes the time required to be submerged into the story, and provides a balance between safety and danger with a sameness and novelty - with each story different but the same. (Ross 1996) Examples of this type of story can be found in the Goosebumps, Graveyard School, Babysitters Club, Sweet Valley High and Nancy Drew Series..Children like repeatability and the familiar. Very young children ask for the same story to be read to them over and over, the popular fiction allows this repeatability with familiar characters but with different stories, giving a new dimension to what is actually being repeated. From an adults perspective this repeatability detracts from the possible quality that the book may posses.

 

The series fiction allows children to not only practice reading but to learn and practice the skills of skimming, chunking, skipping,and visualizing as the text and plots are familiar and easy. (Ross 1996) The readers also learn how a story works, which characters to follow, learn that it is OK and good to have a response to a story, which details in the story to remember, the connection between characters and an understanding of semantics and markers of significance in the story. The mystery horror stories, in particular Goosebumps and Graveyard School, set particular but subtle markers which do not come together until the hurried end, similarly for the Nancy Drew and Sweet Valley High series.

 

The highly patterned fictions give children an initiation into the rules of reading (Ross 1996) and they will develop proficiencies through practice. (Reid and Cline 1977) The reader will have an increase in general knowledge, vocabulary and syntactic knowledge through the act of reading, however quality literature is able to make a more substantial contribution on this front than the popular literature as the text in popular fiction is simple and not very challenging, with the reliance of dialogue being limiting for descriptions, higher order information and harder words to be added to increase vocabulary. (Greenlee et al 1996)

 

Pritchard (2000) explains that the popular fiction provides practice in the processing of making patterns, putting stories together, extrapolating, confirming and may provide a crucial step toward more substantial reading. Richards et al (1999) support this by stating that popular fiction can develop reading fluency and the child can learn to read for enjoyment and entertainment through the exposure to and reading of popular fiction. Richards moves onto to state that reading is an essential skill for the information processing and problem solving tasks required for success in our changing society - there is a need to have readers absorbed if they are to develop the motivation to improve their skills.The higher the interest, the more books read, the more practice, the more skills learnt. Through this increased motivation and confidence in their skills as fluent readers, the child will become more comfortable reading more challenging texts. (Reid and Cline 1997)

 

One of the concerns of children reading too much popular literature is that young readers will never move on from popular literature onto more quality literature. Greenlee Monson and Taylor (1996) found that reading popular fiction does not interfere with the appreciation for higher literature of higher quality. In their study 56% of the surveyed students preferred the recommended book over the popular fiction books and, in other subjective questions, the children preferred the recommended book all round. In Hearne (1991), a study by Susan Roman was cited, in which she found when students are given enthusiastic guidance and choice between quality fiction and formulaic series books, most young readers choose a mixture of both. Ross (1996) found that the simplified formulaic nature of the series books limits their continued appeal, whilst through the reading of these books, the children have identified the genres of literature they prefer, and will tackle quality books in their chosen genre. It was also found that accomplished readers will occasionally slide down to the less challenging material due to circumstances of travel, sickness, lack of time, fatigue - the same reasons that adults would revert to lighter reading.

 

Another aspect of the popular fiction is that it performs a very important social function where kids swap, collect and discuss the books they have read - similar to what adults take pleasure in doing. Krashen (1993) found that what students read is influenced by what their peers read, and that reading of popular fiction is something kids can do on their own or with a friend - a show of independence from their parents. Krashen (1993) also found that hearing stories and discussing them encourages reading, and Richards et al (1999) found that there was a significance amongst children in trading stories and books and owning and having read the complete sets - reading had become cool. The disadvantage of this is that many good books can be overlooked because they are not part of a set. (Hepperman 1997) Lewis (1998) found that books can become status symbols and become the basis for social groups. This phenomena is currently apparent with the Harry Potter series of books, with the children engaged in animated discussion and participatory actions such as acting out the stories, basing their clubs on the houses at Hogwarts and becoming the characters themselves, and keenly anticipating the release of each new book.

 

One of the underlying benefits discussed in much of the literature is that popular fiction is most important as a confidence booster which gets the children into the habit of reading and keeps them reading. (Saltman 1997, Nilsen 1993, Perry & Butler 1997). Some children will move onto better literature quickly, some later and others not at all, but through the experience of reading they are learning more about how to read. Saltman (1997) agrees that popular fiction particularly series books give the reader release and security but that quality fiction offers a deeper enjoyment of a story with a profound and universal pleasure and the beginning of literary discrimination and wisdom. The quality literature will stay with them longer. There are a number of quality works which can be promoted to be read instead of popular fiction.as they meet many of the requirements that young readers are looking for in this new experience of reading - brevity, simple language, but are more complex in the subject covered, syntax, and the characters have more depth, examples are the Insomniac series by SR martin, , Bob the Builder and the Elves by Emily Rodda, Crazy Tales series and The Aussie Bites series by various authors.

 

Through popular literature there is an attempt to by some authors to expose children to important societal issues such as prejudice, divorce, eating disorders, friendship, death all at a safe distance, and a superficial level with a security in the knowledge that a happy ending will await the reader. (Pennebaker 1994) At the same time there is usually no sex, serious violence, swearing or teen speak, or heavy issued discussed where a stand needs to be taken. For parents, popular fiction is safe reading where issues brought up are not too complex or controversial, and the parents need not have to read the book first to ensure it is appropriate for their child, or what they want their child to be reading. This is total contrast to some of the young adult literature such 'All My Dangerous Friends' with its shocking ending and very controversial subjects of peer group, values, taking a stand and life changing events.Even some of the picture books which can be read by all ages, but particularly by young children, can carry controversial and poignant messages, such as John Marsdens 'The Rabbits' where the controversial issue of white settlement of Australia and other countries is very graphically depicted. Other picture books which, although the story is cute and 'appropriate' it can become controversial due to the illustrations, an excellent example being Mr McGee and the Biting Flea, where the issue of male nudity is presented in a comical, yet natural way, but is too controversial for many schools to carry it. Another case in point is Hello Baby, where the issue of birth is addressed in a soft, poignant and natural way, yet has become a book of controversy because of the theme it presents and the illustrations which are indicate the process of birth without being too graphic. These are dangerous grounds for many adults, of whom many cannot cope with the possibilities the themes may lead to , discussions and knowledge the child may gain through participating in the experience. The attitude that popular fiction is safe is reflected in the study by Greenlee, Monson and Taylor (1996) where it was found that the givers of books would choose popular titles, especially series books, as a gift. This could also be a convenience and time saving device, but could more likely be put down to being a 'safe' choice.

Popular fiction is escapist, cliched, formulaic and in many cases, poorly written. It does have undemanding language,a repititious style, stereotypical characters, and is criticized further for being racist , sexist and that it supports classism. (Foster 1997) These criticisms are based on the fact that many of the most popular fiction is based in a middle class, white American family groups, who do not need to struggle for money or other hard life issues and who do not interact with 'minority groups'. Saltman (1997) mentions that that the shallow characters are reflective of images and stereotypes that are familiar from the mass media and that there is dumping down of text. Greenlee Monson and Taylor (1996) suggests that there are either implicit or explicit messages within popular fiction, particularly series books. Some of these messages include a dominant patriarchal society (Goosebumps), romance saves the day (Sweet Valley High), that reading is for white and affluent children as nearly all the characters are white and affluent - (Baby Sitters Club, Sweet Valley High, Nancy Drew,) and that all problems that appear can be solved by the characters themselves with no help from adults and there is always a happy ending. Too sanitised.

 

The reasons that children read more popular fiction than recommended books are - availability, the social aspects, the relative easiness of the reading experience with the brevity and easy language, the familiarity, the sense of accomplishment, and the paperback format which is preferred by children. (Krashen 1993)

 

Popular fiction has many benefits to support it but it also has a strong argument against it, which is why it has remained controversial. The implications for school librarians in choosing to stock popular literature are many, but with active management they can be successfully incorporated in the collection to the childrens and libraries benefit.

 

Krashen (1993) states that the more print rich the environment , the better the literacy development.Swartz and Hendricks (2000) suggest that libraries need a number of books across genres as the more books available the more choices the children have. Worthy (1996) supports this, and adds that librarians can use the popular texts to satisfy students initial preferences while introducing sophisticated works for read alouds and topic work. Reid and Cline (1997) mention that making room for popular fiction will help students make room for other reading in their lives and accommodate the constantly changing interests and abilities of the readers. Interests and abilities constantly develop and readers move on. Chance (1999) proposes considering series books, comics, magazines as their own genre with their own strengths and weaknesses. Genco (1991) supports this by suggesting librarians evaluate the mass media based books within the perimeters of their own genre - each genre contributing something different to a collection, and the same child may enjoy all or only one.

The teacher librarian needs to encourage a print rich environment with a great variety of books to cater for all reading levels and interests (Ross 1996) this includes popular fiction as this is what children want to read. (Foster 1997) Librarians need to work with the students in the selection of books and other media - give ownership of the library to the students, set limits on the popular fiction titles and let them choose the good books as well. Encouraging this student choice leads to better attitudes towards reading, learning and the library. (Pritchard 2000) As Worthy (1999) points out, children have three choices with regard to accessing books that they want but are not supplied by the library -. read outside their interest, obtaining the preferred reading materials themselves, or not reading at all. If the student cannot afford the books they want, they only have two real choices. Student preferences must be addressed in order to capture their attention, enjoyment and foster conditions to learning. As Jacobs and Tunnell (1996) expressed, 'if the kids read nothing then the opportunity to alter their taste and judgment about books is non existent'. Crome (1998) uses the expression to have 'milk before meat', in this way to use the popular fiction to hook non-readers with high interest, fast paced novels that might lead to more reading or more quality in the future. A part of this is to have multiple copies of the more popular books so that students are not discouraged from borrowing if their preferred choice is already on loan. (Pritchard 2000)

 

The librarian needs to have read many of the books in the library, across a wide selection of genres or at least to know about them. The librarian needs to be aware of what the books are - their readability, suitability for different ages, the subject base, the genre. (Foster 1997) Saltman (1997) suggests that librarians should know and love childrens books, need to acknowledge different reading tastes and choices and be aware of those books which will satisfy the different children's requirements. There is also a requirement to know the students and personalise the library experience for them by engaging students in conversations about their books and their interests (Lewis 1998) The librarian needs to give the time to help find the books the students like. Greenlee Monson Taylor (1996) found that students value the teacher librarians recommendations and help in selecting a book if the teacher librarian shows a genuine interest and knowledge of the materials. Greenlee Monson and Taylor (1996) found that students will read quality books but need assistance to find quality literature that will meet their personal needs and interests, so it is the librarians responsibility to provide this assistance.

As MacDonald (1991) points out 'children will always opt for something familiar, it is up to the librarian to seduce them with better work.' The teacher librarian needs to also supply experiences to help to provide students to begin finding books on their own these can include library exploration exercises, treasure hunt activities, read around the world experiences, book raps, literature circles, peer reviews and teacher reviews among others.

 

The teacher librarian needs to be aware that rows of books are intimidating for children and displays should be set up where different genres or themes are highlighted on a weekly or fortnightly basis, where children can browse and borrow from these displays. (Greenlee, Monson and Taylor 1996) As Worthy (1999) points out, accessibility is a crucial issue to encouraging children to read, and if the quality books are more accessible than the popular books, then the quality books will enjoy a higher readership.

 

Librarians must be at the forefront of initiating or continuing and promoting a free voluntary reading program in the school setting, establishing it as supplementary to the instructional program. (Pritchard 2000) they need to have literature available that the kids will choose - whether it be a classic novel or a Garfield comic, it needs to be a free choice that is appropriate for the child and needs to be accessible and available, and if required the teacher librarian needs to be a frequent visitor to the classroom or playground, either as a team teacher or as a visitor to read a book, or talk about a book. This will make the library a familiar place, and the library a real person whom the know out of the library setting, and whom the children will respect as an 'expert of books'.

 

Teacher librarians need to make sure they avoid giving the message that students can read what they want but only from the selection that the librarian thinks is worthwhile to read.(Lewis 1998) This is a form of censorship, and it is presumptuous for the librarian to know what is the most appropriate for a particular child, as each is himself no matter what the generalisations about reading patterns and his age may be. The way to truly help a child become an avid reader is to provide them with what they want to read and usually they will be very good judges of what is appropriate themselves. The teacher librarian needs to be ready to support their selection policy for the inclusion of the popular fiction and any other controversial material into the school library, so they need to understand what marks a book as being both meritous and worthy of being placed in the school collection, and the reasons why popular fiction should be included.

 

Popular fiction can have a place in the school library alongside the quality literature. The children will choose popular literature first because it is a presold brand, that is familiar to them so the teacher librarian needs to make an effort in encouraging children to move on from the popular literature and experience the deeper satisfaction from the quality works, however, it does come down to the individual choice in the end, and a child will move on if and when they are ready. The popular literature does have a role to play in helping children to learn the skills of reading, instead of being shunned its merits need to be respected and used to our advantage in getting children hooked on reading.

 

 

Bibliography

 

Butler, R., Perry., L., 1997. Are Goosebumps books real literature? Language Arts. Oct. Vol.74:6. p. 454. retrieved via Proquest HKUST

 

Chance, R. 1999 review of Serious about series: Evaluations and annotations to teen fiction in paperback series. by Silk Makowski. review in the Teacher Librarian. Oct. Vol.27:1.p. 50. retrieved via Proquest HKUST

 

Foster, J. 1997. The good , the bad and the ugly:Series fiction for primary readers. In Unsettling certainties: Language learning and culture. Conference proceedings (Vol. 1) from the First Joint National Conference of the Australian Association for the Teaching of English (AATE), the Australian Literacy Educators' Association (ALEA), and the Australian School Library Association (ASLA). Darwin 8-11 July, pp.105-112. Reading 11 ETL 402 Charles Sturt University.

Lindsay, Nina. 1999 Packaging the Past. School Library Journal, July Vol.45:7 pages 34-35

 

Genco, B.A., MacDonald, E.K. and Hearne, . 1991, Juggling Popularity and quality. School Library Journal. March, pp.115-119 Reading 27 ETL 402 Charles Sturt University.

 

Greenlee, A.,Monson, D., Taylor, B. 1996. The lure of series books: Does it affect appreciation for recommended literature? The Reading Teacher. Nov. Vol. 50:3 page 216.retrieved via Proquest HKUST

 

Guthrie, J.T., Alverson, S. and Poundstone, C. 1999 Engaging students in reading. Knowledge Quest, 27:4, pp.8-16. Reading 25 ETL 402 Charles Sturt University.

 

Hepperman, C. 1997 Reading by the number: Paperback series fiction. The Horn Book Magazine. Jul./Aug. vol.73:4 pages 432-436 retrieved via Proquest HKUST

 

Jacobs, J. and Tunnell, M.1996. What is a good book? In Children's Literature, briefly. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Merrill/Prentice Hall. pp.14-19. Reading 4. ETL 402 Charles Sturt University.

 

Krashen,S., 1993. The cure. In the power of reading:Insights from the research. Englewood, CO:Libraries Unlimited.pp.33-68. Reading 3 ETL 402. Charles Sturt University.

 

Lewis, C., 1998. Rock and roll and horror stories: Students, teachers, and popular culture. Journal of Adolescent and Adult Literacy. Oct. Vol. 42:2.pp.116-120 retrieved via Proquest HKUST

 

Nilsen, A. 1993. Big business, young adult literature and the Boston Pops. English Journal. Feb. Vol. 82:2.pp. retrieved via Proquest HKUST

 

Pennebaker, R., 1994. Why girls can't get enough of the Baby-Sitters Club. Parents. Jun. Vol.69:6 pp.92.retrieved via Proquest HKUST

 

Pritchard, L., 2000. Understanding the reluctant male reader: implications for the teacher librarian and the school library. Access. May. page 11-14

 

Reid, L., Cline,R.,1997. Our repressed reading addictions: Teachers and young adult series books. English Journal. Mar. vol.86:3. pp.68-72. retrieved via Proquest HKUST

 

Richards, P. Thatcher, D., Shreeves,M., Timmons, P., Barker,S. 1999. The Reading Teacher. May. Vol.52:8 page 830-840 retrieved via Proquest HKUST.

 

Ross, C.S.1996. Reading series books:What readers say. School Library Media Quarterly, 24:3. pp.165-171. Reading 10 ETL 402 Charles Sturt University.

 

Swartz,M., Hendricks, C., 2000.Factors that influence the book selection process of students with special needs. Apr. Vol.43:7 pp.608-618. retrieved via Proquest HKUST

 

Saltman, J., 1997. Groaning under the weight of series books. Emergency Librarian. May/Jun. Vol. 24:5. page 23-25. retrieved via Proquest HKUST

 

Saxby, M. 1999. Challenging the Young reader? Changing perspectives in Australian chidren's literature. Bookbird Basel 37:1 pages 6-12 retrieved via Proquest HKUST

 

Worthy , J. 1996. A matter of interest: Literature that hooks reluctant readers and keeps them reading. The Reading teacher. November 50:3 page 203. retrieved via Proquest HKUST

 

Worthy, J., Mooman,M., Turner,M., 1999. What Johnny likes to read is hard to find in school. Reading Research Quarterly.Jan-Mar. Vol. 34:1 page 12 retrieved via Proquest HKU

 

 

FURTHER READING

 

Burke, J., 1993. Cannon Fodder. English Journal High School Edition. Feb. Vol.82:2.p. 56. retrieved via Proquest HKUST

 

Coppell, V. 1998. The 'goosebumps' in Goosebumps: Implications and R.L. Stine. Papers, 8:2. pp.5-15. Reading 9 ETL 402 Charles Sturt University.

 

Crowe, C. 1998. Young Adult Literature. English Journal. 88:1 page 120-122 retrieved via Proquest HKUST

 

Fleming, J. 1999. Encouraging an addiction to fiction. In Bytes, Books and Bolards by the Bay: Information Management for the third millennium, 16th Biennial Conference of the Australian School Library Association, January 18-21, 1999, Deakin University Woolstores Campus, Geelong. Richmond: School Library Association of Victoria, pp.141-145. Reading 23 ETL 402 Charles Sturt University.

 

Harris, C., 1999. In defence of series fiction. Magpies. July. Vol.14:3

 

Larson, C.R. 1999 Stratmeyer's writing machine. The World and I. April. Vol. 14:4 264-269.

 

National Education Association. 2000. NEA poll spotlights kids favourite books. Reading Today.April /May Vol.:17:5 page 14 retrieved via Proquest HKUST

 

Nimon, M. 1993. Fiction, political correctness and teacher librarians. Access. Vol.7:2 , pp. 19-21. Reading 28 ETL 402 Charles Sturt University.

 

 

 

 

 

Children's Books read

 

Allen, Pamela. Mr McGee and te Biting Flea

Disher, Garry. The Divine Wind

Harnett, Sonya, All My Dangerous Friends

Park, R.(1981) Playing Beatie Bow

Marsden, John. (1996). The Journey. Pan Macmillan:Sydney

McDonald, Meme & Pryor, Boori (illus Meme McDonald) My Girragundi

Parry Glynn (1998). Sad Boys Hodder Headline: Sydney

Pignaro,Anne (writer Colin Thompson) The Staircase Cat

Rodda, Emily. Bob te Builder and the Elves

Rowling.J.K. (1998) Harry Potter and the Philosophers Stone,

(1998) Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets

(1999) Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban

Bloomsbury,London.

Tan, Shaun (writer John Marsden) The Rabbits.

 

Series Books or Books within a series

Pascal, Francine. (1988). Kidnapped. Sweet Valley High. Bantom Books:New York

Wrightson, Patricia. (1997) Rattlers Place. Aussie Bites.Puffin Books:Melbourne Mattingley, Christobel. (1997). Ginger. Aussie Bites. Puffin Books:Melbourne

Martin, S.R. (1997). Cold. Insomniacs. Scholastic:Sydney

Martin, SR. (1997). The Tunnel, The Dark. Scholastic:Sydney

Fienberg, Anna, Feinberg Barbara. (1997).Tashi and the Genie. Little Ark. Sydney.

Betancourt, Jeanne. (1994). I want a pony. Pony Pals. Scholastic. New York.

Stone,Tom,B. (1995). The headless bike rider. Graveyard School. Hodder Headline: London

Keene,C. False Moves.(1987)x The Nancy Drew Files, Case 9. Archway Paperback, New York.

 

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-----------------------------32225120609084 Content-Disposition: form-data; name="userfile"; filename="role_of_teacher_librarian.htm" Content-Type: text/html Role of Teacher librarian

The Dynamic and Unique Role of the Teacher Librarian

Dianne McKenzie

Written for course requirements for the M.App. Sc. in TL through Charles Sturt University. 1999. Updated 20 May 2002

Since the inception of the Australian School library in the 1960's,drastic changes have occured. It has evolved from a store for printed works to a dynamic information resource centre, with a huge variety of mediums. Through this evolution, teacher librarians have had to redefine their role, and keep redefining it with each new development that has affected their domain of information management. Currently in this information age the teacher librarian has roles which were not even conceivable when the position of teacher librarian was created. Hopefully, through examining these roles, a greater understanding and appreciation of the teacher librarian as a professional educator can be achieved, and through this understanding, enhance each schools ability to utilise the teacher librarian to their maximum potential and enhance the school programme overall to further enrich student achievement.

 

Current research (Eisenberg and Berkowitz 1992) indicates the higher the level of involvement a teacher librarian has in the school curriculum, the higher will be the level of achievement of students in reading skills, vocabulary, study skills, verbal expression and problem solving skills, with a wider breadth and quality of reading. Curry Lance (1994) found in his research that well funded school libraries with an active teacher librarian tended to achieve higher average reading scores and test scores in all subjects no matter what type of demographic or socio- economic community the students lived in. Tallman (1995) supports these findings by stating that a teacher librarian who is active in a curriculum and instructional role will have a positive impact on student achievement and on the perception of the school by the school community and external community.

 

What does this research reveal about the importance of the teacher librarian and the role they have in the school? How can they be so different to non teaching librarians, and classroom teachers? How can one member of staff affect a school and students so dramatically? What key areas do they, or can they affect which brings these improvements to bear? These questions will be attempted to be answered in this paper.

 

The teacher librarian's basic role has moved from a passive role to an active one with an expansion of the traditional roles, and extension into new areas. (Eisenberg & Berkowitz 1998) Eisenberg and Berkowitz (1998) described the traditional role of the Teacher Librarian as one of collector and manager of resources, supplier of reading guidance, and promoter of literature and information. These roles still exist, and still form a basis of the teacher librarian's role but have expanded considerably. The teacher librarian now has to reach out to users, both students and staff of the school, promote their services and collections and become more directly involved in planning of curriculum strategies, be a part of the research processes and the use of information in the school setting. (Eisenberg and Berkowitz 1998) The NSW Dept of Education ( Handbook for School Libraries 1996 p. 2) states that 'any activities which centre around teaching and learning are central to the school libraries purpose'. This indicates that anything that happens in a school setting should in some way be linked to the services of the school library, making the library the hub of school educational services, with the teacher librarian as the service provider.

 

The teacher librarian is in a unique position to have a total perspective of the school, very similar to a school executives perspective. They have a knowledge of the school curriculum in a holistic way (Tallman 1995) and need to be involved in the designing, writing, and evaluation of the curriculum, and link together related units. (Oberg 1990, Tallman 1995) With this understanding and knowledge of the curriculum framework, the teacher librarian can then work with individual and subject teachers in designing programs which will enrich student learning in all strands. (Jeffrey 1994) The teacher librarian is then able to integrate key learning areas, providing the opportunity for across the curriculum integration of information literacy skills development and natural progression in learning. This a unique position for the teacher librarian as neither the classroon teacher, or a non teaching librarian has to have this depth of involvement in a schools total curriculum.

 

To fulfill this role in curriculum development the teacher librarian must know and understand the curriculum guidelines of the state or regional department, the overall goals and mission statement of the school and understand the difference between curriculum goals and content. (Oberg 1986) They must know the processes of curriculum development, instructional development, have access to and understand the most recent research on curriculum design and have a general knowledge of school wide grade levels and content areas so they can be considered as equals or even leaders in the field. (Walker 1998) It has been found that teachers generally tend to plan curriculum around what resources they know are available. (Oberg 1986) Through their role as librarian, the teacher librarian is in a position to know what resources exist, know how to access them, organise them and use them. (Henri 1987) This affects curriculum planning in a positive way by expanding the possibilities and learning experiences available, allowing greater options for a broader based curriculum. (Oberg 1986) This expertise in the knowledge of the use of resources is not required by non teaching librarians, they need to know what is available but it would be up to the user to create methods of use.

 

In his or her role as a curriculum consultant/ designer/ co planner the teacher librarian must understand and be prepared to incorporate resource based learning into the curriculum. They need to be a proactive supporter, educator and motivator of this mode of teaching and learning (SLASA) to provide students with the maximum opportunity for positive learning experiences tailor made to their needs, abilities and current knowledge throughout the whole school ( Henri 1996) Lundin (1983) states the single most important role of the teacher librarian is co operative planning and teaching with classroom teachers, thus providing better use of resources and better integration of information literacy skills. Through this cooperative arrangement with the teacher, the teacher librarian has a role in explaining and demonstrating what resource based learning is, and then educating and guiding the teachers into experimenting, implementing and accepting it as part of the curriculum and their teaching repertoire. Classroom teachers would possibly have an opportunity to cooperative plan with other teachers at different levels for enrichment activites, however the teacher librarian is expected to do it with all staff, be aware of what is being taught in all classroom and how it is being taught, and be involved in the teaching as well as the evaluation. The teacher librarians role is more inclusive.

 

Encompassed in cooperative planning is the subject of resources and their management in the school library setting. The teacher librarian is the prime manager of school based learning resources, both in and out of the library. ( Henri 1987) This is similar in roles of the non teaching librarian, however the teacher librarian extends this role into notonly managemet but being fully involved in the use of the resources. Through co operative planning of the curriculum and expertise and knowledge of content areas, teaching and learning experiences can be designed, the teacher librarian is able to more effectively resource the school, and make full use of the resources already there. ( Mobley 1994) They also need to be involved in evaluation of students abilities and units of work which they have helped develop, they will then be fully aware of the objectives to be fulfilled. They will have the total picture and be fully equipped to provide resources and activities that contribute to lifelong learning while accommodating a wide range of differences in teaching and learning styles and to also cater for students needs and interests and reflect the cultural diversity of the community and families through these resources (Texas School Libraries 1999, Brown 1988)

 

The teacher librarian has a role in helping teachers explore varied and potential uses of resources. (Oberg 1986) To do this they need to have an understanding of learning models and teaching styles that can be applied in practical terms to assist the teachers in this quest. Where current resources are not applicable for the needs required, the teacher librarian needs to identify the type of resource which is to be acquired, produced locally or adapted from other sources, and determine how they can or will be developed and applied. (Walker 1998) Cross (1996) has stated that library resources need to be wider and richer than the curriculum to extend the potential of students and staff.

 

The role of information manager encompasses a wide range of tasks and roles within it. The teacher librarian needs to be able to identify and recall resources in their own collection, in the wider school collection and be aware of what is available beyond the walls of the school in the community, such as community libraries, tertiary institutions, museums, government departments, the internet and other electronic resources and facilitate the sharing of information with these other agencies. ( Toronto Board of Education 1996) In most cases this would entail evaluating, filtering, repackaging and validating information for use in school so that it would be in usable form in light of curriculum needs.

( Mitchell 1996) The range and depth of resources has grown beyond the control of the school library to manage or administer so, part of the teacher librarians role in managing this information is to ensure it is available when required, such as an internet site that is required for a lesson or that a specific resource still can be obtained from an outside source, in much the same way that an in house resource is confirmed available. This requires planning, time management and negotiation skills. (Naude 1996) As part of this information management the teacher librarian needs to be aware of community , educational, national and global events so as to facilitate units of work which are related around these themes or time frames. They also need to be aware of television programming so as to be sure to 'catch ' any worthwhile programmes which could be useful in any part of the school curriculum. The classroom teacher also needs to be aware of the total community, but generally does not have the full vision of the total school in mind, whereas non teaching librarians generally have the vision of the library in their sights and how external sources can be integrated into the library program, to enhance the library services, rather than to enrich a school curriculum.

 

The organisation of resources for the library, and many other school resources, also comes under the juristriction of the teacher librarian. The selection process is done in partnership with the teachers following the curriculum guidelines, taking into account the needs and interests of the students. For those resources which come under the category of general interest, the the teacher librarian is responsible for applying professional selection techniques, following the school selection policy. (Eisenberg and Berkowitz 1998) The teacher librarian also has the role of actively pursuing sources, purchasing or borrowing resources and equipment, accepting delivery of same, checking it is correct, ensure the payment policies are adhered to, set about protecting the resources in special packaging if required, labelling the resources as appropriate,ensure the item is placed on the inventory , then catalogued and placed in the appropriate setting. (Texas School Libraries 1999) The teacher librarian also has the role to develop an efficient system for circulation of the resources and equipment which is relevant to the ages and abilities of the users. (Haycock 1979) They need to have expertise in the management of automated systems both for practical purposes in their own library, circulation and retrieval, but also for outside sources. (ALIA/SLAV) They need to build a bibliographic and evaluative source to provide current information about school and outside school resources and equipment, and this needs to be checked and updated regularly, ( Haycock 1979) thus providing a centralised record of school resources. They then need to link the students, teachers and others with the information they need.

(Brown andShepperd 1997) The non teaching librarian has a similar role in resource management, however the classroom teacher need not need to concern themselves with this aspect of school services, al though they will go through the processes on a much smaller scale for the resources in their classroom.

 

The Teacher Librarian is also responsible for organising and maintaining the resources to ensure they remain in good condition and are currently serving their intended purpose. The Teacher Librarian is responsible for supervising the weeding out of poor or outdated stock, ensuring the process and disposal is following the school policy for this task. (ALIA/SLAV) This ensures the library resources are current and frees space for more acquisitions which are more useful.

 

One of the major roles of the library is accessing information, and in so doing, plays a role as the information centre for school documents and policies. The teacher librarian has a role to play in ensuring the school curriculum and policy documents are organised to be accessed quickly and easily by anyone requiring them. Stored with these documents should be supporting documents on information policy issues such as copyright, research on information literacy, regional and state curriculum and mission statements. ( Hay 1997) The school history records also need to be organised in a logical manner and accessible if appropriate. Haycock (1985) suggests that even units of work developed need to be also stored and managed in the library so the school library holds a large collection of resource based units which integrate research and study skills for demonstration and revision for future use. The role of the teacher librarian would be to organise this into a usable format so that retrieval is easy and useful.

 

A new role that that has been adopted by many teacher librarian's is that of supervisor of the school internet web site or home page. This role entails ensuring that policies are written and adhered to regarding access, acceptable use and monitoring of this medium, some teacher librarian's taking ownership of the site, while others have taken more of an overseers role.

 

The physical environment of the library is also the teacher librarian's responsibility. The teacher librarian has to create an environment which will appeal to students and staff so they will want to visit and stay a while. (Toronto Board of Education 1996) To do this the teacher librarian needs to provide encouragement and hospitality to visitors, creating and reinforcing an open, positive and participatory environment. The library should have an attractive, active and stimulating atmosphere for library users that is also functional, congenial and supports the achievements and desired learning outcomes of the school and follows occupational health and safety guidelines. (Sheiber and Moring 1997, Texas School Libraries 1999, 1999, Handbook for Schools 1996) This can be achieved through the use of space, lighting, furniture, acoustics, temperature, and fixtures that are appropriate for the ages of the users . They need to create an environment which is efficient and ensures optimal user access to information resources. (NSW Teacher Librarian Action Group)

 

In large or well funded schools the teacher librarian also has a role of staff management, both as a leader of a team and as a member. (Brown & Shepperd 1997) They need to select, supervise, train and plan for effective use of support staff, and supervise and evaluate their performance. (Haycock 1979, Simpson 1996) As an extension of this the teacher librarian has a role in recruiting, training and motivating parent and student volunteers in the skills required for library work. Unfortunately for many teacher librarian's, particularly in small schools, the teacher librarian does not have the opporotunity to manage staff, but faces different problems in having to deal with the administrative side of the library such as filing, processing, cataloguing, book repairs, and circulation. These tasks can take away the time for potential professional support for teaching staff and curriculum development. Where possible the teacher librarian needs to actively recruit helpers to be trained to do these tasks, and to be able to delegate so they can be completed without too much input from the teacher librarian. The teacher librarian needs to be on a good relationship with the principal to be able to argue their case for paid, permanent staff, using all the diplomacy , advocacy and assertive skills one has to make this a reality. (Hay and Henri 1995)

 

As a member of the teaching team in the school, they need to take a leadership role in educating teachers as to how the library functions, its policies and layout and how the library can be used most effectively to meet their needs. (ALA and AASL 1998) As part of the teaching team the teacher librarian can contribute to staff development by providing opportunities for teacher 's and administrators in effective utilization and production of resources as well as appraising new and emerging technologies, and relevant laws that effect the use and communication of ideas and information. (Walker 1998) The teacher librarian has a role in locating professional literature that the teachers will read and use. The teacher librarian has a role in providing guidance to teachers on locating and evaluating information.

 

Technology in the library has made the role of the teacher librarian both easier and harder. Easier in that it has become more efficient for cataloguing and circulation tasks, freeing up time from these administrative tasks. It has made the role more demanding as more is expected from the teacher librarian in knowledge, practical expertise and abilities. The teacher librarian's role in the light of technology in information services is to be interested and aware of information technology and be enthusiastic about new developments. (Nimon 1996) They have a role in educating the school community about current options and future possibilities (McKenna 1997) and must be proficient in it's use to promote and instruct students, teachers and parents in it' s applications to the school curriculum and for student information literacy. (Simpson 1996, Naude 1996) The teacher librarian needs to have a knowledge of the range of information technology and its application so they can guide students and teachers in the acquisition of sophisticated skills of research and retrieval. (Croke 1997)

 

The teacher librarian must also liaise with the school executive on hardware systems, software and other areas of technology which will affect and meet the needs of the school, and the library. (Benson 1997) They should have enough knowledge and credibility that these decisions regarding information technology in the school will be made with the consultation of the teacher librarian.

 

Communication is one of the key elements of the teacher librarian's role in a school. Through formal and informal methods the teacher librarian conveys information and thoughts regarding library procedures, services, facilities, library content, school policy, and wider community issues. It is through communication that the teacher librarian advances their cause and credibility. ( Hartzell 1997) The Teacher Librarian is responsible for updates, reports and budget accountability to the school administration, and the school community. (Texas School Libraries 1999) To enhance the profile of the library and the school, the teacher librarian needs to develop an information and public relations program for staff, students and the community. (Haycock 1979) They should also be developing community expectations of the library program through parent organisations, attendance at and presentations to community or parent meetings, utilizing local media, and newsletters to inform the community about the school, and the library. (Texas School Libraries 1999) They also have a responsibility to communicate any new findings in the area of research, information skills and learning processes, and how this might be applied in their own school curriculum.

 

The teacher librarian has a supportive role to play to parents in issues relating to information literacy and reading, and the learning processes. The teacher librarian should encourage the use of the school library by parents for selection of reading material for all ages, with guidance in techniques to share reading, listening and viewing experiences with their children. They could go as far as teaching parents how to teach their children how to read, to recognise the needs of their children, and selecting appropriate resources for use at home. (Walker 1998) This instruction could be informal consultations, workshops or lecture type of presentations, possibliy in cooperation with the special needs teacher or other english specialist. (Walker 1998) The teacher librarian serves as a resource person for parents needing information on new technology and on its use in school and at home. (Texas School Libraries 1999)

 

One of the key positions of the teacher librarian is the promotion of childrens literature as an integral and essential aspect of learning in children. (SLASA) They need to have a comprehensive knowledge of children's literature so they can meet the needs and interests of their clients. They have an obligation to promote literacy by motivating, encouraging and reinforcing the childs interest in reading possibly by initiating, implementing and evaluating a school reading program,with informed and involved parents to make it successful. (International Association of School Librarianship 1993,Texas School Libraries 1999) The teacher librarian organises book raps , book week events, author visits, special readings and any other activity which promotes the joy of reading in the school and at home.

 

Schools run on policies and procedures, and it is part of the teacher Librarians role to be on steering committees regarding policy matters. The library of the school needs clear policies to ensure consistency of management of resources, continuity, and to serve as a reference and training point. (Handbook for School Libraries 1996) Policies which need to be developed for the library include those which cover selection of resources, challenges of these resources, budget allocations, procedures of the library, statement of acceptable use of the internet by students, copyright, social justice, library evaluation and any area for which a need becomes apparent which the teacher librarian needs to be able to assess. The teacher librarian also has a role to ensure that policies are put into practice and evaluated ( Hay 1997) and that students, staff and parents are involved in the creation and implementation, understand the rationale underlying them and are willing to practice them. The policies created need to reflect the ideals of the school, ensuring they fit in with the short and long term plans of the school.

 

Whole school policies which will affect the library may include resource based learning, information literacy, co-operative planning,reading encouragement programs, budget allocation, staffing allocation, supervision of rest periods, exams and playground, timetabling, and support roles that teachers are expected to play. The Teacher Librarian should be aware of these policies, be an integral part of their evaluation and revision so that he or she ensures the place of the library is enhanced rather than negatively affected by decisions.

 

Although the Teacher Librarian has a major role to play in information management, they need to be interested in and responsible for the work of enhancing human capacity through the use of this information. (Kieft 1995) Through an integrated resource based learning program the teacher librarian would teach the skills and processes students need to access resources and information, create experiences where they need to think about ideas and create their own approaches to the problem. ( Tallman 1995) The resources need to be discovered by the students to empower them and to increase their confidence and awareness in using the environment, so situations need to be designed for this discovery process. (Tallman 1995)

 

The Teacher Librarian needs to provide learning experiences which are relevant to the students to encourage the students to become discriminating users and skilled creators of information. (ALA AASL 1998). These teaching techniques need to encompass experiences which will provide direction, improve selection and develop critical thinking, ( Haycock 1979) and not just on an individual level, but to collaborate with others both in person and through technology to create, problem solve and evaluate. ( Kentucky Board of Education 1998) Teacher librarians have a responsibility to facilitate the skills of handling information, and managing large quantities of information not conventionally indexed, edited, refereed or authenticated in students, staff and the community . (Naude 1996) The teacher librarian needs to help students understand the research process and the thoughts and feelings which accompany it to allow them to work through these feelings and give them an insight into their own progression in the learning process. (Kuhlthau 1995)

 

In their quest to provide a happy environment the teacher librarian must manifest personal interest in the students and staff, and the projects on which they are working. (Kieft 1995) They need to engage students in conversation about the their work and demonstrate good reference librarian skills. The teacher librarian should also demonstrate that education is for life by being an example. ( Kieft 1995) They need to like children and be excited about their discoveries and ideas, they need to allow them the responsibility to demonstrate their abilities, with realistic expectations, as children will live up to expectations they believe they are able to attain. The teacher librarian needs to demonstrate the latest technical skills which will excite the children and motivate them to want to be involved in their school work and areas of outside interest. ( Haycock 1979) Through experiences of working through research projects with the students, the teacher librarian can foster appreciation of the link between critical reading, listening and viewing skills and successful living. (Walker 1998) They can also play a part in fostering an appreciation of adequate, freely available information sources and the importance of this is in an educated and democratic society. ( Walker 1998)

 

The personality of the teacher librarian will determine the type of place the students perceive the library as. If the teacher librarian is dynamic, encouraging, flexible, organised and an innovator, it is quite likely the library services will reflect this and the atmosphere that is created will be similar to these adjectives. The teacher librarian has a role in determining which services will be offered in the library, if the teacher librarian is a risk taker, there will more than likely be more than the ordinary on offer. ( Handbook for School Librarians 1996)

 

As part of the creation of a dynamic centre for learning, the teacher librarian must continue with their professional development through interaction with other librarians for ideas, information and comraderie. ( Haycock 1979) They need to be involved in professional organisations that are available and read professional journals, not only for librarians, but for education in general. Being aware of guides and 'helps' such as 'Learning for the Future' (ASLA 1994) and using them in their day to day decisions will allow them to make decisions which are informed and based on substance. (Jeffrey 1994) There is a constant need for teacher librarian's to educate and update themselves, so they can help others and keep up with the rapid changing world of information resources and management. (Croke 1997)

 

The evaluation of the school library service also comes under the juristriction of the teacher librarian. They need to be aware of, and use library evaluation tools, work towards meeting the goals and objectives set, and then evaluate the effectiveness in doing this. Publishing the results gives an account of the strengths and weaknesses of the library program, and shows where, and possibly how improvements can be made. (Texas School Libraries 1999) The Library services also must be open to external evaluation as objective observations may be useful in improving the library program and facilities. ( Rogers 1994) The teacher librarian is responsible for making these events happen, and then acting on the results. Through evaluation, it is ascertained if the school library service is responsible for student achievement. If it isn't contributing to student achievement, modifications need to made to the program and the teacher librarian is in the best position to do this . ( Jeffery 1994)

 

The teacher librarian is also a part of the wider school community, whose role is to contribute. There are many extra activities that the teacher librarian is expected to play beyond their role in the library domain. These roles include supervision of and involvement in the school sport programme, assessment time with exam supervision, founding or continuing extra curriculum clubs, fund raising and public relations, book club orders, involvement on school committees, help with special education, supervising private study students in the library, playground duty if required, and socialising with staff. ( White 1997) Participating and contributing to the school in these areas allows greater opportunity for the teacher librarian to know and understand the people they work with, both students and staff, and allows each of the parties involved to see each other in a different perspective. This can, in most cases, only contribute to relationships, which in turn, improves the possibilities of the library services through having a greater rapport with all concerned, as the teacher librarians job is not about resources, it is about people and connecting them with the resources they require.

 

Teacher librarians are in the business of information literacy, assisting teachers and students to access, use and communicate information, however their role and job description goes far beyond this function. ( Tasmanian Department of Education 1998) They are a teacher, with experience and ideas to maximise learning potential, they are a consultant for staff and students to guide them through the resources and mediums to fulfill curriculum objectives and recreational interests. ( Walker 1998) They are an executive with leadership skills to make decisions and be a part of the school leadership team to be consulted. They are also a manager of people, time, resources and the environment. They need to have good interpersonal skills as their job is interacting with people and at the same time be creative, flexible and have initiative with people and resources. ( Nimon 1996) These roles performed under one title are what make the teacher librarian unique from non teaching librarians and other teachers. Even though roles and job descriptions can be found in all three titles, only the teacher librarian has all the roles encomapssed in the job description.

 

The teacher librarian can affect the whole school in a way which is positive and quite substantial. They are involved in every aspect of what occurs in the school, and need to be ready to take on any or many roles at any given time. It is a dynamic job, with changes occurring rapidly and the teacher librarian needs to be prepared to meet these changes and have the ability to maximise the potential for the good of the school. Even though there are particular roles of the teacher librarian, each teacher librarian will define their own role in the school through their own personality, knowledge and creativity, as the school library is a service, not a place, and the teacher librarian is the service provider.

 

References

 

ALA and AASL (1998) 'Information Power : Mission and Goal of the School Library Media Program' excerpted from Chapter 1 "The Vision" Information Power:Building partnerships for learning. 1998 American Library Association for Educational Communications and Technology. accessed online at Washington Library Media Organisation http://www.wlma.org/literacy/infoskill.htm on 31 March 1999. Last updated 23 April 1999

 

ASLA (1994) Learning for the Future. Developing information services in Australian Schools. Curriculum Corporation. Carlton, Victoria

Brown,J. (1988) 'Changing teaching practise to meet curent expectations'. Emergency Librarian, 16 (2),9-14 from ETL 401 CSU 1999. reading 20

Brown, G. (1995) Appendix A -' International association of School Librarianship Statement on School Libraries'. School Libraries Worldwide, 1 (2),55-58. In ETL 401 readings, reading 10.

Brown, J. and Sheppard (1997). 'Teacher Librarians in learning organisations'. In Information rich but knowledge poor? L. Lighthall and K. Haycock (eds) ASL: Washington. pp.197-216 From Appendix 2 Study Guide for ETL 401 CSU

Croke, B. (1997) 'The Legacy of Frank O'Dwyer, Teacher Librarians Past Present and Future'. Opening Address at conference Booking into the 21st Century: Sites Unlimited. Catholic Primary Teacher Librarians Association annual Conference - 15th May 1997 online http://wwwedirect.com/orgs/jhlee/croke.htm accessed 30 April 1999

Curry Lance, K. (1994) 'The Impact of School Library Media Centres on Academic Achievement' In Sustaining the Vision: A collection of Articles and Papers on research in school libarianship Clyde, L., (ed) HI Willow research and Publishing: Colorado 1996

Eisenberg, M.B. and Berkowitz, R.E.(1998 ) Curriculum Initiative: An Agenda and Strategy for Library Media Programs Ablex Publishing:New Jersy.

Hartzell , G. (1997) 'The invisible school librarian: why other educators are blind to your value '(part 1 and 2) School Library Journal Online: articles http://www.bookwire.com/slj/slj-articles.articles$4280 last modified unknown accessed 16 March 1999

Hay, L. and Henri. J (1995) 'Teacher Librairans must be principally minded.' Forthcoming, School Libraries in Canada, 4 pages from ETL 401 readings reading 12.

Hay ,L. Information Policy Isuues: Curse or Cure? In A meeting of the minds ITEC Virtual Conference, 97 Proceedings Hay, L. and Henri, J. ASLA : Canberra p.160

Haycock, K. (1979) 'What is a school librarian?' Emergency Librarian, 6(5-6),pp.10-14

Haycock,K. (1985) 'Strengthening the foundations for Teacher - Librarianship' School library Media Quarterly Spring

Henri, J. (1987) 'The integrated approach to school library planning.' Emergency Librarian January -February

Henri, J. 1996 'Teacher Librarians: The Best of Times and the worst of times' In A meeting of the minds ITEC Virtual Conference, 96 Proceedings Hay, L. and Henri, J. ASLA p. 72

International Association of School Librarianship (1993) IASL Policy Statement on School Libraries online http://www.hi.is/~anne/policysl.html last updated 27 December 1995 accessed 18 March 1999

Jeffrey, N. (1994) 'Sharing the vision. ' New Librarian, October, pp 14-16. From ETL 401 readings reading 13

Kentucky Education Professional Standards Board and the Office of Teacher Education and Certification, 1998 Domain of Knowledge: Library media Specialist. online Library media Specialist Village http://Imsvillage.k12.ky.us/html/domain.htm accessed 1 May 1999

Kieft, R.H. 'The death of the Librarian in the (post) Modern Electronic Information Age' Chapter 3 in Information for a new age:redefining the Librarian, American Library Association Library Instructiuon Roundtable (LIRT) 15th Anniversary Publication. Libraries Unlimited p.pp11-14

Kuhlthau, C. (1995) 'The process of learning from information'. School Libraries Worldwide, 1(1),1-12. from ETL 401 readings, reading 25.

Leisener, J.W. (1985) 'Learning at Risk: school library media programs in an information world.' School Library Media Quarterly, 14 (1), 11-20. From ETL 401 readings reading 11

Lundin, R. 1983 'The teacher Librarian and Information skills, an across the curriculum approach.' Emergency Librarian Sept -Oct 11:1

Mitchell, P. 'The Internet and TL's role in the school:Possible, probable and preffered futures' In A meeting of the minds ITEC Virtual Conference, 96 Proceedings Hay, L. and Henri, J. ASLA: Canberra. p. 82

Mobley, V. (1994) 'The teacher-librarian as intstructional consultant: Clarifying an educational role within the context of CPT.' Access, 8(1),28-30. ETL 401 readings, reading 21

Naude, S. 'The Internet and the TL's role in the school : A point of View '. In A meeting of the minds ITEC Virtual Conference, 96 Proceedings Hay, L. and Henri, J. ASLA: Canberra p. 79

Nimon, M. (c1996) 'The role of the Teacher Librarian'. In Learning resourcefully: Challenges for teacher Librariands in the information age. Adelaide: Auslib Press pp. 64-72. In ETL 401 readings reading 11a.

Nimon,M.(1996) 'Teacher Librarians - new directions?' Access 10 (1):9-11

NSW Teacher Librarian's action group (n.d) 'The role of the Teacher Librarian in the school community.' 1 page readings ETL 401

Dept of School Education NSW (1996) Handbook for School Libraries 2nd Ed Curriculum Directorate Libraries and Information Skills

Oberg, A. (1986) 'The School Librarian and the Classroom teacher: Partners in curriculum planning' Emergency Librarian Sept-Oct

Oberg, D. (1990) 'The school Library program and the culture of the school.' Emergency Librarian, 18(1),9-16 from ETL401 readings, reading 19

Rogers, R. (1994) Information Skills - a review of the research and its impact on educators. Bowker Saur Ltd : London Chapter 3 Classroom or Library p23-44

Schreiber , T. and Moring, C.(1997) The communicative and organisational competencies of the librarian in netwrked learning support: A comparitive analysis of the roles of the facilitator and the librarian. 2nd International Symposium on netwrked learner Support 23rd- 24th June 1997, Sheffield, England. online http://netways.shef.ac.uk/rbase/papers/moring.htm accessed 21 March 1999

Simpson,C.(1996) 'The School Librarians role in the electronic age'. online Eric Digest http://ericir.syr.edu/ithome/digests/librole.html accessed 20 March 1999 last updated unknown

SLASA School Library Associations of South Australia. Role statement for teacher Llbrarians from ETL401 readings. reading 7

Tallman, J. 1995 'Curriculum Consultation: strenghthening activity through multiple-content units' In school Library Media Quarterly Fall 1995 29-33

Tasmania Department of Education (1998) Memorandum forwarded to all principals of government schools from Graham Harrington (Deputy secretary, Education) The Role of the School Library Staff and the TALIS Development Committee online http://www.tased.edu.au/library/dealic/1998/role.htm accessed 16th Mar. 99

Texas School Libraries (1999) http://www.tea.state.tx.us/technology/libraries/resources.htm#impacts last modified 19 April 1999, accessed 30 April 1999

Toronto Board of Education. 1996 'The Role of the Teacher Librarian' in the Toronto Board of Education. Fact sheet from Tronto Teacher Librarians online accessed 3rd May at http://www.tbe.edu/lib/model/lib-inf/lib-inf2.htmllast updated 15th February 1998

Walker, S. 1998 Information Power: The Roles of the School Library media Specialist School Library Media Quarterly. fall 1998 p.21- 23

 

Further Reading

 

Canadian School Library Association 1998 'Guidelines for Effective school library programs:rationale online' http://geocities.com/Athens/Olympus/1333/guidelne.htm accessed 3rd May 1999 site last modified 10 February 1999

 

CoSla 1998 Council of School Library Associations (SA) accessed online 4th may 1999 http://www.ceasa.asn.au/cosla/rolest.htm last modified 7th February 1998

 

Davison, P.' Censorship and the need to develop policy' In A meeting of the minds ITEC Virtual Conference, 96 Proceedings Hay, L. and Henri, J. ASLA: Canberra.p.7

 

Eisenberg, M. and Brown,M. (1992)' Current themes regarding library and information skills instructions: research supporting and research lacking'. School Library Media Quarterly, 20(2), 103-109 from ETL 401 1999 Reading 31

 

Fort Garry School District 'The role of the Teacher Librarian' online http://fgsd.winnipeg.mb.ca/library/ teacher.htm#As Teacher accessed 31 March 1999

 

Haycock, C.A. 1985' Information Skills in the Curriculum:developing a school based Continuum 'Emergency Librarianr Sept -October

 

Haycock, K. (1995) 'Bridging the Gap between research and practise'. In Sustaining the vision: A selecton of conference papers. Paper presented at the 24th International Association of schol Librarianship Conference, Worcester, England, July. pp.26 -33. ETL 401 reading 30

 

Hughes, S. Revisioning the role of the TL In A meeting of the minds ITEC Virtual Conference, 96 Proceedings Hay, L. and Henri, J. ASLA p. 75

 

Kuhlthau C.C. 1994 Teaching the library research process 2nd ed Scarecrow Press: London

 

Leisener, J.W. (1985) 'Learning at Risk: School library media programs in an information world' School Library Media Quarterly, 14 (1), 11-20. From ETL 401 readings reading 11

 

Marcum, D.B. 1995 'Librarians or technicians? Which Shall we be?' Chapter 2 of Information for a new age:redefining the Librarian, American Library Association Library Instructiuon Roundtable (LIRT) 15th Anniversary Publication. Libraries Unlimited p.pp11-14

 

Mc Gregor,J. (1994) an analysis of thinking in the research process. School Libraries in Canada,14(2),4-7. ETL 401 reading 26.

 

Taylor, P. (1996) 'Some beginning ideas In A meeting of the minds ITEC Virtual Conference, 96 Proceedings' Hay, L. and Henri, J. ASLA : Canberra p. 86

 

Williams, H. and Zald, A. (1997) Redefining roles:Librarians as partners in Information Literacy education. 2nd International Symposium on networked learner Support 23rd- 24th June 1997, Sheffield, England. online http://netways.shef.ac.uk/rbase/papers/zaldwill.htm accessed 21 march 1999

 

What's in a name? In A meeting of the minds ITEC Virtual Conference, 97 Proceedings Hay, L. and Henri, J. ASLA p. 188

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-----------------------------32225120609084 Content-Disposition: form-data; name="userfile"; filename="tl_as_a_leader.htm" Content-Type: text/html TL as a Leader

The Teacher Librarian as a Leader

Dianne McKenzie

Written for course requirements for the M.App. Sc. in TL through Charles Sturt University. 1999. Updated 20 May 2002

The role of the Teacher librarian in a school is a dynamic and unique role as it usually entails the responsibility of running the school library as a head of department, but without the official recognition of being such. The responsibilities includes resource management, customer service, collaborative planning, liason with colleagues, promotion of the library services, keeping abreast of new technology as it pertains to education, teach , motivate, respond, follow policy and instructions, develop policy and procedure and a number of other responsibilities. In effecting these roles, the teacher librarian is both a part of the school body and a leader within the school.The role of the leader is complex and multidimensional (Lashway 1996). There are so many factors which determine a leader, what and how their thoughts, actions, emotions and values combine to meet with different situations and people.The role of the teacher librarian as a leader will be further explored in this paper.

 

Ontario Prevention Clearinghouse (1997) and Hough and Paine (1997) suggest that leaders create circumstances in which people can collaborate and support each other. As part of their role the teacher librarian needs to collaborate with others, being involved in the design, writing and evaluation of the curriculum and linking together related units. (Oberg 1990) The teacher Librarian needs to be able to work with individuals and faculties to design programmes which will enrich student learning in all strands. They also need to work with the students, creating opportunities for team research and instruction, and motivating them to reach their potential as team players.

 

Linked with this requirement is that of having a vision. Vision is a keyword in much of the literature in leadership (Bolman and Deal 1997, Lashway 1997, Burke 1998, Barron 1996). It is the overall picture of the ideal or direction the organisation is to move. The teacher librarian needs to have a vision of how they and the library will work within the school and the community, what would be the ideal situation for this relationship and then design methods of achieving it. The teacher librarian is in a unique position in the school as they see the total picture - how everything works together and, with this perspective thay need to have an ideal to move towards so that growth may occur. A vision is dynamic, allowing for growth and change as one moves closer to the vision becoming a reality. Hogan (1998) states that a part of being a leader with vision is to be able to persuade and motivate people to follow your vision. There are many instances where a teacher librarian may have to use their powers of persuasion - change of policy oor procedure, to innovate new ideas, to help teachers plan in a collaborating planning situation.

 

Roden (1997) suggests that school leaders need to have a working knowledge of what they are leading and making decisions about. Teacher librarians need to be on the cutting edge of technology advances, curriculum design, research processes, and marketing to be able to persuade others to set aside their personal preoccupations to meet tthe vision. Through this knowledge, the teacher librarian can display integrity and gain respect from peers and customers. Roden (1997) also states that a leader of students needs to lead by example - be a leader of actions. This will motivate teachers and students to a clear understanding of the goals and visions they are working towards. The teacher librarian needs to be seen doing what they vocalize and believe in. This again gains respect and credibility. Lashway ( 1996) states that leaders teach through words and actions, as suboordinates take cues from leaders.

 

Kaufman (1997) mentions that good leaders must also be good learners. In the quest for a vision of lifelong learning, the teacher librarian must also be seen to be continually learning for their own personal growth and for discovery of new ideas. (Murphy 1999) As part of this, the process of making mistakes and learning from them needs to be promoted as an essential part of the learning process. The teacher librarian must acknowledge mistakes made, take responsibilty for them, learn from the experience and move on. (Smartleadership 1999) This would nuture a development of learning and promote an atmosphere of inquiry, without fear of reprisal or failure. An important aspect of creativity and improvement.

 

As professionals dealing with change in a fast changing world, the teacher librarian needs to be an innovator and not be afraid of change, but in fact embrace it as an opportunity for growth. (Murphy 1999). They need to create an environment in which creativity and innovative behaviour by others is encouraged and rewarded. (Nolan 1987). The teacher librarian needs to be open to new ideas and accept change as part of the learning process, (Duignan 1996) and at the same time help others to understand this concept, whilst being sympathetic to the emotional risks of doing something new. (Nolan 1987) They need to protect the self esteem of individuals as they learn and experiement, and learn from these new experiences. (Nolan 1987). The teacher librarian needs to bear in mind that others may need more time to adjust to the idea of change (Fullan 1998) and that those who resist do so usually because of perspectives and situations which may not have been percieved earlier. As part of being a change agent, the leader needs to have good problem solving skills, negotiaion and good communication skills as these are essential to help new ideas come to fruition. (Fullan 1998)

 

In much of the literature describing what effective leadership is, relationships and communication are two of the key areas which are continually mentioned. Bolman and Deal (1997) state that leadership is a three way relationship between the leader, the constituent and the concepts, with the constituents and the concepts being the most powerful forces of the relationship. Bulach, Pickett and Booth (1999) state that relationships are the major aspect of leadership, for if there is no one to lead, then there is no leader. Smartleadership mag-ezine (1999) suggests that the greater your relationship with someone, the greater your influence with them. They extend this further by saying that leaders need to know their followers passions, personalities and preoccupations so that the leader can understand each persons ideals, and how the group objectives translate into personal values for each individual. It also allows the leader to influence others with integrity and in a way which uniquely fits the individual, making processes much more personal. Searcy (1998) moves on to to point out that the leader should work at every relationship being intentional, need based, forgiving, flexible, long term, unique, encouraging, necessary co-operative and energizing. The leaders should be sincerely interested in those around them. The teacher librarian has an opportunity to know everyone in the school - all the administrators, teachers, students, support staff and parents. Working with the Samrtleadership principals, the teacher librarian needs to formulate a unique relationship with every person. They can do this by greeting all by name, finding out there name if they do not know it, asking questions about their interests, needs, make small talk with them, use humour. Help people to solve their problems and be interested in their lives. By being personal with each individual the teacher librarians network grows, as this grows so does the teachers perceived integrity and the possibility of influence. Murphy (1999) states that the influence needs to be guided by professional expertise with a moral imperative. As rapport increases, the relationship increases the possibilities of helping people connect with the resources they require - the main role of the teacher librarian.

 

Through the relationships and influence of the teacher librarian, the library takes on a personality, as the leader defines the culture they lead. (Peterson and Deal 1998) If the leader of the library is interested in people, then the library becomes a comfortable, happy place where people want to be and to be involved. If the leader is dynamic, encourasging, flexible, organised and an innovator, it is more than likely that the library service will reflect this. The teacher librarian determines what is on offer in the library, if the teacher librarian is a risk taker then there will be more than the ordinary on offer. (Handbook for school librarians 1996)

 

Trust is an important component of relationships (Hough and Paine 1997). The degree of trust given to leaders is an indication of how leaders are performing with regard to their leadership qualities. (Hogan 1998) Developing trust begins with the leader trusting others, it then takes time and successful actions to earn trust from others, but a trust which cannot be betrayed for fear of losing all credibility, integrity, respect and trust. Through trust, the leader is able to influence others into making decisions and supporting them in new ideas or actions which need to be taken to achieve the vision and goals.

 

Part of being an effective leader is empowering others to make decisions and to help others develop leadership qualities. (Barth 1998, Beare Cladwell and Millikan 1990). The teacher librarian has many opportunities to interact with others and to help them realise their leadership strengths - both in staff and students. One of the interestng findings by Barron (1996) is that a good leader is dispensible. If they have done a good job of empowering others there will be no problems if the leader is absent for a short or long period. The staff and students will be ready to take over as they have confidence in themselves to manage the actions using the behaviours required. They will be empowered to move out of their normal role and take the risk of doing something new. They will have the infrastructure in set in place to make good decisions based on policy, ethics and have the confidence they will make the right decision. As part of this the teacher librarian must then accept the behaviour as an opportunity for growth, if mistakes are made, teach the person responsible to learn from it and move on. The teacher librarians reaction to the behavoiur and decision will determine future behavours by the learner.

 

Bear et al (1990) would place this under building morale, encouraging growth and creativity and involving others in decision making. If others have been in volved in problem solving and decision making previously, they will understand the process and be confident in their own ability. (Chambers 1998) This encourages autonomy in the work place.

 

Part of the decision making process required by the leader is the acceptance of responsibility or accountability for the action taken. The teacher librarian must take responsibility for the decisons if they are to develop trust and be seen as having integrity. The leader also needs to act on ethical and moral grounds, with their behaviour and decisions reflecting their vocalized thoughts and beliefs. This type of behaviour would be relected through their involvement in policy making, whole school procedures, planning for future events and routine behaviour. (Duignan 1996) They need to be aware of the short and long term goals in their decision making, and make decisions based on a balance of these. (Lashway 1996)

 

A good leader is also a good follower, they need to develop the capacity to be directed and guided, be highly motivated and highly disciplined in carrying out responsibilities to completion. To be shown to be reliable and dependable, consistent and committed to completing tasks, whilst at the same being a critical thinker will elevate the influence and percieved integrity in the eyes of the leader of the situation. (Barron 996) The teacher librarian works within a school system where they are not the leader for the overall situation. They must respect the decisons of the head teachers, principals, departments and work within the paradigms set by these leaders. By displaying the qualities mentioned, the teacher librarian will become more influential with these leaders and be seen to have integrity and can be trusted in all aspects of their field. The principals backing of the library and the teacher librarian is essential for effective programs to be implemented and maintained. (Hay and Henri 1995 ) By being an effective follower, the teacher librarian strengthens their leadership position and serves as a role model for those the teacher librarian leads.

 

As a leader, Nolan (1987) suggests to set demanding objectives and stimulate problem solving to discover ways to achieve the apparently impossible. An effective leader is able to solve problems by making the best decision from the known choices. By involving others in the creation of the options and the decision making processes the leader empowers others, educates in the techniques of of problem solving and decision making and acceptance of the consequences. A teacher librarian has much opportunity to help others learn the decision making and problem solving techniques by providing opportunities for students, teachers and administrators in effective utilization of the library resources through creating experiences where the learners need to think about ideas, and create their own approaches to the problem. (Tallman 1995) The environment needs to be designed by the librarian so that resources can be easily discovered or found by the seekers - to empower them further in making decisions on what resources would best suit their needs (Tallman 1995) so they can be independent explorers of information, which then gives them possesion of their own learning. (Cross 1996) A good leader does not solve all the problems, they ensure the problems are solved. (Lashway 1996) The teacher librarian is not the 'slave' of the researchers - they are there to educate and empower others by helping them to solve their own problems.

 

As part of the design of a leadership model , Murphy and Shipman (1999) mention that leaders should lead with people, not through them and the organisation should be made to fit the customer, rather then the customer needing to fit in the environment. The teacher librarian as leader of the library needs to make it user friendly for everyone - from booking a video taping, borrowing resources, assistance in locating resources to the technology available. The teacher lirarian needs to demonstrate the ethic of care to all members of the school community. (Murphy and Shipman 1999). They need to treat their clients as important customers so they will leave satisfied with the service and will want to return. The teacher librarian should be aware of total quality management principals and implement them into the library culture.

 

Communication is a large part of the leadership roles, as without it, there would be no leader. Communication is the basis for relationships and teaching, therefore it is imperative that the TL has a knowledge of communication skills. If the leader of the library is innovative, open to suggestions, has a good rapport with their clients, plan the environment so it is easy to move around, this opens the possibilities for questions and approachability. The teacher librarian needs to have skills in finding out what people really need, and to begin this they need to approach others, initiate contact, show interest , listen and then act on the information they have. The teacher librarian needs to be aware of and sensitive to how their message is recieved, and the climate set with each intervention. (Skow 1996) Irmsher (1996) states that an effective leader will seek first to understand then to be understood. To do this the teacher librarian needs skills in using open ended and focused questions, which draw more infornation from the seeker, and listening skills. Irmsher (1996) mentions that 93% of a message is sent non verbally, so the teacher librarian needs to be aware of their body language, facial expressions, voice tone, personal appearance and how the combination affects messages. It is through communication that relationships are built and credibility is developed. To have a productive rapport with all those you meet is certainly an advantage when needing people for support. Kline ( 1999) mentions that effective productivity depends on effective communication, others mention that if the 'followers' do not respect or trust their leader, they will subversivly and unconsciousley deprive the leader of achieving their goals.(Hogan 1998)

 

Levine and Crow (1993) state that leaders learn through listening and people respond to those who listen. Listening is the most important of all the communication skills as it shows respect for the speaker, their needs and concerns. Levine and Crow (1993) continue by stating that people won't say what they think, nor listen to what you say unless a foundation of genuine trust and shared interest has been laid. Leadership requires patience, listening and mediating. (Ontario Prevention Clearinghouse 1997) The teacher librarian needs to make time to form relationships, to listen to people, to be a sounding board for new ideas.

 

As part of being a good leader, Burke (1997) suggests that being able to diagnose accurately how he or she is affecting and is being affected by followers, and then be able to adjust behaviour accordingly. They need to be attuned to the nature of relationships and be able able to make behavioural adjustments to maintain , if not improve these relationships in order to realize the vision and accomplish the mission. Leadership is contextual in that leaders need to match their style to the situation, taking into account the combined effects of their subordinates and their characteristics, the situation and the culture of the setting.( Church 1998) The teacher librarian needs to have a working knowledge of different techniques of leadership and the practicalities and be able to use them in the appropriate settings.

 

There are anumber of personal characteristics identified in effective leaders - high energy and boundless enthusiasm (Barron1996), flexibility and adaptability, (Burke 1998) organisational diagnosis, (Gehurke 1991) a deep commitment to outcomes moving into a passion. (Bolman and Deal 1997) They need to be honest, sincere, fair, have a clear focus, have established meaning, belief and faith. (Bolman and Deal 1997) Be forgiving, ethical, consistent and predictable, (Hough and Paine 1997) responsible (Beare et al 1990) and to be be aware of weaknesses both in their leadership and personal qualities. (Bulach et al 1998). The teacher librarian, therefore needs to display or develop these characteristics if they wish to become an effective leader within their school and community setting.

 

Leadership creates the future, provides guidance, direction, inspiation and empowers people to realize their own leadership potential. (Barron 1996) The teacher librarian's role is undergoing a huge transformation with many conflicts and challenges arising which need to be addressed if the teacher librarians role is to be maintained as an important component of education for life. It is because of this and the striving for continous improvement that teacher librarians need to be effective leaders, they need to be trusted as key educators, they need to have influence with people to gain support to move forward, they need good interpersonal and communication skills to convey their messages, and they need to be innovative and adaptable to the changes which are occurring. If teacher librarians are to create their future, they need to be leaders in their field.

 

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