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THE SITES The obvious difference between the three sites analysed in this synthesis is the system that the school belongs to. Sites 2 and 3 are non-government high schools and Site 1 is an Education QLD primary school. Whilst there are some similarities, each site faces unique issues in meeting best practice in various areas of the ASLA & ALIA Standards Document (ASLA & ALIA, 2009). It is apparent from the three case studies that these Standards form the framework for the many decisions made and the management of each library site.

One of the key differences between the three sites is the fact that Sites 2 and 3 employ qualified Teacher Librarians and support staff. On the other hand, Site 1 operates with a teacher who has no formal training in Teacher Librarianship. Oberg (2002) reports "that libraries staffed with qualified library staff could have a positive impact on student achievement." Bonnano supports this view by affirming "that every school library should be staffed by a fully qualified Teacher Librarian to ensure life long learning" (Bonnano, 2010, p 5). Each of the three sites is managed by a professional and passionate Teacher Librarian regardless of their formal qualifications.

THE ROLE OF THE LIBRARY WITHIN THE SCHOOL Each site exhibits a different focus in how the library is utilised and operated. For example, Site 3 has a strong emphasis on ICTs; Site 1 is more focused on literacy; and Site 2 seems to view its purpose as providing a combination of both literacy and ICTs to the students. The ASLA & ALIA Standards Document identifies each of these areas as important aspects of teacher librarians working at a level of excellence. Equally important, they acknowledge that, "Excellent teacher librarians engage and challenge learners within a supportive, information-rich learning environment" (ASLA & ALIA, 2009). This information-rich environment is evident in all three sites, albeit in different formats.

All three sites provide a place for learning, literacy and digital access and are seen as central to students’ development**.** In particular, Site 2, and to some degree Site 1, are seen as the location for additional events that enhance the social and cultural development of students within the school. Being able to use the library at lunch breaks to play games as well as access ICTs for homework and assignments out of usual class times is viewed by many students as an important aspect of their school day. They value the opportunities to use these services to improve their achievement levels (Hay, 2006). La Marca also supports this by stating that this opportunity to use the library as a place for recreation allows for students to view the library as a place that is relevant to them and therefore attracts them to the library (La Marca, 2010, p 18).

THE ROLE OF THE TEACHER LIBRARIAN The TL at Site 2 emphasised her view that the role of the TL is primarily to provide curriculum related support, including physical resources, to teachers and students. This is due in part to the caretaker role that this TL is employed in. The TL at Site 1 also commented that providing resources for teachers was a primary part of the role. Site 3's TL highlighted the fact that collaboration and consultation were key components of her role. Performing this element of their roles ensures all three TLs are collaboratively planning and resourcing curriculum programs as well as having a rich understanding of the school community and curriculum (ASLA and ALIA, 2009).

PEDAGOGY AND CURRICULUM DEVELOPMENT: TLs need to have a "detailed knowledge of current educational pedagogy" (ASLA & ALIA, 2009). In recent years, the "move away from the listen-to-learn paradigm... to a discover-to-know paradigm" (Todd, 2010) has placed greater emphasis on inquiry based learning. The focus is not just on what students learn but why and how they learn. At each site, the TLs have used some pedagogical practices that have relevance to current educational philosophies, however, the extent of this varies. All sites acknowledge that student centered learning is important, but Site 3 is more definate in its espousal of a Guided Inquiry approach to learning that is constructivist in nature. Site 3 also has a clear policy on the role that digital pedagogy plays within the Guided Inquiry framework. The pedagogical approach at Site 1 is more structured and guided due to its primary school context. The fact that Site 2's TL is in a transitional role seems to have influenced a more vague stance on her pedagogical role. The latter two sites are more of a mixture of constructivist and instructivist in their approaches to pedagody.

The ASLA & ALIA Standards Document states that excellent TLs "have a comprehensive understanding of curriculum and specific programs within their schools." They also "have a sound understanding of current assessment theory and processes" (ASLA & ALIA, 2009). Site 3 employs the Dimensions of Learning Framework for the organisation of curriculum and the TL implements and embeds this in assessment and learning tasks during her collaboration with various staff members. The TLs at all three sites have demonstrated a broad knowledge which is based in their extensive experience as teachers. Similarly, they all see the provision of resources as a curriculum tool is important. At Site 3, the TL works with teachers, on request, to incorporate current assessment theory in tasks. Again, the temporary nature of the TL at Site 2 means that her role in the development of curriculum is limited to attending planning meetings so that she is updated on curriculum processes happening within the school, but with no real input for future directions and goals.

INFORMATION AND LITERACY DEVELOPMENT:

Todd (2010) states that "the primary work of the teacher librarian is that of an information learning specialist." The notion that we live in an environment where there has been an explosion of knowledge and enormous advances in technology is the background for an emphasis on information literacy skills in school libraries. Harada and Yoshina (2004), say that school libraries need to be the place where these skills are developed. The school library, "is a portal to the knowledge banks of the world" (Harada & Yoshina, 2004). As such, it is a pivotal part of the TL's role to be "well informed about information literacry theory and practice" and to be "thoroughly familiar with the information literacy and information needs, skills and interests of learners" (ASLA & ALIA, 2009). At all sites, the TLs have commented on the importance of information literacy in their role and of giving students skills in fact-finding. There seems, however, to be a lack of depth in the embedding of higher order thinking skills. The schools all identify with the dilemma that Harada and Yoshina (2004) discuss when it comes to the actual practice of developing critical thinking skills in students. At Site 3, even though the aim is to use the Information Search Process developed by Kuhlthau (cited by Pickering, 2004), the fact that the TL currently relies on one-on-one collaboration rather than a whole-school approach means that in general, students are actually operating more in a Pathfinder Approach (Pickering, 2004). The TL at Site 3 has, however, recognised this weakness and is in the process of addressing a more cohesive approach to the development of Information Literacy at a whole-school level. At Sites 1 and 2, the TLs are using the more dated Source Approach (Pickering, 2004), where the TL's role is more about gathering and providing sources. This poses some important limitations for the students as lifelong learners in all three sites.

The promotion of reading as a lifelong learning skill is heavily emphasised by academic literature and is a significant part of the TL's role. TLs are constantly attempting to make their collection of reading materials exciting and relevant.This is clearly demonstrated by the numerous communications on the promotion of reading in OZ_TEL emails. For example, an email dated 1st April, 2011, asked for advice on fiction titles suitable for Year 7 Literature Circles on the theme of "Journeys" (Swannell, L. 2011, OZTL_NET). This type of practice supports the idea that an excellent TL will "have a detailed knowledge of how to promote and foster reading" (ASLA & ALIA, 2009). The TLs at all three sites contribute effectively and directly to the promotion of reading. At Site 2 the TL attempts to have a thorough knowledge of the collection by reading all books herself for recommendation purposes. At Sites 1 and 2, the TLs both use reading aloud sessions during their time with students. All sites promote reading through the use of book displays, author visits and specialised reading areas within the library. Site 3, however, extends their range of reading services to both staff and students by using programs such as Literature Circles, Readers Cup, Staff Book Club and Book Trailers.

COLLABORATION AND LEADERSHIP

The Australian School Library Association states that, “teacher Librarians plan, teach and evaluate collaboratively with teachers to ensure the effective integration of information resources and technologies into student learning” (ASLA 2001, 62). Collaboration is seen in varying forms amongst all sites. In site two, the TL has a negotiated role as a resource provider to the curriculum. Library lessons for students are not included. According to the Teacher and Librarian Collaboration Model (TLC model) devised by Monteil-Overall, site two’s collaborative activity could be characterised as Coordination. In this phase, staff are working together to arrange schedules and manage time or in this case resources. In contrast, the TL in site one attends planning meetings and negotiates the skills she will teach in the library. This phase known as cooperation is characterised by participants dividing tasks to create the whole. Site three, however, engages in the planning process as co-teacher. The shared aspect of planning, teaching and evaluating is known as Integrated Instruction (Monteil-Overall).

Canadian researcher Dianne Oberg determined “that the staff development is critical in bringing about a more collaborative relationship between the teaching staff and the school library” (cited in Haycock p 35). All three TLs played a part in staff development by providing training to staff at scheduled staff meetings and less formally, in library lessons. Sites one and two are both responsible for updating staff on new resources and training new employees on how to use the tools in the library. Site three is seen as a leader in pedagogical practice and regularly gives staff training on Guided Inquiry through the use of staff meetings and modelled lessons. All three TLs use weekly staff meetings to coordinate learning opportunities for staff in relation to information literacy.

Each site in the case study used different levels of collaboration for different reasons. The TL in site one has just begun her role as TL and is learning the ropes while the TL in site two is a temporary TL who has returned from retirement as a replacement TL for one semester. The TL in site three is the most experienced librarian who is laying the ground work for reaching integrated curriculum. She actively participates in professional communities, implementing inquiry based learning activities and has paved her way as being seen as a valued and trusted leader amongst her colleagues.

MANAGEMENT All three school librarians see themselves as library managers. This includes the management of the library space, resources and staff and students. The TLs role in managing staff is relatively autonomous with teacher aide time limited to 5 hours. Sites two and three have a larger school population and are required to manage two aides and ICT staff. As managers, all three sites have acknowledged the need for policies and procedures. While the TL in sites one and two are yet to define in writing these policies and procedures, they both can articulate the school’s approach on challenged materials for example. The TL in site three has demonstrated professional knowledge in providing a policies and procedures manual with a mission statement that supports the vision of the school. (ASLA 2004).

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