Suzette's+Site1+case+study

 SITE ONE DESCRIPTION

Site one is a State Primary School with a student population of 450. This inner north location has seen an increase in enrolments due to a population growth in the area. To manage this increase, the school has built several new classrooms in the lower school and a new hall and library. The new library was funded by the Building Education Revolution (BER) and has moved to a completely new wing in the school. It’s new location is close to all classrooms and the new hall and technology lab. The library has been open for seven months with a classroom teacher being offered the position of Teacher-librarian.

THE ROLE OF THE SCHOOL LIBRARY WITHIN THE SCHOOL

A conversation with the principal acknowledged that the role of the school library is in a phase of change. The new library is very modern in style and is situated next to a new technology room. The role of the library will become a place where teachers and students can develop and use information and digital literacies as well as independent reading.

Outside of the curriculum, the library is used as a space for children to spend time alone reading or to play board games in small groups. For the teachers it is being used to further their own professional development with most workshops being held there due to its positioning next to the computer lab and access to an interactive white board. It also holds all curriculum texts and resources for the teachers.

THE ROLE OF THE TEACHER LIBRARIAN The TL was not given a role description by the principal and was redirected to the Education Qld website and to other professional organisations such as the Australian Library Information Association (ALIA) the Australian School Library Association (ASLA) and the OZTL listserver. As well as using these websites, the TL enlisted a mentor from a nearby school to help her establish her role within the library.

The TL in site 1 established a library program for the students that focussed on literature, information skills and resource selection. The ten hour teaching component of her timetable is where she teaches information literacy, bringing together the concepts from the classroom to the explicit teaching of skills in the library lessons. She guides all children in searching for the book that would most suit their reading age and containing the most valid information. After finding material that responds to the task and that children can gain meaning from, the TL assists the students to draw conclusions from what they have read. Her lessons vary not only in content but in the skills that are taught. For example, the variety of lessons vary from finding and locating a particular author with the younger grades to teaching research skills with the year 7’s in preparation for their NAPLAN writing piece.

The TL sees her role as providing an environment that is both welcoming, interesting and user friendly. The library is open every 2nd break and available for any student wanting to use it. Families have donated board games and other activities such as reading and drawing are available for use. Furnishings such as beanbags and modular furniture create a soft and comfortable place to sit together.

The TL also has the responsibility to provide quality reading literature from children of all ages. She serves as an advocate for literature and promotes a love of reading by reading daily to children, providing book displays, and staying abreast of popular authors.

The TL has stated that her pedagogical approach relates to making connections with what is being taught in the classroom. As a previous classroom teacher and a TL who attends year level planning meetings, her knowledge of the curriculum allows her to make connections to the classroom. At the beginning of each new lesson, the TL activates prior knowledge with the students and creates a new set of questions to research. This strategy is known as the K-W-L. As questions are established, the TL explicitly teaches information seeking strategies based on her library layout. As children locate and access the information she works with small groups to evaluate what they have found. The TL in site 1 has a broad knowledge of the curriculum across all grade levels and is able to contribute ideas and resources during the planning meetings. Because of this knowledge across the grades, the TL is now the ACARA advisor and is being trained to deliver workshops in using ACARA. Building her expertise in this way helps to establish gaps in the library's resource collection. Aside from being seen as the
 * PEDAGOGY AND CURRICULUM DEVELOPMENT**

The TL’s role in staff development at this stage is ongoing. She is currently training new teachers on the use of Interactive Whiteboards and as she discovers new ways to use the Whiteboards, she makes this information available to all during staff meetings and through modelled lessons at the library. As her own training progresses, she foresees that it will be her role to show leadership with all information and digital literacies.
 * STAFF DEVELOPMENT AND COLLABORATION**

The TL believes that collaborating and using her expertise to develop units with other teachers, provides the best outcomes for student learning. To foster this collaborative approach, the TL took steps to include library lessons as a part of the classroom timetabling and not to be seen as a specialist lesson. The expectation is that the TL and teacher work alongside each other throughout the lesson although what is observed is that the TL takes leadership in the lesson as the focus is on research skills while the teacher may make contributions.

The TL influences the development of literacy and information aspects of the curriculum by planning with teachers and implementing those plans in the classroom and the library. In the library, the TL and teacher enhance children’s content knowledge through explicit lessons in information literacy. In consecutive lessons, the TL draws on the selection of books that suit the topic and will construct a written piece with the class in draft form. The children use the draft to construct a final piece with their teacher in the classroom. The TL provides the resources and teaches the children where to access these resources. In this way, children are being taught in a way to enhance their content knowledge. The TL promotes literacy development by immersing the students in a print rich environment not only on the shelves, but in book displays, signage, author studies and through daily ‘read-a-louds’. Modeled and shared readings are a common practice in primary settings and helps develop a love of literature and independent reading.
 * INFORMATION AND LITERACY DEVELOPMENT**

The TL is responsible for managing the library resources including culling, purchasing and cataloguing. The TL’s tasks include the acquisition of new resources based on common and frequent requests from students and teachers and her familiarity with popular fiction and nonfiction. The TL sees cataloguing as a great way to get to know the resources held in the library. Since the library is relatively small, culling is mainly done as books deteriorate. A major cull occurred last year in preparation for the relocation of the library.
 * LIBRARY MANAGEMENT**

The TL anticipates that her vision for the future will evolve as her own training and expertise develops. In anticipation of more computers and faster internet access, the TL will need training to become more of an expert in the field of digital literacy. The TL hopes to establish a library committee of teachers, parents and administrative staff. This committee will help to create a Library missions statement and a policy and procedures manual. She also hopes to establish a school library website that teachers and students can use for learning and fun.
 * VISIONS FOR THE FUTURE**