The Role of the Teacher Librarian

Role of the Teacher Librarian

   There is a perception by the school community that the internet will replace libraries. From the readings during the course it seems now more than ever Teacher Librarians (TLs) need to justify their role within the school (Purcell, 2010). A seminar I went to by Lyn Hay and Ross Todd (2011) part of it was looking at what was happening in California in the United States and how the Teacher Librarian had to justify their position in schools. The seminar asked TLs to have more of a voice at school and to keep records of work to use as evidence of student and staff learning. Purcell (2010) has said it has become necessity for Teacher Librarians to prove their worth and provide evidence of their role within the school. Having started this course and working as a Teacher Librarian I can see how precarious the position of a Teacher Librarian can be.

  Teacher Librarians are accused of being invisible, perhaps not their own fault but as the nature of the job. Isolated in the library the Teacher Librarian has limited access to the other staff especially the principle (Oberg, 2006). School administrators are not aware of the vital role Teacher Librarians have and can have in their school especially when looking at a school in the 21st century (Lamb & Johnson, 2008, Purcell, 2010). Teacher Librarians now need to prove their worth to their school and can no longer rely on the assumption that every school needs a library when I have had teachers make the statement ‘we have the internet now we don’t need you’. Oberg (2006) states the Teacher Librarian can gain the respect and support of their principal and school through building their professional credibility as school leaders and catalysts of change. Teacher Librarians has to be school leaders, Oberg (2006) suggests being part of or starting school initiatives. This course has shown me that to help insure the continued role of a Teacher Librarian and their importance in the school environment Teacher Librarians need to be leaders within their community (Church, 2011).

   Another leadership role is whole school teaching and learning, such as information literacy skills being part of all subject teaching. TLs have a responsibility to teacher information literacy skills to their students and to push for these skills to be included in curriculum frameworks (Braxton, 2008). As an information specialist I enjoy helping students to discover resources whether for leisure or research. It is worthwhile seeing a student enthusiastic and excited over having learned something new.

   Teacher Librarians leads as an information specialist by the effective integration and use of information technology (Church, 2011). Technology has revolutionised the way we access technology and students as well as staff need to be taught how to access it and use it affectively with the available tools (Purcell, 2010). The Teacher Librarian has taken on the role as a technologist specialist, with identifying technology needs, promoting effective uses of technology and instruction of technologies. As information became more readily available through technology, Teacher Librarians had to become the expert to provide a service to its customers (Lamb & Johnson, 2008). The library profession saw this move and made sure they keep up with the changes. The school administrators saw the technology change but may have missed the Library doing its best to keep up with it. This new technology role the Teacher Librarian has taken on is not communicated to the rest of the school (Herring, 2007).

   An essential role of the TL is collaboration with teachers. Not just for student learning and teacher development, but to ensure the school community is aware of the important role Teacher Librarians can play in a student’s education. The role of the Teacher Librarian is to be an instruction partner within the school (Purcell, 2010) and collaboration with the classroom teacher allows the integration instruction in 21st century skills with curriculum content (Church, 2011). Collaboration I have noticed in my readings and through personal experience that it can be a hit and miss affair with its success. TL I believe need to have an input in the subject program as well as the collaborative teaching stage, to have an equal partnership. I would like more time to sit down with the class room teacher to prepare a better relationship and therefore a better collaborative program. Studies have shown that successful collaboration between Teacher Librarians and classroom teachers benefit students academically (Lance, Rodney & Schwarz, 2010).

   TLs are to evolve with the times and are expected to be leaders, program and information services administrators, instructional partners, information specialists, and teachers (Braxton, 2008). With so many roles you would expect the school community to appreciate the work a TL gives to the school, yet it seems to go unnoticed. A large role of the TL, which I have concluded from the readings, is that TLs need to clearly articulate their roles to the school community so they are aware of the contribution they make to a school (Purcell, 2010). If we don’t, we could face cutbacks or worse job loses. I didn’t realise I would have to spend so much time justifying my employment.


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Braxton, B (2008) The teacher librarian as literacy leader. Teacher Librarian, 35 (3), p. 22026

Church, A.P (2011) School librarians as teacher leaders. The Delta Kappa Gamma Bulletin, p. 10-12

Herring, J. E. (2007). Teacher librarians in the school library. Libraries in the twenty-first century : charting new directions in information services. Centre for Information Studies, Charles Sturt University, Wagga Wagga, NSW. ch.2, p. 27-42

Lamb, A & Johnson, L. (2008) School library media specialist 2.0: a dynamic collaborator, teacher, and technologist. Teacher Librarian, 36 (2), p. 74-78.

Lance, K. C, Rodney, M. J. & Schwarz, B. (2010) Collaboration works: when it happens. Teacher Librarian, 37 (5), p. 30-36.

Oberg, D (2006) Developing the respect and support of school administrators. Teacher Librarian, 33 (3). p. 13-18

Purcell, M (2010) All librarians do is check out books, right? a look at the roles of a school library media specialist. Library Media Connection, p. 30-33.

Todd, R. J (2011) Guided Inquiry at work: insights from AIS research project. Syba Signs