More than just a pretty face....
and other observations on school libraries and teacher-librarianship
Quill and Quire, October 1994 , p.24. Reprinted: BCTLA Bookmark, Vol. 36, No. 2, December 1994, pp.140-1
Mission in action
It is the best of times and the worst of times...for
teacher-librarians in Canada. Just as the "information highway", the
CD-ROM and the multimediated resource base comes into view, the economy and
other factors conspire to move those "who do not enroll a class" back
to the classroom. Teacher-librarians in every province have found their
positions reduced or eliminated, their budgets slashed, their expectations
dashed. It is ironic that the long tested premise of the "school library
resource centre" was under attack just as the schools began to embrace resource-based
learning and teaching practices - approaches that demand the program that
defines the school library . Suddenly the school library becomes a
static, well intentioned backwater without specific professional direction.
Schools that previously failed to join the revolution are no longer pressured
to improve. Private schools engage in happy competition as they expand their
school library services and programs and advertise their bountiful
resources as if they had inside information on quality. ‘The University
Boy’s School now offers complete Internet connections for every student from
its well furnished, multimediated Resource Centre’. It all unfolds
as it should.
In many situations the professional has been replaced with well meaning
clerical personnel who have little insight into the complexities of the school
or its library. Much of that complexity can be applied to the task
we call "collection development". The school library collection is,
after all, the stuff of the mission, the catalyst for the instructional expectations
of the school, the raw material for the educational laboratory that is the
school. Without an adequate collection of the right stuff it will be
difficult to support and enhance the learning programs of the school and
the children. Without the educator in place in the school library how
will that collection be developed? Who will choose from all the choices?
Who will confirm the validity of previous choices? Who will keep the garbage
out? Who will search for the best?
Teacher-librarians have long acknowledged that building a good school library
collection is not a science or an art. It is a measure of planning,
of confidence in the future of the school and, the power of information to
inspire, enrich and enlarge the world. Building a school library is
not just finding the right stuff for the right kid at the right time.
Consider for a moment all the different participants in this enterprise and
their role in that collection building process. Shouldn’t teachers
be consulted to determine the dimensions of their programs so that their
expectations may be met? Shouldn’t the interests of the young people
be considered when materials are selected? Will the principal be encouraged
to increase the budget for materials if he is actively consulted about the
dimensions of the collection? Shouldn’t the continual pressures
from the parents to provide a wide range of books to stimulate reading in
the early grades be acknowledged? Can the reading interests of
the young adults in the school be met when there are conflicting expressions
of community standards pressed upon the boards and school? What measures
can be applied to test the validity of the school library collection? How
can the teacher-librarian ensure that the collection he or she develops will
provide linkages to the public library? All these terrible questions!
Those confusions are further compounded by the marketplace. What are
the tools that will help the teacher-librarian sort through all these complexities?
Here are several important bibliographies that suggest selection criteria
have been applied. Most of these tomes are U.S. based, and while
the latest editions, provide information on good stuff that may or
may not have any relevance today, nor a relationship to the curriculum in
my school. Here is a stack of publisher’s catalogues, a pile of compilations
of "reviews" both Canadian and American, lists from the several associations
I support, curriculum documents and recommended lists of"learning resources"
from provincial education offices. In addition, there is a continuous
parade of new and old materials provided by the suppliers, jobbers,
publishers and producers at displays,conferences, shows and events.
The media advises about important video programs. CD-ROM’s are increasingly
attractive. Software programs attract teachers and students. What distinction
should I make between text, teacher materials and library materials? And
here are all those goodies in the bookstores that never seem to appear in
the reviewing sources. Help!
.
The teacher-librarian may not be able to always select the best or even appreciate
all the options. Given the range of tasks they should perform in providing
meaningful learning opportunities, it is little wonder that many retreat
to the "library" part of their mandate leaving the "teacher-"part to those
who enroll classes. But those who understand their mission and are
equipped to deliver programs of importance in their schools cannot be replaced.
They are the most important resource of all, by far the most costly, the
hardest to replace and the most difficult to train. But the teacher-librarians
who can make that collection of stuff into wisdom command our attention.
We used to make jokes about how the school library was the "heart of the
school". We made a mistake. The teacher-librarian is the essential
component. Not the books, the videos, the tapes, the software programs,
the journals, the Internet. The teacher-librarian is the essential
component. The teacher-librarian is the heart of the school.
Donald Hamilton