For+Principals

==Building Great School Libraries - the Role of the Principal and the Teacher Librarian ==

===The Educational Role of the Teacher Librarian === Teacher librarians support and implement the vision of their school communities.

The Melbourne Declaration on Educational Goals for Young Australians 2008 states that students need “to develop a range of generic and employability skills that have particular application to the world of work and further education and training, such as planning and organising, the ability to think ﬂexibly, to communicate well and to work in teams. Young people also need to develop the capacity to think creatively, innovate, solve problems and engage with new disciplines.“ They need to be skilled in sharing, using, developing and processing information, especially through ICT, what is called information and ICT literacy. Teacher librarians can be partners with teachers and transformational leaders in schools in supporting authentic, constructivist student learning and information literacy. Debbie Abilock, widely known for innovation curriculum design and web projects that teach critical thinking, gives us this new definition for information literacy. “Information literacy is a transformational process in which the learner needs to find, understand, evaluate, and use information in various forms to create for personal, social, or global purposes” (“Information literacy from prehistory to K-20: A new definition” in //Knowledge Quest//, Vol.32:4, March/April 2004).

The professional standards for school libraries,//[|Learning for the Future: Developing Information Services in Schools] //(Australian School Library Association and the Australian Library and Information Association, 2nd ed. Curriculum Corporation, 2001) state that central to the role of the professional teacher librarian is the development of students who are information literate, independent learners. They further state that this occurs best through teaching approaches which are resource-based, allowing ’students to learn from their own confrontation with information resources’; with school library services that are integrated into all school activities at the point of need, and with the management of these services by ‘a qualified teacher librarian’.

Qualified teacher librarians hold recognised dual qualifications in teaching and school librarianship. //[|Standards of professional excellence for teacher librarians] //, published in 2004 by ALIA/ASLA, has been used by Teaching Australia as an example of best practice for professional standards for teachers. Yet, in recent years it appears that the staffing of school libraries with qualified teacher librarians and support staff has declined.

This is happening even though there is a strong body of research linking quality school libraries to student academic achievement. It “shows that a strong library program, with a full-time library professional, support staff and a strong computer network that connects the library’s resources to the classroom, leads to higher student achievement regardless of the socio-economic or educational levels of the adults in the community’ ([|Lonsdale Report], 2003).
 * Leading principals support information literacy, not just information technology.
 * Leading principals support school libraries that are staffed by full-time, qualified teacher-librarians and support staff.
 * Leading principals support equitable funding for all school libraries.

Librarians are there:
 * What librarians & Google are for...**

To help, aid, assist. To teach, collate, enthuse. To catalogue, index, arrange, organise. To find, discover, promote, display. To interest, intrigue, amuse and amaze. To instill wonder. To help children, adults, old people, the underprivileged, the rich, the poor, those with voices and those without. To protect resources, to archive them, to store them, to save them for the future. To provide differing viewpoints, to engender thought, conversation, research, fun. To provide the best answer possible, to match the answer to the enquirer, to provide just enough information without overwhelming the user, but enough to always help. To better a local community, a company, a school, a college, an organisation, a country, the world.

Google is there: To make money. from []

**Ten things you can do to support quality school libraries for quality teaching and improved student learning.**


 * <span style="color: #000080; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Gary Hartzell “has pointed out that when information is limited, people tend to rely on stereotypes to make their judgments” (Oberg, D. Feb 2006 “Developing the respect and support of school administrators.” //Teacher Librarian).// Buy your own copy of //<span style="border-bottom-color: silver; border-bottom-style: dotted; border-bottom-width: 1px; text-decoration: none;">Learning for the Future //for a vision of what an excellent school library service can do for your students and teachers.
 * <span style="color: #000080; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Include an annual report on your school library and its contribution to student learning in your annual school report (See examples below).
 * <span style="color: #000080; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Develop staff awareness of the role an excellent teacher librarian might take in your school and develop a plan to facilitate this. Do you have an <span style="border-bottom-color: silver; border-bottom-style: dotted; border-bottom-width: 1px; text-decoration: none;">information literate school community ?
 * <span style="color: #000080; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Familiarize yourself with the <span style="border-bottom-color: silver; border-bottom-style: dotted; border-bottom-width: 1px; text-decoration: none;">Research which shows that quality school libraries with qualified teacher librarians can make a difference.
 * <span style="color: #000080; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Work toward developing Fullan’s culture for change, a culture for sharing and collaborating. <span style="border-bottom-color: silver; border-bottom-style: dotted; border-bottom-width: 1px; text-decoration: none;">Facilitate teacher and teacher librarian collaborative teaching.
 * <span style="color: #000080; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Ask your teacher librarian to speak to staff about <span style="border-bottom-color: silver; border-bottom-style: dotted; border-bottom-width: 1px; text-decoration: none;">information literacy models and programs.
 * <span style="color: #000080; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Develop <span style="border-bottom-color: silver; border-bottom-style: dotted; border-bottom-width: 1px; text-decoration: none;">a school-wide program for information and technology literacy across the curriculum, embedded in all subjects and taught in context.
 * <span style="color: #000080; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;"><span style="color: #000080; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Organize regular discussion times with your teacher librarian to discuss plans, policies, programs and improvement of professional practice. [|One model for performance development]is provided by the Queensland Department of Education. Link to [|QTU DET Joint Statement on DPF implementation] - [|Link to DET page with FAQs about the DPF]
 * <span style="color: #000080; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Ensure your teacher librarian can participate in year and faculty meetings, in school professional development and <span style="border-bottom-color: silver; border-bottom-style: dotted; border-bottom-width: 1px; text-decoration: none;">curriculum planning.
 * <span style="color: #000080; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Recruit and hire professionally qualified library staff.

<span style="color: #000080; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">**Professional Reading**
<span style="color: #000080; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;"> Filippi, Marlene (2008). [|Are you the Principal of an information literate school community?], //Australian Educational Leader// Vol 30 No 3. <span style="color: #000080; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;"> Hartzell, Gary (2002). “ [|Why Principals Should Support School Libraries“] (ERIC, 2002). <span style="color: #000080; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;"> Hay, Lyn and Foley, Colleen (2009). “ School libraries building capacity for student learning in 21C ” in //Scan// Vol 28 No 2 May. <span style="color: #000080; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;"> Johnson, Doug (2005). [|Getting the Most from Your School Library Media Program] in //Principal//, Jan/Feb. <span style="color: #000080; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 13px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 1em;">McGhee, M and Jansen, B. (2005).//The Principal’s guide to a powerful library media program// (Linworth Books, Worthington, Ohio). <span style="color: #000080; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Neary,Kerry (2007). “ School libraries: making a difference “ published in its original form in //The Queensland Principal: the Journal of the Association of State School// <span style="color: #000080; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;"> //Principals Inc.,// Vol. 3, No. 3, September. Also republished in // Connections // Vol 69 Term 2 2009//.// Updated and republished for an Australia wide audience: // The Australian // <span style="color: #000080; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">// Educational Leader 2009// <span style="color: #000080; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;"> Spence, Sue (2006). “ Creating 21st century learning communities “. //Principal Matters,// VASSP, Melbourne, Victoria. Issue No. 67, Winter, and “Teacher librarians, an under utilised asset in  <span style="color: #000080; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;"> schools in //Curriculum Leadership//, Vol 3 Issue 14, 20 May 2005. <span style="color: #000080; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Wylie, Terry (2008). ‘Winds of change’ in //Scan// 27(1) February, pp. 26–27. <span style="color: #000080; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 13px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 1em;"> Terry, Principal at Caringbah High School, outlines the important role of the teacher librarian in leading and supporting staff and students to be effective users of ICT in <span style="color: #000080; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 13px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 1em;"> the 21st <span style="color: #000080; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">century. Terry acknowledges the leadership qualities of the school's teacher librarian.

<span style="color: #000080; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 13px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 1em;">In 2000, the American Association of School Librarians sent this <span style="border-bottom-color: silver; border-bottom-style: dotted; border-bottom-width: 1px; text-decoration: none;">Principal’s Manual brochure to every primary principal in the US to help them evaluate their school library program.

<span style="color: #000080; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 1.1em;">SCHOOL LIBRARY REPORTS
<span style="color: #000080; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;"> Principals are a key to supporting and developing excellent school library services for quality teaching and higher student achievement.

===<span style="color: #000080; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; line-height: 19px;">Do you require an annual report on how your school library has contributed to the school's mission and goals? Here are some examples of what can be done: ===

<span class="s1" style="color: #000080; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">[|Fullerton (California) Union HS District library report] <span class="s1" style="color: #000080; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">[|Myrtle Grove (North Carolina) Middle School library repo]rt <span class="s1" style="color: #000080; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">[|Solon (Iowa) Community School District library report] <span class="s1" style="color: #000080; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">[|Grant Wood Area Education Agency, Cedar Rapids, Iowa, Report library usage] <span class="s1" style="color: #000080; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">[|Creekwood High School (Canton, Georgia) Annual Library Report] <span class="s1" style="color: #000080; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">[| Macalester College (St Paul, Minnesota) Library Report]