LIBE 467 - Theme 3 - How to be a librarian without a library

(image sourced from Pixabay.com)

This course has fundamentally shifted my views and skill set in what it means to be a teacher-librarian. In conjunction with COVID-19’s widespread shutdown of schools, I have been forced to utilize and put into action the digital Information Service skills learned and discussed in this course. My comfort zone in the learning commons is books. Reading picture books aloud, connecting readers to new series and sharing book talks is what I am good at. Learning about effective research, and supporting teachers through inquiry and utilizing new tools was my area of growth for this term. What an incredible opportunity to put this into action. As noted in Riedling, “the role of reference services in the school library is to help students use library resources to obtain relevant and credible information to meet their needs (…)  helping students define their information needs, creating learning environments for collaboration, teaching students to use online catalogue and databases and helping students distinguish good information from bad” (Riedling, p. 3), and this all continues to be relevant and true.  

Teacher Librarians connect people with resources. With the almost hourly changes of the educational landscape and resources available, at the moment, this means curating and sharing these resources with others. As a teacher librarian, this is my job, and I feel overwhelmed with the vast amount of resources that are constantly being made available. It is truly incredible, the way in which authors, illustrators, artists and publishers are making material available. I am connected and consuming information at an incredible rate. 

(image sourced from google images) 

How can I effectively locate, sift through and then connect material to teachers, students and families? Before this course, I had a Twitter and Instagram accounts, in the past month, I have also launched a Learning Commons blog, a Padlet and YouTube channel (which I will delve into further in assignment #3.) to effectively organize and share resources.   But I am finding, it requires much more effective communication skills, and an even more proactive attitude than before. Instead of connecting teachers with the new atlas in the reference section of the library, I am seeking out virtual field trips of the sites that they were slated to attend. Instead of stopping in classroom to walk a teacher through a new skill, I am posting how-to videos for teachers. I am blogging about the online reference centre’s resources and, and collaborating with teams on what digital citizenship looks like in a Zoom classroom. 

The role of teacher librarian has changed, yes, but the basics remain constant. Connect with people and help them locate the resources they need. Can I be a librarian without my library? Absolutely. I am learning and growing at an incredible rate, and I am so grateful that this course was the one I was in when COVID happened, as I am immediately putting my learning into action. 

Works Cited

Riedling, Ann Marlow and Cynthia Houston. (2019) Reference Skills for the library media specialist: tools and tips. 4th Ed. Worthington, Ohio.