Re: [LM_NET] Teacher Librarian - YES! - Justification

[ann reed <reedref@YAHOO.COM>]

Meg... and LM_NET'ters:
 
I most often referred to myself as teacher librarian during my many years as a high 
school librarian, but it wasn't original with me.  In 1987 I attended a week 
seminar in Victoria, British Columbia with many librarians other than U.S. 
librarians---where I discovered that in Canada that librarians are [or, at least, 
were] officially "teacher-librarians."  I loved it, since I was also certified as 
a teacher in another subject, but I have never considered librarians to be "only" 
librarians if they were not certified in another subject.
 
 "Only" a librarian... hasn't that historically been the ultimate put down in 
the K-12 environment?
 
K-12 librarians are teachers. Most elementary librarians have non-flex time and 
regularly scheduled classes. Excuse me, that makes you a teacher too. The rest of 
us who have flex time, are just as deserving of that nomenclature. How many classes 
do you have in a week, a month or a year, where you teach orientation, research 
skills, and/or whatever is needed?  How many one-on-one reference "helps" do you 
teach a year to faculty or administration as well as students? Those are 
“teaching” moments. They deserve to be recognized as such, not ignored, or 
devalued simply because they are not in a regularly scheduled class.
 
Isn’t a doctor still “doctoring” if they treat a patient somewhere other 
than their official office or their hospital?  We do not need to be in a 
regularly scheduled classroom to fulfill our teaching role.
 
Team teaching as a librarian with a regular class based teacher makes us just a 
much a teacher as any classroom based teacher.
 
Librarians are teachers of the whole continiuum including classroom teachers and 
administrators via our formal and informal one-on-one reference help sessions, but 
we are seldom recognized or rewarded for those educational 
teaching-consultant contributions.
 
“Teaching Consultant;” “Information Consultant“---would we be more 
respected if we changed our official designation?  We are all those things, as 
well as teachers.
 
In the academic venue where I am now working, our teaching role is officially 
referred to as "Information Literacy" and “Bibliographic Instruction.” 
 
You too are “Bibliographic Instructors.” 
 
Instructing = Teaching
 
It is a sad state of affairs that the recognition of librarians’ and libraries” 
changing technological roles and on-going teaching roles have not been recognized 
by the public or many in the broad spectrum of the vast varied educational 
community at all levels.
 
Changing our official designation from “Librarian” to “Teacher Librarian” 
is a definite step in the right direction.
 
Ann Cober Reed, MLIS
"Retired" 30 year High School Librarian
Currently: Reference Librarian
University of Maryland Eastern Shore
Princess Anne, Maryland 
reedref@yahoo.com
 

--- On Mon, 3/2/09, mchawkins <caughey195@YAHOO.COM> wrote:

From: mchawkins <caughey195@YAHOO.COM>
Subject: Teacher Librarian
To: LM_NET@LISTSERV.SYR.EDU
Date: Monday, March 2, 2009, 6:23 PM

Recently someone shared an article from the NYT about the changing role of
school librarian. I forwarded the article to my principal and the head of
curriculum and rather facetiously suggested that perhaps my title should be
Teacher Librarian.
Now they want me to "make a case" for their consideration.
This group has always been the best at helping us all avoid reinventing the
wheel. I would appreciate any ideas and arguments you have for changing the
term.
My motto actually is "Librarian, so much more than a teacher" but
I haven't gotten that onto the letter head yet. (that's a joke, folks!)
Thanks for your collective brain, always.
 
Meg Hawkins
Teacher Librarian
Librarian
Darby Township School 1-8
Glenolden PA 
caughey195@yahoo.com
 
 

--------------------------------------------------------------------
Please note: All LM_NET postings are protected by copyright law.


  
--------------------------------------------------------------------
Please note: All LM_NET postings are protected by copyright law.
  You can prevent most e-mail filters from deleting LM_NET postings
  by adding LM_NET@LISTSERV.SYR.EDU to your e-mail address book.
To change your LM_NET status, e-mail to: listserv@listserv.syr.edu
In the message write EITHER: 1) SIGNOFF LM_NET  2) SET LM_NET NOMAIL
 3) SET LM_NET MAIL  4) SET LM_NET DIGEST  * Allow for confirmation.
 * LM_NET Help & Information: http://www.eduref.org/lm_net/
 * LM_NET Archive: http://www.eduref.org/lm_net/archive/
 * EL-Announce with LM_NET Select: http://lm-net.info/
 * LM_NET Supporters: http://www.eduref.org/lm_net/ven.html
 * LM_NET Wiki: http://lmnet.wikispaces.com/
--------------------------------------------------------------------