Ann

Thursday 4th August, 2011 School: Cairns West State School TL: Raymond Woodhouse

__**2nd Draft of Assignment 1**__

**__ Interview with the Teacher Librarian __**

The school has approximately 600 students enrolled and the majority of these students are from within a very low-socioeconomic catchment area. There is a high crime and graffiti rate in and around this suburb. On the school website, the Principal makes the statement: “//Our school believes that with a strong partnership between home and school, we can work together for the maximum benefit of all concerned.” (Principal: Michael Hansen, 2011) // For many of the children that attend this school, the Library ‘is considered to be a safe zone’ (Woodhouse, 2011) and is often a hive of activity during lunch times.
 * SCHOOL COMMUNITY PROFILE:**

The TL started at the school and as a Teacher-Librarian 24 years ago and has stayed at the same school for the entirety of his career as a TL. The Library has been named after him which is a testament to his history within the school and in the profession. As he has worked in this field for such a considerable amount of time he has seen many changes in how borrowing occurs. When he first started in the role, the school was using a simple card system, followed by microfiche, and then as computers were introduced – cataloguing was done using LIB Code. Now most things are done online and technology plays a large part of how the Library operates and is used by students and teachers.
 * TL HISTORY:**

The TL sees his role as a being a ‘service provider’ whereby he provides a service for three specific target audiences: students, staff and parents. Also in his role, he feels he has an obligation to be an advocate for literature and to promote both literacy and resource based learning. On the other side of teaching, resource management is a large part of the TL’s role. The TL finds that by balancing what the school wants and needs to his own objectives and what he would like to achieve in his Library is the key to catering for all three target audiences.
 * ROLE DESCRIPTION:**

In his role, there is a need to combination of finding resources effectively as well as teaching for a specific purpose whereby he adds on to the teacher role and what each class teacher is working towards. Upon looking at his schedule, you can see how he breaks his weeks into teaching P-3 one week, to 4-7 the other week. He does not have classes every day, which allows him to attend professional development days when possible, resource management and ordering and liasing with administration staff and teachers.
 * CURRICULUM DEVELOPMENT:**

The TL attends regular sector meetings and staff meetings whereby he will take and promote new resources and books. He also uses the ‘new book stand’ in the back corner near the story chair which often is a lead in to a lesson as a class arrive. The TL also does regular author studies in order to promote literature. With low literacy ability students, the TL has purchased school subscriptions to various children’s magazines to encourage children to get into reading. Once a month, the TL contributes to the school newsletter about events happening in the Library and also with new book information for parents. Recently, he dedicated a page of the newsletter to ‘book week’ with photos and an article describing the activities each class were engaged in. There is a small lounge area that teachers can make use of when they come into the library that is near the circulation desk. It is here that daily newspapers are kept as well as relevant literature magazines and professional reading materials. There is also digital signage whereby student award photos are shown as a slideshow which is also another great way to encourage children to come into the library.
 * LITERATURE PROMOTION**

In terms of development, there are continuums that the TL refers to, however he prefer to look at the skills required by children at specific age levels within the school. The TL uses the ‘Big 6’ Model which is outlined below (Woodhouse, 2011)
 * INFORMATION AND LITERACY DEVELOPMENT:**

On a formal basis, when collaborating with staff, the TL follows a procedure called CPT (Cooperative Planning and Teaching). Once a Term, the TL sits down with the teachers from each year level in the Teacher Resource room of the Library and assists in planning units of work. Each KLA (Key Learning Area) is addressed and the TL lists resources available or that they might need/like to use. He also then compiles a list of resources that the Library may not have and takes this into consideration when ordering new books etc. On an informal basis, teachers are encouraged to visit the Library regularly to browse new resources or if they wish to talk to the TL regarding a unit of work. The TL finds that he is able to find more time to talk to teachers by having only colour photo copier in the school, as well as all AV equipment. This way, he finds that whilst teachers are in the library on other errands, he can bring new resources to their attention or gather information from them about what they are working on in class so that he can plan his own library lessons accordingly.
 * STAFF DEVELOPMENT AND COLLABORATION:**

The Library is integral in a number of ways to the everyday running of the school. Everything other than the Sports equipment that is to be borrowed, is housed in the Library. The TL is responsible for a room of AV equipment such as video cameras and digital cameras, a computer lab with a class set of computers plus laptops that can be borrowed, tech support equipment (cabling, power adaptors etc), cds and DVDs and then materials in print which can include: home reading books, teacher resources, posters, games and books in general.
 * LIBRARY MANAGEMENT**

The TL has been very hands on in the design and layout of the school Library and specifically chose neutral colours for a number of reasons. One of these is so that the colour scheme does not clash with displays or is considered dated within a few short years. Another reason is that everything needed to be low maintenance and easily to keep clean, right down to the bench tops that have a ‘scratched’ look to them and under the circulation desk that is brown to prevent any show of foot marks etc. The Library has been zoned into P-3 and 4-7 down the middle of the library. In the 4-7 area, there is a closed classroom with an interactive whiteboard and shelves with games for lunchtime play as well as larger tables and chairs. There is also a bank of computers for children to use and a cataloguing area if they are looking for a specific title or author. The 4-7 zone has a magazine area that children can read whilst in the Library but cannot borrow. There is a large Fiction and Non-Fiction variety of books that children can borrow. In the P-3 zone, there is a large chequered pattern on the carpet facing an interactive whiteboard. This is where the TL invites a class to come in and sit on individual squares as a means of behaviour management which works quite effectively. There is table space for a class of 30 with lower tables and smaller chairs. The TL asks children to choose their book their read at the tables before they borrow and he also teaches lessons whilst a class is at these tables. The TL has a reading chair at the back of the room and a ‘book of the week’ station whereby he will place a book that either he or the teacher will read to the class during borrowing time.
 * LIBRARY LAYOUT AND DESIGN:**


 * EVALUATION:**

The TL has found a number of avenues for getting his clientele into the Library and his overall layout and organisation of the library ensures that the overall operation is fluid. “The Library is exactly how I pictured it nearly 2 years ago when we first started the design. I am very happy with content with where we are currently.” (Woodhouse, 2011)

Whilst he is happy with where is Library is ‘at’ currently, the TL knows that with time comes more change. He has seen many changes in his 24 years both at the school and as a teacher-librarian and he has embraced all of these. The TL sees the future of the library being a place whereby there are more computers and tablets. Schools will become more selective with their choice of print that they keep on library shelves. Whilst it may be relevant and balances, print resources will not necessarily be extensive. The TL is already seeing an increase in purchasing online subscriptions over buying blackline master texts.
 * VISION FOR THE FUTURE:**

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__**FIRST VISIT..**__

HISTORY: The TL started at Cairns West State School and as a Teacher-Librarian 24 years ago and has stayed at the same school for the entirety of his career as a TL. The Library has been named after him which is a testament to his history within the school and in the profession. As he has worked in this field for such a considerable amount of time he has seen many changes in how borrowing occurs. When he first started in the role, the school was using a simple card system, followed by microfiche, then as computers were introduced – cataloguing was done using LIB Code. Now most things are done online and technology plays a large part of how the Library operates and is used by students and teachers. The school has approximately 600 students attending and they are all from within a very low-socioeconomic catchment area that includes the suburbs of Manunda, Mooroobool and Manoora. For many of these children, the school Library is considered to be a central hub and hive of activity during lunch times. The library is where children can come during play time to feel safe and they are able to read, or watch a short DVD at lunchtime. This is considered a novelty for many children that do not not have televisions at home. The DVD area is called the ‘break out room’ and is popular with all students. LAYOUT AND DESIGN: The TL has been very hands on in the design and layout of the school Library and specifically chose neutral colours for a number of reasons. One of these is so that the colour scheme does not clash with displays or is considered dated within a few short years. Another reason is that everything needed to be low maintenance and easily to keep clean, right down to the bench tops that have a ‘scratched’ look to them and under the circulation desk that is brown to prevent any show of foot marks etc. TL’S OFFICE: The TL’s office has one long large pane of one way glass that gives him a full view of the library at all times whilst he is working. This is situated behind the main circulation desk whereby the desk is considered quite long for ease of children returning and borrowing books as well as Teacher’s who may wish to borrow larger and bulkier items. WORKROOM: The worksroom is situated across from the TL’s office and houses a large bench for workspace as well as a kitchenette. The school’s newly purchased resources are kept tidily in baskets under the bench and his full time school officer is able to follow the set procedure for covering and cataloguing books and resources. The TL’s has explained that he buys and catalogues resources, but he leaves the covering, laminating, cutting and labelling of these to his school officer. IT TECH SUPPORT: This is a separate room that houses the school server as well as laptops, dvd players, cameras etc to be borrowed from the school. The TL overseas all borrowing of this equipment and tech support workers also work from this room. The TL liases with tech support on what the school needs etc. TEACHER RESOURCES: There is a small lounge area that teachers can make use of when they come into the library that is near the circulation desk. It is here that daily newspapers are housed as well as relevant literacy magazines and professional reading materials. There is also digital signage whereby student award photos are shown as a slideshow. Behind this there is a Teacher Reference room as well as an AV room. In the Teacher Reference room there is a large variety of hanging Big Books, posters/bulletin board materials and reference books for teachers to borrow. The AV room houses a collection of CDs, videos and DVDs as well as a recording area for shows such as BTN etc. This room also has video and digital cameras as well. There is another room at the back of the library that contains all of the guided reading schemes as well as home readers that teachers/school officers can borrow when needed. There are syllabus documents, more Big Book sets and other resources according to theme and age level that are available for borrowing. The TL has provided trolleys and small hand baskets for teachers to be able to carry their loans in to the circulation desk. The TL likes to keep book boxes on the shelves so that every resource remains organised and functional. When teacher’s wish to borrow specific resources they only take the book that they need. OVERALL LAYOUT The Library has been zoned into P-3 and 4-7 down the middle of the library. In the 4-7 area, there is a closed classroom with an interactive whiteboard and shelves with games for lunchtime play as well as larger tables and chairs. There is also a bank of computers for children to use and a cataloguing area if they are looking for a specific book title or author. The 4-7 zone has a magazine area that children can read whilst in the Library but cannot borrow. There is a large Fiction and Non-Fiction variety of books that children can borrow. In the P-3 zone, there is a large chequered pattern on the carpet facing an interactive whiteboard. This is where the TL invites a class to come in and sit on individual squares as a means of behaviour management which works quite effectively. There a large selection of Picture Books that are housed on lower, easy to reach shelving that is labelled according to the alphabet. There is table space for a class of 30 with lower tables and smaller chairs. The TL asks children to choose their book their read at the tables before they borrow and he also teaches lessons whilst a class is at these tables. The TL has a reading chair at the back of the room and a ‘book of the week’ station whereby he will place a book that either he or the teacher will read to the class during borrowing time. TEACHING TIME: The TL tries to balance his teaching time and his librarian time fairly evenly. Upon looking at his schedule, you can see how he breaks his weeks into teaching P-3 one week, to 4-7 the other week. He does not have classes every day, which allows him to break his time up for his other duties as the TL for the school. THE TL’S VIEW ON HIS ROLE: The TL sees his role as balancing what the school wants and needs to his own objectives and what he would like to achieve in his Library. He sees his role as a combination of finding resources effectively as well as teaching for a specific purpose whereby he adds on to the teacher role and what each class teacher is working towards. As a whole, he sees his role as being a service provider to the school community (staff, admin, parents and students). The TL has found a number of avenues for getting his clientele into the Library and his overall layout and organisation of the library ensures that the overall operation is fluid. The overall feel of the Library is tidy and efficient, yet welcoming to students.