Colin's+Case+Study

Case Study - Site 1 Colin Wright 6849806 P-12 Catholic Co-educational College Library

**// “The modern library is no longer a ‘cottage’ industry.” //** (Director of Library Services and Digital Learning, Site 1, March 23, 2011)

** The School ** Site One is situated in a low socio-economic regional centre in Queensland characterized by an unemployment rate at nearly double the state average (Office of Economic and Statistical Research, 2010). Enrolment at the college totals approximately 1200 students divided across three tiers – Junior School, Middle School and Senior School. The library also functions to serve the 130 teaching staff at the college. The newly extended library is physically located in the geographic centre of the college and services all three schools. The operation of the library is co-ordinated by the Director of Library Services and Digital Learning, who also holds the role of teacher librarian, Senior School.

** The Role of the Teacher Librarian and the Library ** The library and librarian’s role within the learning environment is guided by three documents that provide the foundation on which the overall direction of the college is determined: o //The College Vision Statement// o //The College Mission Statement// o //The Strategic Renewal Plan 2007 - 2011// Elements of these three documents should be able to be seen in the //theLibrary – Handbook for College Staff// and the position description //PAR Director of Library Services and Digital Learning// [Position of Added Responsibility]; however the linking of the above mentioned three key documents is made in a superficial manner//.// Through extrapolation, the underlying principles of the documents can be implicitly drawn out in the library documents. Case in point, both the //theLibrary – Handbook for College Staff// and //PAR Director of Library Services and Digital Learning// call for the role of the librarian to include the fostering of a professional and accessible library service in a community based environment which echoes similar implied sentiments found in the //College Vision Statement// (see Appendix B). Further to this, the //College Mission Statements// clearly puts forth the aim of “provid[ing] a high quality education … where all are engaged in their learning, challenged and motivated to do their best” (Appendix A). This aim is analogous to that of one found in the //theLibrary – Handbook for College Staff// which envisions the librarian as the creator of programs that develop, master and extend research and study skills.

A further document that plays a significant part in the development and direction of the role of the teacher librarian and the library, is the Brisbane Catholic Education [BCE] guide //Developing a 21st century vision for your school library resource centre.// In comparison to the previously mentioned three key college documents, it is this document that takes a more recognizable form in the current actions and positioning of the Director of Library Services and Digital Learning. The BCE document states, and the //theLibrary – Handbook for College Staff,// clearly focuses on “[t]he school library as an information access centre [that] has an important role in underpinning lifelong learning” (REFERENCE NEEDED). To make this a reality, the Director is attempting to shift the role of teacher librarian from the traditional overseeing of the day to day operations of the library to the development of services that allow library users continual access to information. Such services that are currently in place include the development of a SharePoint portal for the library, the development of an interactive learning management platform for teaching and learning and a more involved role in staff professional learning in the form of a coaching/mentoring program. It is this position that draws some criticism from some teaching staff, where the new direction the librarian is taking with the library conflicts with their traditional notions of what a library should be.

As the Director also holds the title of Teacher Librarian, Senior School, the cross over between roles is not immediately observable. For the last 16 months the Director has not had a teaching load – a fact that was noted as exceptional as the director had never encountered such a situation in 20 years of teaching and managing libraries. The guiding role statement issued by the employer in regards to the Teacher Librarian position, which is based on the national statement on provision of school library services, makes note of the duality of teacher and librarian, yet in this circumstance the focus on learners and learning as domain of operation occurs outside of the traditional classroom setting. That is to say, in this instance, the perception of the role within the college and with the position holder has developed into a librarian/library focused one rather than a teacher that has librarian duties. This perception of his role is further advanced by his lack of formalized contact teaching hours over the past 16 months. It is important to note, as the Director pointed out, that this is the first time in 20 years of teaching and managing resources in various forms, that he has not had a teaching load. The only other person in the school not to have a teaching load is the principal. Thinking back to comments that Mandy gave me she may consider this irrelevant information.

** Leadership ** The Director's role in terms of leadership is multifaceted. When looking at leadership initiatives in the college, four areas have been identified as central to the role of teacher/librarian at this location. Those four areas include; management of library staffing/human resources, development of human potential/professional learning, management of the centralization of resources policy, and the management of the 1:1 Student Laptop Programme.

First, it is the responsibility of this position to oversee the staffing of the library. The college library is staffed by two full-time teacher librarians, as well as two full-time and 1 part-time support staff. Within this staffing allocation a hierarchy of positions exists based on school structures which are dictated by the mandate of the school principal. This consists of the creation and management of staff rosters that take into account the various and numerous demands on the library staff.This aspect of the role also calls on the Director to act as mediator/negotiator in staff disputes, both in and out of the library – in as much as the dispute impacts on the delivery of library services. It was noted by the Director that there is an issue in the balance of staffing equality that needs to be addressed with the support staff and it is this challenge that is proving to be a struggle at the moment. It is the position of Director that every job in the library is important, but values are put on certain ones by the support staff that cause frustrations in the administration of the library. For example, the management of Oliver and the Clickview video system hold more prestige in comparison to the repair and shelving duties. The Director and other Teacher Librarian attempt to address this perception by engaging in the ‘so-called’ menial tasks alongside the support staff when time allows.

A second aspect of the role of director is the development of the human potential in the school through the creation and promotion of professional learning opportunities. Throughout the school year the Director offers a number of events in which teaching staff can attend to develop their professional skills. Such events that have occurred include in-service on learning management services (Moodle), Web 2.0 resources, and interactive whiteboard technology. In addition, the Director frequently presents at both department and year level staff meeting on a number of topics including data collection and resource availability (using Oliver), and the inclusion of technology in curriculum.

A further leadership responsiblity that the Director has taken on is in his role is the administration and implementation of the centralization of resources at the college. Previously, each department/year level was required to source, purchase, store and manage their own resources. The new system required each individual department/year level to submit its requests through the library and once the resources arrived, they would be stored there as well. This change was off putting for a number of department directors as this new policy was viewed as a relinquishing of power. However, in his leadership role, the Director convinced and demonstrated the advantages of this new system. As an example, the budgets of a number of departments called for the purchase of technology for the classrooms. The Director, in his role was able to 'pool' the money and consult the departments in order to make the best possible purchases for the school.

In what was seen as a natural extension of the centralization policy, the Director's role in terms of leadership has expanded into the area of the 1:1 Student Laptop programme associated with the Building the Education Revolution [BER]. The Director has stated that this aspect of his role, in addition the the centralization aspect, 'has become a nuts and bolts' position rather than the anticipated curriculum directed focus. That is to say, the Director feels that a majority of his time in this project is spent locating missing cords and responding to help desk requests for assistance in regards to connectivity issues while concerns over pedagogy get overlooked.

** Curriculum and Collaboration ** The Director has identified the areas of communication and collaboration as a significant aspect of his day to day role in the college community. Central to this is his engagement in the conversation with stakeholders regarding the perception of what a library and librarian should be. These conversations find their audience through a number of formal and informal channels.

The Director is formally involved in a number of committees which he describes as existing at the middle management level of the leadership structure within the college. He is an active member of the Heads of Department committee which oversees the implementation of individual and college curriculum decisions. Currently, these decisions centre on the adaptation of current work programs to meet the requirements of the Australian National Curriculum. In addition, he is a central member of the ICT committee which administers the operation of technology within the college. A current major focus of this committee is the BER role out of the 1:1 Student Laptop program. Through both committees the Director is given air time at staff meetings and at professional learning events where he actively recruits staff for various sub-committees of the above mentioned groups. It is the Director’s view that while one does have a voice on such committees, that voice is directed towards the implementation rather that the feasibility of directives handed down from senior leadership.

In addition to the above mentioned formal communication channels, a number of informal avenues for the dissemination of information are available in the environment of Site One. The first of those informal channels is email. The Director regularly employs the use of email to broadcast important messages across the campus. Second, through the creation of a SharePoint Portal for the school, messages are aired through the staff notices section of the portal as well as a number of self-serve style FAQ links which take the user to library created resources.

As previously mentioned, the Director of Library Services and Digital Learning is endeavouring to take steps to meet the expectations of the BCE document //Developing a 21st century vision for your school library resource centre.// As such he is moving away from what has been previously thought to be the role of the librarian //–// leaving the shelving and cataloguing to support staff – and is moving towards a more collaborative culture that involves working with curriculum heads and classroom teachers to tap into his wealth of knowledge for better student learning outcomes. The Director feels that not all staff have come to an understanding of his philosophy towards his role which is evidenced by their requests. The ‘traditional’ requests still remain – the teacher librarian as a short cut to resources, as the standalone bibliographic expert and as the expert in literature. However, through careful cultivation requests are beginning to filter through that access his skills and knowledge in the role of a teacher librarian as professional coach/mentor.

** Future Vision ** The Director states that the aim is always to live up to the fundamental principles of the BCE guiding document in respect to the role he should be playing in the school, however the reality is that priorities shift and with that the librarian needs to adjust. Case in point, this year saw the completion of the planned library extension. The development of this facility was overseen by the principal and the Director. As the library extension clearly took priority and was a massive undertaking other aspects of the role of the librarian in the school suffered. To further expand on the flexibility required by teacher librarians, the new library was to be the centre of the BER 1:1 Student Laptop program. The Director found himself shouldered with the responsibility for resourcing a new library from the ground up while dealing with the ‘nuts and bolts’ of the ICTs that were inherited along with the 1:1 program. In such conditions the focus on developing the library collection were demoted down the priority ladder.

As the library has now been completed and the 1:1 Laptop program is now in operation the Director has a number of goals for the future which will bring the role of the T/L in this location more inline with the expectations of BCE. The first is to manage the expectations that the staff have of the librarian. In the past the mindset was focused on encouraging more users accessing the library and to do this frequently the librarians over promised and stretched resources beyond their capabilities. The result was that the librarians were continually starting new projects while finishing none. This created unrealistic demands of the staff and resources. In the attempt to engage everyone, no one was satisfied. To address this issue the Director is looking to pursue a conversation with staff which promotes and educates stakeholders on the evolving role of the 21st Century Library/Librarian through a renewed and revised communication model.

Second, the Director has embraced the realities of the changing learner in the 21st Century and is working towards creating what he sees as an essential 24/7 information access model. This vision is one which moves towards a digital resourcing platform that facilitates access while develops the value of the collection for its users. Essential to this outcome is an understanding of the user and currently no reliable data collection system exists or has been used effectively for the provisioning of resources in this location.

The final aspect of the Director's goals revolves around what he states is the "getting back to our core business, the facilitation of learning" (Site 1, 2011). It is aknowledged that while there are "plans on paper" (Site 1, 2011) the role of the T/L in this environment has not done much to support long term change in the classroom. The director notes that in his 20 year librarian career the same questions are still being asked. He sees a more active role in collaborative planning for the provisioning of resources but also of planning for the incorporation of new learning technologies.