Tonya's+Case+Study

= Enjoyed reading your case study - easy to read and concise. I have made a few possible suggestions in blue. A suggestion for the entire document - try to stick to font size 12 for paragraphs and double space (easier on the eyes). = = The School  = Site 2 is a Prep to Year 7 QLD State School in a regional area. The school was established in 1886 and has a current enrolment of 680 students. The school boasts a newly completed Library and Technology Centre which is staffed by a teacher-librarian and a full-time aide. Good = Organisation, Clarity and Alignment  = The Teacher-Librarian (TL) is currently writing new policy documents to suit the direction she would like to see the library take. The TL is fully aware of the need for clearly defined roles, responsibilities and goals in order to run a successful LTC. However, in stating this she also added that the writing of the policy document is her goal and is 'not really supported by admin' (Site 2, 2011). The TL is campaigning for a Library Committee and 'although the interest was low at first it is very slowly gaining momentum' (Site 2, 2011). At present the committee is only open to staff members within the school as she is reluctant to open it up to the wider school community. The TL would like to keep the committee 'in school' as she believes this will maintain an educational focus. The primary goal of the TL is to create a program where students are encouraged to investigate. She wants students to find out about the world around them and synthesize the information. In short, she would like to create an environment where students are encouraged to discover the world around them and make judgments based on the new information whilst developing research and IT skills. Good = Human Resources  = The TL at Site 2 is constantly frustrated by the lack of recognition of her position amongst staff and admin. (I would possibly use the words 'the administration'). She quite often feels that her position within the school is given little value in regard to other staff. At present, she teaches 18 out of a possible 35 sessions per week, with 4 playground duties. She is also responsible for purchasing, copyright and library resource management. This site has recently introduced PLC (Professional Learning Communities) amongst staff, further compounding the TL's frustration as during these times she 'is used as a babysitter instead of being a part of the process' (Site 2, 2011). PLC allows staff to meet for 1 hour per week to collaborate in regards to the direction of the curriculum and planning, the TL believes that this would be the perfect opportunity to share her knowledge of resources and information literacy which would only serve to improve the outcomes for students. The level of collaboration is limited to emails from staff requesting resources and copyright information. Possibly reword the above paragraph - The site has recently introduced Professional Learning Communities ( PLC ) amongst the teaching staff. PLC allows staff to meet for an hour once a week to collaborate in regards to the direction and planning…. There is no regular time for the TL to meet with the principal or deputy principal, and despite the TL's request to be involved, she has never attended a leadership meeting, I would maybe put a full stop here and 'Her involvement is limited to…< /span> instead only being invited to whole staff meetings. The school has 'catch-up' meetings Monday, Wednesday and Friday mornings with a whole staff meeting Monday afternoons. The ' catch-up' meetings are designed to inform staff about any incidents or up-coming events within the school where as the Monday afternoon meetings are used for professional development. = Facilities  = Site 2 has a newly completed Library and Technology Centre. Is this info needed as it is already in the opening paragraph? The TL's level of involvement in the development of this centre was limited to furniture and lay-out of the fixtures within the newly designed building. She chose the furniture to compliment the layout of the building and used every available space to create nooks for reading and studying. The openness of the area and the colours used give the building an inviting feel whilst the soft furnishings invite the students to relax and enjoy the space. As it is the only air-conditioned building in the school that the students are able to access it is a very popular space during breaks. The LTC is divided into two main sections, junior and senior. There are games, activities, craft and reading available for students in the junior library whereas the senior library has desks and reading nooks. Both areas have very distinctive teaching areas and are currently awaiting the installation of Interactive Whiteboards (IWB). The site itself has a considerable focus on technology, both in teaching and communication. The TL is therefore currently working on establishing a library wiki. The wiki will be used to advertise new books, databases, book reviews, useful sites and the librarian's blog. The technological focus is clearly visible in the library with laptop trolleys (both Macs and Dells), iMac circle and new OPAC stations. = Collections  = The new building also allowed the site to upgrade their library operating system to V-Library, allowing the TL to catalogue both print and digital resources. This sentence has used 'allow' twice. Would it be better to split the sentence and use enable or enabled? With the incorporation of ClickView, e-books and print resources the site has updated its collection. The TL chooses the majority of the print collection for the library. Teachers sometimes make requests for resources which in turn are sourced by the TL and an order submitted for approval through the purchasing officer to the principal. 'The order isn't seen again until it arrives for accessioning and covering' (Site 2, 2011). The TL uses Magpies Magazines and Australian Standing Orders to for selection of current fiction. Digital resources are defined by the TL as ClickView programs (both free to air and cable) and online databases. The TL is responsible for ensuring that all the resources are suitable for the students within the school e.g. Television ratings. The TL usually records programs that she believes may be used but at time receives requests from teachers. To effectively maintain the collection, the TL is fully aware that a Collection Management Policy (CMP), currently being written, is badly needed. She believes that when the policy is in place then the flow of the library will be more efficient as the responsibilities and requirement will be clearly outlined. The TL was reluctant to present the draft policy or direction. Could para.1 and 3 be combined and then 2 and 4? = Collaboration  = <span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% yellow; color: black; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 9.5pt;">As previously mentioned, the site encourages the collaboration of teachers through the PLC but rarely involves the TL. The TL is fully aware that the knowledge she could bring to these meetings would be of benefit to both teachers and students. She has approached school management to no avail and has therefore taken a more decisive step in proving her value. The TL is currently assisting a Year 6 teacher with a research project. She spends an additional 2 hours per week with this class and is assisting the research process with the help of guided inquiry. <span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% yellow; color: black; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 9.5pt;">The inflexibility of her timetable rarely allows for further collaboration, yet the TL offers her services to any teacher. She admits that on many occasions she is given the tasks of a teacher's aide rather than an Information Specialist. <span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% yellow; color: black; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 9.5pt;">The TL uses the State Library of Victoria outcomes to plan her units as she isn't given the opportunity to work in conjunction with the teachers. Her major frustration with this situation is that there are limited resources in the LTC and on many occasions she is aware that teachers are often teaching the same topic. This was evident when a Prep teacher and a Year 2/3 teacher both required resources about life cycles. Possibly join para.1 and 2 = Communication  = <span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% yellow; color: black; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 9.5pt;">Communication from the librarian at this site is limited to the occasional email, article in the newsletter and verbally at staff meetings. The TL stated 'I am so busy trying to get everything else done that I rarely have time to write anything else' (Site 2, 2011). She also admits that she knows how important this kind of communication is and is endeavouring the address this issue beginning with the library wiki. <span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% yellow; color: black; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 9.5pt;">The TL organises the Premiere's Reading Challenge, Book Fair and Book Week. She states that without a set budget that she is very limited in the events that she is able to organise. More often a sporting or arts event will take precedence. Maybe as 1 paragraph. = Continuous Improvement & Flexibility  = <span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% yellow; color: black; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 9.5pt;">The short-term goals the TL has for the LTC is to create the policy documents, wiki and foster the student's increasing interest in spending time reading and interacting with the resources. She believes that a clearly defined library document allows everyone involved ( with eth LTC ) Is this needed to make the sentence flow? to have a clear definition of the role the LTC and the TL (has) within the school. The wiki will open the eyes of the teachers as to the knowledge that the TL has and how she can assist them. The first sentence is maybe too wordy. "The TL has a number …- .for the LTC . These include the creation of …" Perhaps join to the last para. "It is her belief …"< /span> <span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% yellow; color: black; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 9.5pt;">The TL believes that in achieving the short-term goals her long term goal of collaboration will be achieved. She is fully aware that in order to be accepted amongst her colleagues as a curriculum leader that she will need to prove her worth.