TLs and literature promotion
Some weeks ago in his blog, academic James Herring took issue with the comments of Rob Moore, President of ASLA (Australian School Library Association).
In his Leading Edge column in the latest edition of Access, ASLA’s professional journal, Rob Moore says:
Why did you become a teacher librarian? Was it the money? The power? Is this job just a key part of your overall strategy en route to world domination?
Could it be that a love of books played some part in your motivation to take the significant career move from classroom teacher to teacher librarian? I’m not suggesting for one second that you took this job on so that you could find a cosy corner for a good read, but a teacher librarian without a love of literature and reading is like choc-chip ice-cream without the choc-chips … it’s still ice-cream but the nuances of flavour and texture are reduced to a bland vanilla.
And so Rob goes on, in this literature-themed issue, to talk about the role of the teacher librarian as enabler – the one who brings books and readers together in a unique role within the school.
James Herring’s blog response was immediate, provocative and brief, but he has since expanded his views at the recent IASL conference in California. Listen to James as he proposes (in a summary of his IASL keynote speech) that TLs should spend more time focusing on the curriculum and less time promoting literature – an activity he feels leads to the marginalisation of teacher librarians. He acknowledges that his views are controversial, but that he has his supporters. What do readers of the Fiction Focus blog – after all, a space devoted to promoting literature – think? We’d love some discussion.
August 20th, 2008 at 9:29 am
I think that TLs have to embrace the dual nature of their role. We will certainly be marginalised if we concentrate solely on being the literature specialists at the expense of focusing on the curriculum. Teachers are very busy and often do not have time to keep up with the latest in children’s literature and clearly we have a significant role to play in promoting fiction. By the same token, if that is all we do then we are undervaluing ourselves. We have curriculum knowledge, we are teachers and we should be promoting our skills and engaging with staff and students in our other role as partners in teaching and learning.
August 20th, 2008 at 9:41 am
Thanks for your thoughtful comments, Megan. Would love other TLs to weigh into the debate.
August 20th, 2008 at 3:32 pm
I don’t see what the problem is. Can’t we do both??? At our library in a Prep to Year 12 school we run a program that alternates Information Literacy skills lessons with Literacy skills lessons from Prep to Year 6. At Year 7 we run a program that promotes books and regular reading. Given that research indicates it is students who have access to libraries that are well- resourced and have qualified staff who work in consultation with the classroom teaching staff, it would seem obvious to me that there is a place – in our unique role – for us to help students improve their information skills and develop the lifelong habit of reading.
August 20th, 2008 at 3:55 pm
Being a TL is more than a dual role – it is manifold. Literature -and not just fiction – is intrinsic, as reading is intrinsic to learning. How we fit in all the parts of the job is not easy to answer, but jetisonning literature (not that James suggested that) or reducing it to a luxury will not help. We need to develop an inclusive reading culture and unless someone else in the school is managing that (and they usually aren’t) then we are it, ideally with support and collaboration from within our school.
It is hard to keep up with literature, but that excuse could be the same for technology, AV systems etc. and is not a long term excuse. Literature development does not need to put the curriculum focus at risk. And what is more, job ads are still asking for it, as of a seconadry TL position advertised in the last week.