The role of the Librarian has changed over the years. More and more it has become not only the role of the Guardian of Truthful Knowledge, but it has become that invaluable guide to a student’s inquiry. Teacher/Student connections will always be at the heart of helping students with their research questions and requirements. Students must feel welcome in the Library and comfortable to ask for assistance. Students will come to the Library with a varying degree of background knowledge so they will require assistance to find and collect appropriate information to assist them in their assigned (or even personal) inquiries.
“There is no such thing as a dumb question.”
Reidling in Reference Skills for the School Librarian, notes that the most important aspect of assisting students is the attitude towards a student’s request (Reidling, pg. 100). “There is no such thing as a dumb question” is an old saying that is true for any student coming into a library and asking for assistance. Reilding reminds us that students may have “…no pre-knowledge of the type of resource(s) that will answer his or her questions” (Reidling, pg 101) and they “…may not specifically know what he or she is searching for, due to lack of knowledge concerning the subject or the particular assignment.” (Reidling, pg 101) It is therefore incumbent to recognize these trepidations and be as welcoming and as helpful as possible. Teacher-Librarians, like classroom teachers must recognize that building relationships with students is the key to success in helping them.
Collaboration is Key
Aside from assisting students in their requests, the role of the Teacher-Librarian is also to assist colleagues. The classroom and subject specific teacher has the ultimate say and expertise in their classroom, but may not have the opportunity or familiarity with Library based resources that can assist them. Again, personal connections, the willingness to be helpful and open to collaboration will be key to a successful school Learning Commons.
Collaboration can take many forms and need not stop at simply gathering hard-cover reference material for a particular unit of study for a classroom teacher. Suggestions to incorporate technology and internet based research tools to a classroom unit of study or project can also be suggested and assisted. Again, just like building a relationship with students, fostering collegial relationships is key to a welcoming Learing Commons. After all, the Librarian is not a barbarian and is there to help.
Works Cited:
Riedling, Ann Marlow, Loretta Shake, and Cynthia Houston. Reference skills for the school librarian: Tools and tips. ABC-CLIO, 2013.
Youtube, Conan the Librarian, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mZHoHaAYHq8
Love the Conan the Librarian clip! This was a good reflection on the key points, big ideas and important reminders of your learning over the last few weeks in Theme 2. Your review of the importance of relationship building, trust, support and collaboration was a good message and demonstrated your understanding of the readings and our course text. A little more discussion of some of the other topics from this last theme and other highlights that resonated with you would be a small improvement.
William, I laughed out loud during the video! Thanks for the humourous addition to your reflection. I’ll add that to my notes: Do NOT be a Barbarian. 😉
I agree that Guardian of Truthful Knowledge is an important role for the TL. Collaboration and relationships are a focus of my classroom practice (I’m not working in a library). I find that the more you build connections the easier the work becomes.