Virtual SLLC (Inquiry Blog #3)
Teacher-librarians are leaders in supporting reading promotion, information literacy, and technology support. However, the responsibility of the teacher-librarian often goes unknown which may affect the stability of this role. Teacher-librarians can make their library programs known through staff meetings, bulletin boards, or even emails. It is important to not only establish an approachable physical presence at your library but making an online presence is also important for the 21st century students. Not only do students have constant access to the web but teachers do too. Online platforms like the school website, the school’s online catalogue program, external websites like WordPress or Blogger, and even Twitter can be used to share information, tools, and resources to your school community (Buerkett, 2014).
Image courtesy of Pixabay
What information should teacher-librarians put on the website? Firstly, it is important to develop good relationships with your school staff to have a sense of who they are and what they need. For example, some teachers are good at what they do so they do not need extra support and some teachers may be looking for resources and support but do not know who to ask. It is important to reach out to your staff about what the library can offer to their classes and to provide them with the most appropriate and beneficial resources. If they are not able to connect with you in person, then creating links on your library website that can direct them to these resources would be the most useful (Buerkett, 2014). Links to eBooks could also be added so staff and students are able to access the books that they want anywhere.
I do not work in the school library yet but what I think my school could do is to improve the user-friendliness of the school library website. So far, the school library website is only used for searching the catalogue. During remote learning, there has been some improvements with adding links to fun activities and resources. Other things that could be added are images of student work, new books in the library, and even information to assist students in their inquiry-based learning. There could also be a section for teachers. Information about teacher-librarian support, resources for inquiry-based learning, tips on how to access certain programs and how to use them, and a calendar of available time slots for library bookings.
Here are some links great Virtual School Library Learning Commons:
From these examples, the TLs have considered how to provide resources for students, teachers, as well as parents in clear designated categories. They have also provided an abundance of resources from eBooks, to read alouds, and online resources. This makes it very accessible for all. There are also links and resources for promoting digital citizenship. Having a virtual school library learning commons would offer teachers as well as students and parents 24/7 access to your library programs.
References
Buerkett, R. (2014). Where to Start? Creating Virtual Library Spaces. Knowledge Quest, 42(4), E23–E27.
PBS KIDS. (2020, May 11). READ ALONG with Michelle Obama! | The Very Hungry Caterpillar | PBS KIDS. [Video]. YouTube. https://youtu.be/sqpWHU778_Y
I agree that it is important for a TL to reach out to the school community to gauge what their needs are in terms of support and pro-d. Having a strong VLC allows a TL to archive great resources for staff and students who can then access these on an as-needed basis. However, I don’t think it is just a matter of – “If you build it they will come.” I wonder what kind of pro-d could be offered to teachers to help them learn how to interact with the VLC. Perhaps presentations at staff meetings, Learning-Over-Lunch, grade group collaboration and co-creation could be used to increase usage, ownership and investment.
Using a website is such a great way to connect with the school community. I have often wanted to create one for my classroom but often find that in my area, the buy in of parents with things like FreshGrade are minimal so I have been discouraged. However, I think that on a whole school scale, this would work well and could pass on some good information to everyone.