What does a TL do? PART 1

Well it depends who you ask, doesn't it. Ever watched "The Librarians"? on ABC TV?



I loved it but it doesn't really do much for the public's perception of a librarian.

Have you seen this before?

I'd love to get one, if only to prompt discussion into people's perceptions of librarians.

When I got a term's work as a TL at our local highschool, a lot of people (other teacher's included) told me how lucky I was to land such a cushy job. I only had nine lessons a fortnight.

I wasn't given an awful lot of guidance from the previous TL, so I pretty much made it up as I went along, backed up by 17 years teaching experience and google.

The school library layout had hardly changed in the previous ten years, so that was the first thing I did. I googled and looked at library design and read about that the library should be welcoming and the centre of the school and have lots of different spaces to cater for different people and so on. I made and laminated signs showing what resources were where. A projector had recently been installed so things had to be arranged around that as well. I only wish I had taken before photos.

So I suppose looking at this, a TL is an interior designer of sorts. I mean, you have to create a welcoming environment, don't you.

There's no substitute for books!

From today's SMH Heckler.


I CONFESS: for at least 27 of my almost 33 years, I have been a reader.

There are days when I can barely keep my eyes open because I've been up all night with my nose in a book.

There are days when I read instead of cleaning the house. And I've been known to cancel on friends because I'm close to the end of a novel.

I'm an addict. So you can understand my horror at hearing all this talk about the demise of the bookselling industry and the death of the book. People are buying online and using e-readers.

It's cheaper, apparently, and you don't even have to leave the house.

Despite the attraction of not leaving the house, I find online shopping unsatisfying. It's not that I lack fingers or a technical brain, but rather that I feel consistently nervous about giving out my credit card details online.

I do not want Amazon to keep a record of what I am reading. I do not want special-offer spam.

And I do not want to wait a week for the next instalment by Alexander McCall Smith to arrive in the post, potentially battered by heavy-handed post people and bad weather.

Besides, I want to hold a product before I spend money on it. I want to measure its size and weight, and I want to test how it feels in my hand. I like to make purchasing decisions with all senses engaged.

This is also how I want to read.

How will my e-book hold the red wine I spilt when I read about the union between Elizabeth and Darcy?

How am I to take my e-reader into the bath? What if it runs out of battery at the beach, or gets sand in it?

I have 20-20 vision and an iPad, but so far combined they don't a reading experience make. Sure, I can consume the story, but the story cannot consume me.

For one thing, my iPad is made of metal and plastic. It absorbs nothing: not coffee, not biscuit crumbs, not the large sigh I let out at the end of a particularly satisfying narrative.

And falling asleep on my iPad, I have discovered, isn't nearly as comfortable as flopping my head into a paperback.

The iPad smells of metal and plastic.

My books smell of wood and ink. I write notes in the margins. I underline things. While I can also do this on my iPad, I cannot capture the feeling that is made obvious by my shaky handwriting and thick red pen.

Books hold the memories we make when we read them, immortalising our experiences within their pages. Without pages, where do the memories go? Facebook?

Faith Sands

See, we have no need to worry about the future of libraries! There will always be people like this in the world!

Databases

I have just finished watching tutorials on using EBSCO and Informit databases/searches and after having a go searching for "teacher librarian" and "role", I am amazed at the amount of information that can be accessed without leaving my chair. This sort of thing should be the first thing every student does upon enrolling in uni. I can't wait to do more searches and find more information!

What is the future of the library?

This video raises some interesting points.

National, State and Territory Libraries

Prior to reading this Chapter I really hadn't given these libraries a second thought. I had images in my head of musty old buildings full of irrelevant information (for me at least). I've now, as intended, a much broader view and can see the importance of these libraries and where they fit into the grand scheme of things.

National, state and territory libraries have the major role of collecting and preserving Australia's documentary heritage. They have a legislated mandate to collect and preserve this comprehensive collection. I also didn't consider the fact that it is these libraries that provide leadership on key issues of importance, at a state and national level. All other libraries follow their direction.

NSLA (National and State Libraries Australia) represents libraries as a single voice and has key priorities to ensure all Australians have world class access to information.

Blog Bits

We got back last night from a weekend away and I felt too tired to do much "real study", so I've spent a couple of hours playing with my blog layout, viewing other blogs, looking for cool widgets. A few weeks back I didn't even know what a widget was! I spent some time checking out the ETL 401 forum and hopefully, tomorrow, I will get back to some proper study.

Busy, Busy, Busy

In between washing, cleaning and packing for a trip away on the weekend I've been fiddling with my blog (organising widgets, links etc), checking out websites, reading and making notes.

I'm gradually getting used to the idea of having a blog and adding bits and pieces to make it mine. I am really looking forward to seeing other students blogs as well.

I applied for a library card from the National Library and checked out Pandora, Australia's online web archive. What a fabulous resource it is! DH (Dear Husband) was most impressed when I found him some interesting info on Jack Brabham. (Other car nuts will understand this.) The website finds info to do with your search from all different websites, books and so on. I can't believe I have got this far in life without having come across it before.

Currently I am reading "Ch 5 National, State and Territory Libraries: information for the nation". This is one of the readings in the introduction module. What I've got most out of this reading is the fact that these libraries are incredibly important in collecting, preserving and enabling access to Australia's documentary heritage. They collect all kinds of items as well as books and more increasingly, digital resources.