Points of Importance for a Teacher-Librarian 

ETL503  Teacher –Librarian role is one that requires flexibility in every aspect of the role.  No 2 days or weeks are ever going to be the same but then is that not true of life in general?  Working and collaborating with others all need to accept that the library collection is constantly developing and is never going to be ‘just right’.  I understand and relate to the terminology differences in Kennedy (2006, p. 4) of collection and acquisition.  You acquire then manage.

As a specialization, collection management- and writing a policy document- demands not only professional knowledge of the processes of selecting and acquiring, but diplomatic skills in weeding, budgeting, evaluating and dealing with challenges to the collection.  (Wall & Ryan, 2010, p. 12) suggest that a TL is so many including learners, resource guides as well as agents of change.  They need to have knowledge of educational theory and practice and be in tune with their community of users as well as having a good knowledge about the curriculum. 

Accountability as in all aspects of life is paramount and accountability in this role is further discussed in  (Kennedy, 2006, p. 11) and relates to all aspects regarding the collection in their library.  In making those decisions they are required to show professionalism (Kennedy, p. 17) in terms of their understanding of the needs of their teaching and learning community (Hughes-Hassall & Mancall, 2008, p. 33; Wall & Ryan, 2010, p. 9, to have knowledge of the curriculum, be willing to collaborate with other staff members, setting clear goals regarding the library collection and the purposes and aims it will achieve.