Article Review: “Staff Development – Teacher Librarians as Learning Leaders"

The article Staff Development – Teacher Librarians as Learning Leaders by Janice Gilmore-See is based around the principle and idea that Library Teachers can be a powerful force in both Staff Development and the school at large. Indeed, the article describes itself perfectly with its first two sentences: "Staff development, while it should not, often exists as a random event on a particular day of the school year, seemingly disconnected from the real work of the teaching staff. Teacher-librarians can become learning leaders in their schools and districts if they understand what the teaching staff needs and can help plan worthwhile experiences." Going on to say that when professional development (PD) does feel like a worthwhile use of time then the teachers mentally disengage from it, sometimes openly.

Gilmore-See suggests that the Library Teacher can change this due to their unique role not being a classroom teacher while serving and interacting with all students and staff members. As she states it, "successful teacher-librarians are valuable because they have a clear understanding of the school and its needs. Classroom teachers focus on the issues in their classroom and in their PLC, but the teacher-librarian has a wider view of the school." I can certainly appreciate and agree with this fact, since the Principal of my school says one reason she likes having me on the Leadership and Instructional Leadership Teams is that I bring and outsider's prospective. Not outsider in the bad sense so much as having a more unique and possible objective insights regarding school issues separate from the classroom teachers'. Anyway, Gilmore-See says that that unique role could allow the Library Teacher to be "a major force in planning staff development activities aligned with the mission of the school" and, better yet, are the ideal ones to send to those special workshops to learn new teacher techniques from which they can bring back and teach to the classroom teachers.

That is the article in a nutshell and while I agree wholeheartedly that the Library Teacher can and should be a leader in the school – I was asked to be on the Instruction Leadership Team (ILT) by my own Principal, for example – I think Gilmore-See is describing something of a utopia. Why? Well, to start, I do not agree in the least Library Teachers are the best ones to be sent to workshops to learn new teaching tricks. Gilmore-See describes the situations as follows: 

"Imagine that the principal announces, 'We need one teacher who is willing to go and attend a staff development workshop and bring back the information to train us all in what this new program entails.' Principals and district administrators often embrace the idea of sending one teacher to training who can return and become the trainer for the rest of the staff. There are advantages and disadvantages to sending a classroom teacher. The class­room teacher is appropriate when the training is meant to deepen and broaden knowledge of a particular content area or pedagogy of a particular discipline. However, there are many instances where the teacher-librarian is a natural fit. When staff development is provided by the teacher-librarian, it can be site specific, designed for specific teacher groups, and allow sufficient time, support, and resources to enable teachers to master new content and to integrate this knowledge and skill into their practice."

To a degree, yes, but only on the condition that the Library Teacher has experience classroom teaching. Not all librarian do; I certainty do not, and would be (and am) the first to say that no one is better suited to teach classroom teachers than other classroom teachers. (After all, would a classroom teacher be best suited to lead a PD on the role of school libraries? I think not.). We librarians are better suited to leading PDs on research and technology-use pedagogy, I think. Also, most Library Teachers are busy enough juggling the needs of individual students, teachers, and Admin plus keeping the library in order without adding running Staff Development to the list. Again, I am not saying that we librarians cannot be learning leaders in the school; we can, should be, and often are. But I do not think we are the ideal PD leaders that Gilmore-See seems to be suggesting.

Why did I chose to read this article? Because I agreed with some elements but not on others, and could frame my opinions based at least partly around my own experiences of course. What can I say other than I like to debate articles. Also, I was interested in the subject matter since learning other opinions on the unique role of a Library Teacher within a school is quite important. "The school librarian stands alone" as I like to say, not in a bad or isolating way so much as an acknowledgement that while individual teachers may feel they get lost in the herd, the school librarian is known and heard by all yet runs a show very different from anyone else in the school. That, and being surrounded by books, is part of what makes the job fun.