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What do you do if you want to start talking about enquiry-based learning and the school librarian’s role in supporting and teaching it?


THINK if you asked any school librarian how they support independent learning, each would give a different answer. It might depend on how long they have been working , their expertise and specialism, whether they have a library degree, a CILIP qualification, or none of the above. Lastly, it could depend on the expectation and understanding of the school. Some focus on reading for pleasure, others information literacy and some lucky schools do both.


Why do schools need us


Our role as SLS librarians has evolved over the years, with an increasing focus on enquiry-based learning. The reason for this is because we were constantly being asked to demonstrate how we were providing value for money. What were we doing that the schools could not do themselves? Our main focus had been “reading for pleasure” but we had competition from several voluntary groups who were supporting reading. For example Every Child our Future arranged for office workers to come into our schools to read with the children. These groups were apparently proving to our Education department that anyone could support reading – so why did they need us?


Enquiry-based skills


It became essential that our specialism in information was central to our role. If I’m honest, I was not sure how we were going to support and teach information literacy but I did know that I was looking for an information literacy framework. Luckily for me, I knew Darryl Toerien from Oakham School who was prepared to share his Fosil framework (see image right, Framework of Skills for Inquiry Learning https://www. oakham.rutland.sch.uk/Fosil) – and with that we had a focus. We started to create lessons and learnt how to teach these skills. A couple of our librarians went on a City & Guilds teaching course to give them the confidence and we began talking to head teachers and policy


September 2018 INFORMATION PROFESSIONAL 43


makers about our specialism. Many teachers are so used to teaching to the test that these enquiry-based skills have been lost and we found that teachers needed our support just as much as their students did.


Like it or not, our roles are changing However not all school librarians have made this move. I have two sons, one an RE secondary teacher and the other a History teacher. Both are lucky enough to have staff working in their school libraries but both have had lukewarm responses when asking for support. Apart from being able to make suggestions for stock, they have not had any opportunities to engage further. They know what I offer teachers but don’t feel they can ask their librarians to do the same. I do understand that some school librarians are not confident with the teaching side or feel that reading is their main focus, but whether we like it or not, our roles are changing. We have to find a way to encourage and support all school librarians who are interested in learning more about this side of school librarianship. It can be a tough, lonely job. Focusing on the reading for pleasure is a safe way to get your foot in the door with teachers but if the role is questioned, as it was with us,


Elizabeth Hutchinson FCLIP (@Elizabethutch ehutchinson@library.gg www.elizabethahutchinson.com) is Head of Schools’ Library Service, Guille-Allès Library, St Peter Port Guernsey.


how do you change what you are doing? I am not saying that you should leave the reading for pleasure behind but what do you do if you want to start talking about enquiry-based learning and the schools librarian’s role in supporting and teaching it?


Find what works for you I was lucky to meet Darryl but what can other school librarians do to learn what they can teach if they wish to change direction? Take a look at Fosil and talk to other school librarians. Our skill is research, so take some time to find out what works for you. This is our specialism, this is our “what we can do that the schools can’t do themselves” and I truly believe that this is our route to survival. IP


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