UNIT-2 School Librarianship Roles Responsibilities PDF

UNIT-2 School Librarianship: Roles, Responsibilities, Skills and Competencies Outline: 2.0 Learning Objectives 2.1 Introduction 2.2 Role, duties, and responsibilities 2.3 Knowledge and skills 2.4 Competencies needed of a school librarian 2.5 NEP (2020) and NCFSE (2023) and their Implications for S...

UNIT-2 School Librarianship: Roles, Responsibilities, Skills and Competencies Outline: 2.0 Learning Objectives 2.1 Introduction 2.2 Role, duties, and responsibilities 2.3 Knowledge and skills 2.4 Competencies needed of a school librarian 2.5 NEP (2020) and NCFSE (2023) and their Implications for School Libraries Summary 2.0 Learning Objectives After reading the unit, one will be able to: grasp the role of a school librarian recognize the duties and responsibilities be aware of the knowledge and skills needed, and know the competencies needed by a school librarian. NEP (2020) and NCFSE (2023) and their Implications for School Libraries 2.1 Introduction The school librarian should be a professionally qualified staff responsible for the planning and managing of a school library. They should be supported by adequate personnel, working with all the academic community members, and liaising with other libraries. The school librarian's role will vary according to the type of school, the budget, the curriculum, and the teaching methodology followed in schools. There are general areas of knowledge, such as resource, library, information management, and teaching, which are essential for school librarians to develop and operate effective school library services. School librarians must be competent in planning and teaching information-handling skills to teachers and students in a networked environment. Therefore, school librarians must continue their professional training and development. 2.2 Role, Duties and Responsibilities The school library's primary function is to provide physical and intellectual access to information and ideas. The quality of the school library program mainly depends on the human resources available within and beyond the school library. The school library needs to have a well-trained and highly motivated staff, insufficient numbers based on the school size and unique needs, to meet the teaching and learning needs of the school community. Everyone working in the school library should have a clear understanding of library services and policies, well-defined duties and responsibilities, and adequately regulated conditions of employment and compensation that reflect the role expectations of their positions. Staffing roles and rationale As the school library supports teaching and learning, the school library program should be under the direction of professional staff with the same level of education and preparation as classroom teachers. The school librarian has to take a leadership role in the school. Therefore, the school librarian needs to have the same level of education and preparation as other leaders in the school, such as school administrators and learning specialists. The operational aspects of the school library are best handled by trained clerical and technical support staff to ensure that the librarian has the time needed for the professional roles of instruction, management, collaboration, and leadership. The key functions of the professional school librarian are as follows: Instruction The instructional role of the professional librarian in school embraces a wide diversity of teaching situations, with individual students, small groups of students, and classes of students, and also includes informal and formal professional development of teaching colleagues. The core activities of the instructional work of the school librarian, include: literacy and reading promotion information literacy (information skills, information competencies, information fluency, media literacy, transliteracy) inquiry-based learning (problem-based learning, critical thinking) technology integration professional development for teachers Management: The professional school librarian's managerial role is to organize a school library's documentation systems and processes for optimum use. This management covers the library facilities (both physical and virtual environments), the material resources (both physical and digital), and the services (both physical and virtual). Human resources management is also part of this role: recruiting, selecting, training, supervising, and evaluating library staff. Leadership and collaboration: The function of a school librarian is to contribute to the school's mission and goals. In cooperation with the school's administrators and teachers, the librarian must develop and implement library services and programs that support teaching and learning for all. The librarian contributes knowledge and skills to providing information and using resources for teaching and learning activities such as inquiry and project work, problem-solving events, literacy activities, reading engagement, and cultural activities. The school librarian may take a role, alone or in collaboration with other specialists in the school, in integrating technology and providing professional development for teachers and administrators. Collaboration is an essential part of the school librarian's work. The school librarian has to work with the school administrators to develop an understanding and support of the library's contribution to the school's mission and goals. The school librarian should report directly to the headteacher or deputy head and be expected to participate in school-wide planning and new leadership teamwork. Within the school community, the school librarian should work to facilitate school-wide continuity and cohesiveness through activities such as cross-curriculum inquiry projects and interdisciplinary learning units. Community Engagement: The school librarian should, if possible, also liaise with other library and cultural groups within the broader community, including public libraries. School libraries and public libraries should endeavor to cooperate to improve library services for children and young persons in a given community. A written cooperation agreement should include standard measures for the cooperation, specification and definition of cooperation areas, clarification of economic implications and how to share costs, and a scheduled period of the collaboration. Cooperation areas include shared staff training, cooperative collection development and programming, coordination of electronic services and networks, class visits to the public library, public reading and literacy promotion, and joint marketing of library services to children and young persons. Promoting Library Services: Promoting library services includes communicating with users about what the library offers and matching the library's services to users' needs and preferences. The services and facilities provided by the school library must be promoted so that the target groups know the library's role as a partner in learning and as a provider of services and resources. The target groups for promoting library services are the principal and the other members of the school administration, heads of departments, teachers, students, and parents. It is vital to adjust communication to the nature of the school and the different target groups. The school library should have a written plan for promoting library services, which should be worked out in cooperation with the school administration and teaching staff. The plan should include the following elements: objectives. This action plan indicates how the goals will be met and the evaluation methods by which the action plan's success will be assessed. The paraprofessional school library staff (i.e., library assistants or technicians) report to the librarian and support their work through their clerical and technical functions. Paraprofessional school library staff should have the training required for the school library's operational routines, such as shelving, lending, returning, and processing library material, providing technical services related to managing online circulation and cataloging services, and providing access to digital resources. Volunteers should not work as substitutes for paid library staff. Still, they may work in support roles based upon agreements that give a formal framework for their involvement in school library activities, including supervising the school librarian. Students may also work as school library volunteers within well-defined roles and under control. Student volunteers should be senior students, selected through a formal application process, and trained to carry out tasks such as helping to create displays, re-shelving library materials, reading with younger children, and recommending books to fellow students. Ethical Standards Everyone who works in the school library, including volunteers, is responsible for observing high ethical standards in their dealings with each other and all school community members. They must endeavor to put the rights of the library users before their comfort and convenience and avoid being biased by their attitudes and beliefs in providing library service. All children, youth, and adults should be dealt with equally regardless of their abilities and background, their rights to privacy, and their right to know. Everyone in the school library, including volunteers, should embody librarianship core values: stewardship, service, intellectual freedom, rationalism; literacy and learning, equity of access to recorded knowledge and information, privacy and democracy. The core values of equity, access to recorded knowledge, information and intellectual freedom are embodied in Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the values of IFLA (https://www.ifla.org/about/more) The school librarian has the following duties and responsibilities: analyze the resources and information needs of the school community; frame and fulfill policies for service development develop collection development policies and systems classify and catalog library materials train users in library and information literacy skills help students and teachers in the use of library resources and information technology used in the library answer reference and information inquiries using proper materials promote reading programs and related cultural events take part in planning programs connected with the curriculum engage in the preparation, implementation, and evaluation of learning programs to evaluate library services develop a partnership with external organizers prepare the budget of the library, and manage and train library staff. 2.3 Knowledge and Skills Required of a School Librarian The school library is a service addressed to all of the members of the school community: learners, teachers, administrators, counselors and parents. They are the primary users of school libraries. The fundamental qualities and skills expected from the school library staff are as follows: the ability to communicate positively and open-mindedly with children and adults understand the needs of different stakeholders cooperate with individuals and groups inside and outside the school community to knowledge and understanding of cultural diversity knowledge of learning strategies and educational theories information literacy skills and how to use information the materials - print, non-print, and e-resources, which comprise the library collection and how to access needed resources within and outside the library children's literature, media knowledge and skills in/to the fields of management and marketing applying emerging and converging technologies in library 2.4 Competencies needed of a School Librarian The qualification of a professional school librarian include the following: Teaching and learning, curriculum, instructional design and delivery Information processes and behaviors: literacy, information literacy, digital literacies, reading engagement Collection development, storage, organization, retrieval Program management: planning, development/design, implementation, evaluation/improvement Communication and collaboration skills Personal enthusiasm and commitment Digital media skills Service for the public good: accountability to the public/society Commitment to lifelong learning through continuing professional development Socialization to the field of school librarianship and its history and values Ethics and social responsibility Reading engagement Knowledge of literature, reading disabilities The development of the school librarian's professional competencies and disposition needs to be met through a diploma or degree program or continuing professional development completed after initial certification in teaching or librarianship. The goal of a school librarian's education is the actualization of instructing and librarianship skills. In countries with specific school librarian education programs, the curriculum should include, in addition to the core competencies of librarianship, an understanding of education (learning, curriculum, and teaching), digital technology and social media, and youth, culture, and literacies. Together, these areas of study should result in a deep and comprehensive understanding of information literacy from a creative thinking and problem-solving perspective. School library education should also address the role of the professional school librarian as a leader from the side, as a change agent or catalyst, and as a member of the school library community. 2.5 School Librarian's Role, Duties, Responsibilities, Knowledge, Skills, and Competencies in Light of NEP 2020 and NCFSE 2023 The National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 and the National Curriculum Framework for School Education (NCFSE) 2023 have significantly changed the Indian education system. School librarians support these reforms by developing students' information literacy, critical thinking, and problem-solving skills. Role Learning facilitator and information specialist Curriculum support and resource provider Reading promotion and literacy development Digital literacy and technology integration Collaborator with teachers and administrators Duties and Responsibilities Collection development and management Information literacy instruction and training Reader's advisory and book promotion Digital resource curation and maintenance Library program planning and implementation Budgeting and resource allocation Collaboration with teachers for curriculum support Knowledge and Skills Information technology and digital literacy Collection development and management Information literacy and instructional design Communication and interpersonal skills Curriculum knowledge and instructional strategies Budgeting and financial management Leadership and Collaboration Competencies Information literacy and critical thinking Digital citizenship and online safety Data analysis and interpretation Communication and presentation Collaboration and teamwork Adaptability and continuous learning NEP 2020 and NCFSE 2023 Alignment Emphasis on critical thinking, problem-solving, and information literacy Integration of technology and digital resources Focus on reading and literacy development Collaboration with teachers for curriculum support Development of 21st-century skills and competencies Conclusion School librarians are vital in supporting the NEP 2020 and NCFSE 2023 reforms. By developing their knowledge, skills, and competencies, librarians can effectively support students' learning and development in the 21st century. Summary In summary, it discusses the school librarian's role, duties, responsibilities, knowledge and skills, and competencies needed in light of the 2015 IFLA School Libraries guidelines and the NEP 2020 and NCFSE 2023 reforms. Unit 2 : Review Questions Explain the role of a professional and paraprofessional staff in school libraries State the duties and responsibilities of a school librarian.. Enumerate the knowledge and skills required of a school librarian Examine the competencies required of a school librarian. Briefly explain the School Librarian's Role, Duties, Responsibilities, Knowledge, Skills, and Competencies in Light of NEP 2020 and NCFSE 2023