In the past, I have called into the question the practice of employing non-librarian professionals into roles that have traditionally been performed by qualified libraries. This happens in the APS where any qualified graduate with the required skills can work at the National Library of Australia. We're seeing similar things happen in public libraries more and more. Being a card-carrying member of my professional association, I value the quality control that an accredited qualification brings to the profession, and the consistency in service standards that results in the industry.
And yet, I now find that the tables have somewhat turned on me, having moved to the education industry.
Last week, when I attended the SLAV event, I raised some of the issues mentioned in my previous blog post. It was explained to me by a few people that they didn't consider SLAV to be a professional association for librarians per se, but a professional association for teachers. Furthermore, they saw the school librarianship to be intrinsically a teaching profession, and that ALIA had very little bearing on their profession.
Furthermore, some implied (and others stated quite frankly to my face) that I will never be a school librarian without a teaching qualification.
Whilst I found this quite discouraging (and slightly demoralising) I also found consolation in the fact that people were judging me purely for the piece of paper that I had, and not necessarily on my merits. There was also a certain comfort in mixing with a couple of other professionals at the SLAV event who weren't necessarily teaching professionals, but were holding distinguished positions in the school library and learning industries.
And here's the thing: I've addressed the skills and criteria necessary to work as a school librarian. I can talk to school kids for hours about children's and young adult literature. I can run workshops on writing essays and using proper referencing and citation. I can run research skills sessions using authoritative online sources, and subscription databases. I can run recreational reader development activities. I can assess, maintain and develop a collection, according to a collection development policy. I can network with local businesses, community organisations and libraries in developing partnerships for projects. I can manage workflow in a small team. I can perform basic original cataloguing - certainly to the degree necessary for a school - and oversee copy-cataloguing. I can manage a budget, and prepare project plans for creating new innovations, such as digitising a/v collections, establishing notebook computer loan schemes, etc. I have prior experience working with schools and teachers in public and state libraries. I have performed roles that have required an understanding of VELS. In my current role, I've already started fitting into the school culture, assisting with co-curricular and sports activities. I've worked to establish a professional relationship with the teaching staff, and a welcoming and helpful relationship with the students. And, as I said before, I'm a card-carrying professional librarian.
Most importantly, I am very passionate about what I do. I am 100% dedicated to providing a safe environment where students can learn and share information and culture, and that they will value as a social and recreational hub in the school.
Yes, a teaching degree would certainly enhance my current skills. But the reality is that (a) I can't financially afford to take a year off work to study teaching, (b) I've committed myself to this role as a school library manager, and (c) there's no guarantee that a teaching qualification would necessarily lead to me getting a "better" job, so where's the sense in spending a year of full-time and university fees? Finally, (d) a teaching degree won't necessarily make me a good teacher. I'm not really convinced that I would be a good teacher, otherwise I would have gone and studied teaching, back in the days when the government would have financially supported me in my studies.
So, this is where I'm at. I'm quite proud of my achievements. I know I'm not perfect, but I'm pretty confident that I can perform my role well and at least meet expectations of my employer. Without a teaching degree.
(Of course, if anybody wants to financially support me for a year, and pay my uni fees, to study teaching for a year full-time, then I will happily obliged. You have until October to raise the funds.)
Finally, I'll also add that in my current team there's me, the library manager, a teacher librarian who does a combination of teaching, managing part of the collection, and working the circ/ref desk, and a library technician. We work as a team, and between us, we certainly have the required range of skills and knowledge to provide a top quality service.
