3.2+Commitment

**Commitment**

**Excellent teacher librarians...**


 * 3.2.1 are dedicated to excellence in professional service. **
 * 3.2.2 emphasise a learning and teaching focus in school library programs and services. **
 * 3.2.3 promote the profession of teacher librarianship in their schools and the wider community. **
 * 3.2.4 foster a reading culture through the active promotion of literature. **

Research has repeatedly identified that the promotion of reading can have a major impact on literacy development and overall educational success. According to Krashen (2004), children involuntarily acquire essential language skills when reading for pleasure, including acquiring a large vocabulary and developing a good writing style with sound grammatical constructions and spelling. The teacher librarians at site 1 employ a number of strategies to cultivate a reading culture, beginning with the practice of reading aloud to Preparatory students. The students delight in the animated storytelling and at the conclusion of the lesson, borrow with great enthusiasm. The practice of reading aloud to students is continued through to year 7; the teacher librarians selecting age-appropriate literature that both excites the students', and motivates them to read for pleasure. I believe reading aloud to be a simple yet effective strategy in the promotion of reading and I would like to initiate a 'Lunch 'n' Listen' program where students from years 5 and 6 read aloud to the younger students during part of the lunch break. I would make this an initiative of the Junior R.A.W. (Readers and Writers) Book Club.  The commitment of the teacher librarians at site 1  towards cultivating a reading culture is evident in the array of literary opportunities on offer. R.A.W. Book Club operates for Senior and Junior students and is actively promoted in the weekly newsletter as well as on the library website. Breakfast meetings occur twice a term in the Resource Centre, where favourite books are discussed and new resources introduced. R.A.W. members embark on a 'book-buying' excursion to Borders, and have input into the purchasing of new resources, as well as acting as hosts for visiting authors and illustrators. In celebration of Dr Seuss's birthday, R.A.W. members donned a top hat and visited junior classes to read a selection of Dr Seuss favourites.

The significance of technology promoting literature is evident at site 1 ; the library website houses [|**Book Snippets**], the library blog. In the past it has been the responsibility of the library technician to maintain this blog, however regular 'blogging' has been neglected for quite some time and I would like to further facilitate a reading culture by giving ownership of the blog to the students, providing them with the opportunity to share their reviews, reflections and recommendations. Book Snippets contains links to other blogs such as [|**boysread**], a blog committed to 'transforming boys into lifelong readers.' I would like to explore the possibility of creating a virtual school library, where students can create their own avatars and take ownership of selecting literature for their virtual library. There is a definite need for the promotion of literature among teenage boys, and this may be a way of utilising web 2.0 technologies to 'turn them on' to reading.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">For a number of years, students in years 4-6 have participated in the [|**Scholastic Lexile program**] at <span style="color: #ff0000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">site 1 <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">. Reluctant readers become motivated when they are able to select literature based on their interests, and their individual level of text comprehension. The Lexile program takes the 'guess work' out of selecting reading material, and provides extrinsic motivation through the attainment of certificates and awards. In my professional practice, I would be proactive in seeking parental support for this valuable program and provide continued support and encouragement to the students throughout the year. I would keep a centralised record of their lexile book lists as the students often arrived at the library without a list from which to select reading material, and I would schedule a regular lesson in the computer lab for them to complete a quiz or re-sit their lexile test.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">This is the inaugural year for year 7 and 8 Literary Classes at <span style="color: #ff0000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">site 1 <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">; weekly lessons designed in collaboration with the English teachers to, in part, improve reading proficiency and promote lifelong reading. ICT's such as book trailers and blogs, in addition to cooperative group book talks, encourage and incite a passion for reading. The compilation of a <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> "Magic Box" for each year level, provides students with a range of literature from which they may wish to borrow including new or popular titles, and a selection of non-fiction titles. The students enjoy sharing their opinions with others during regular book talks, and are positively enthused about creating their own book trailers later in the year; another engaging way of using technology to foster a love of reading. Borrowing statistics for years 7 and 8 have improved exponentially, and there has been an overwhelming increase in the number of reserved items this semester. "Complaints" from several teachers within the school regarding students 'reading during my subject', proves the ultimate success the teacher librarians at <span style="color: #ff0000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">site 1 <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"> have experienced with this initiative for reading promotion. Incorporated into the year 7 Literary Class is the [|Premier's Reading Challenge], which further promotes lifelong reading and reinforces the ideals of the teacher librarians at this site. I would like to see this Reading Challenge promoted throughout the school, and would seek to gain support from the teaching faculty and parents alike.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">Other literature enrichment activities at <span style="color: #ff0000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">site 1 <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"> i<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> nclude **Literature Week**, with **visiting Authors** from a range of genres that entertain and inspire students with book talks and associated activities. The library is host to themed book fairs twice a year, and **'Love in the Library'** and **'Blind Date with a Book'** mark the celebration of Valentine's Day. It is increasingly difficult to engage senior students in reading for pleasure, bu<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> t one method that has proved successful at <span style="color: #ff0000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">site 1 <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"> is the 'Blind Date with a Book'. Students in years 11 and 12 are 'hooked-up' with a book that has been hand-selected by the library staff to suit their 'reading personality'. **Readers Cup** provides a competitive environment for the promotion of reading at <span style="color: #ff0000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">site 1 <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">; 'Excellent teacher librarians foster an environment where learners are encouraged and empowered to read, view, listen and respond for understanding and enjoyment' (ASLA, 2004). The Head of Information Services has been the coordinator for this region since 2004, and clearly demonstrates best practice through her commitment to this competition.


 * Looking to the Future:**

media type="youtube" key="BuRuwR2JSXI" height="280" width="460" align="left" The teacher librarians at site 1 are continually thinking of ideas to promote and foster a reading culture at the College. We decided to run short promotional videos at the beginning of each senior school assembly to get the message across that 'cool kids read'. Sometimes we would play funny book-related clips or parodies, and other times we would play a book trailer or a film trailer for a book that would no doubt become popular as soon as the film adaptation hit the big screen. This incentive proved to be a huge success, but was unfortunately stopped when the Head of Information Services retired at the end of 2011. I am definitely going to start doing this again in the new year to promote new books and to fuel an interest in reading for pleasure.