Team building

Teacher Librarians are, in a majority of situations, responsible for building a team especially when collaborating. If a TL proposes to collaborate in the beginning, they must have a clear plan of action as the classroom teacher most likely has their unit planned and collaborating could add extra work or mean the work done was unnecessary. To be organised prior to proposing collaboration will ensure you work together as a team more effectively.

The benefits of working in a team with fellow teachers is beneficial to the librarian in several ways. The TL is seen more as a teacher and not 'just' a librarian. In my experience, it has been surprising the number of students who comment when they discover I teach history and geography. This idea is reinforced if the TL works with teachers in subjects that students categories as completely 'unrelated' to the library. Effective relationships are also developed between both teachers and the teachers and students.

Relationships are important for librarians to succeed in the team. All teachers involved in the team must shared the same ideas and objectives. The rules and instructions within the group and those also passed on to students must be clear and consistent. This ensures the teachers appear equal, able to do the same job, the team works cooperatively, and problems that may arise with the task/s can be dealt with properly (especially if team members are absent for whatever reason).