(b) General Administration

As part of my duties in the libraries I have worked, I have upheld the procedures and policies of the school. I have made myself familiar with the school policy regarding resource use, borrowing protocols and internet access and usage and ensured that they have been observed properly by students.
I have frequently had to manage the library space and the students occupying it at the time (e.g. students on study period or during lunch and morning tea). During this time it is essential that student behaviour is appropriate and considerate to other classes using the library’s various learning spaces. I must also be available to answer queries, help students locate resources and suggest alternate or unconsidered sources of information. Technical queries are also common; students will often require assistance with computers, printers and photocopiers – to answer these I have had to develop knowledge and skills of the devices to help solve problems and provide satisfactory outcomes. I find it is very important to be friendly and approachable to the students, yet maintain an air of authority. Luckily, the girls at school are generally polite and considerate and it is rare for me to have to raise my voice to demand alterations in their behaviour. Time management is also a vital management skill for the teacher-librarian. Not only do you have to manage your time in order to achieve daily objectives, but you often have to manage your time around student needs, staff needs and unforseen events that require immediate attention. During my work experience I have developed a number of time saving steps, such as producing spine labels as part of the cataloguing process. In our library these are normally two separate tasks done by different people but because I am doing both these tasks at the moment it seemed sensible to do them together.

Areas identified for further development – involvement in managerial functions such as budgeting, and policy development (collection development, internet, copyright, plagiarism etc…)