Professional+Learning+Plan

**Professional learning plan**

During this placement I learned a lot about 'good practice' within a well resourced library. Having said this, as it was my first placement, I was aware that I was taking much at face value without questioning more deeply as to whether this was 'best practice' or whether the Teacher Librarian was constrained by school requirements.

Later on though, comparing the ALIA standards with my own observations, feedback and documentation I collected, it appear ed that the Teacher Librarian was very much in control of the every day direction of the library and was actively striving for 'best practice'. It would be interesting however to return to the same library at the end of my studies to compare my initial observations, with my (hopefully) more informed observations.

On future placements I would like to investigate further what 'best practice' might look like in a library which is not as well resourced as my first site placement; I would be interested in investigating how collection development and management is effected when there is a very limited (or non-existent) budget?

Another area I would like to look at is collaboration. Do all Teacher Librarians collaborate with staff in the same way, if not, does this difference e ffect the way the library is perceived by teaching staff?

In general I need to access more information on exactly what different Teacher Librarians deliver to their students. While literacy and research skills are a given, the form they are delivered in must differ widely. Do all Teacher Librarians teach the same research skills; is there more emphasis given to online research or book based research? Do all Teacher Librarians use webquests?

This placement really was just a jumping off point to the rest of my studies. It gave me a good idea of where to begin on my journey, and what questions to start asking to further my understanding.