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"Many schools are looking to transform, or have already transformed, the traditional teacher librarian into a broader role of information facilitator, particularly as the numbers of physical books in libraries decrease and students and teachers access more material online."

Teacher-librarians at VPS (Vancouver Public Schools) play a crucial role in this digital transformation and other strategic initiatives. As a result, they are expanding their role to spend more time in the classroom, curating digital content and lesson plans with teachers, teaching digital citizenship to students, and even emerging as technology experts within their schools.

" There are many aspects to the role teacher-librarians. Teacher-librarians are curriculum development leaders as well as a collaborative teaching and planning partners for the classroom teacher. They can be leaders into integrating technology into instruction in the school. They are the information specialists who provide both physical and intellectual access to material through teaching the knowledge, skills and values required to use information and to communicate knowledge ethically and effectively. Teacher-librarians must also be involved in revising and rewriting policies and procedures that are important to meet the needs of the twenty-first century. They are resource managers and must be up to date in reviewing new materials in order to develop their collections."

Libraries are reinventing themselves as content becomes more accessible online and their role becomes less about housing tomes and more about connecting learners and constructing knowledge.

School libraries are the hub of the school, librarians are heavily involved in education, and changing technology means the library is actually more relevant than ever. Elementary, middle and senior school teacher librarians talk about their roles and contributions to the teaching, learning and reading of the teachers and students. Emphasis on the exploration of 21 century skills and learner needs.

As our libraries evolve in the age of digital information, they need our help more than ever to stay well-funded and supported so they can grow in their critical role as advocates of technology and information literacy. Should they become learning commons, gathering places for trading information, technology hotspots, makerspaces, or all of the above? The possibilities are wide open, as you'll see in this playlist of videos about the future of libraries.

Donna Cross and Leanne Lester from the University of Western Australia discuss 10 key strategies to enhance student transition to secondary school. The article on transition is important because the library has a significant role to play here, at all levels of education. Consider how TLs in both primrary and secondary sectors can actively plan to bridge the move.

"The Australian Institute for Teaching and School Leadership (AITSL) has a role to establish a shared and agreed platform from which the quality of teaching and school leadership can continue to grow."

Buffy Hamilton shares a pre-research strategy employed with Year 11 students and demonstrates how the TL can undertake a lead role in curriculum planning and delivery around information literacy and inquiry.

"Technology should therefore play an important role in education if we want to provide teachers with learning environments that support 21st century methods of teaching and, most important, if we want to provide students with the skills they need to succeed."

Distributed leadership is primarily concerned with the practice of leadership rather than specific leadership roles or responsibilities. It equates with shared, collective and extended leadership practice that builds the capacity for change and improvement.

Susan Lovett is an Associate Professor in Educational Leadership at the University of Canterbury, New Zealand. Her research interests include leadership learning and development, and teacher leadership. In this Q&A, Lovett joins Teacher to discuss what teacher leadership is, and why she believes it is a mistake to attribute school leadership activities only to those residing in formal roles.

Potter looks at the shift from a hierarchical model to one of inclusiveness across the learning community and that acknowledges the expertise of others in different fields.

"As we emerge from the monstrous grip of the pandemic, the importance of quality, valid information has become even more important than ever before, and the role of a school librarian in steering a school forward is paramount."

The American Association of School Librarians (AASL) proudly supports the "Declaration for the Right to Libraries," a component of Barbara Stripling's 2013 American Library Association (ALA) Presidential Initiative, "Libraries Change Lives." School library programs change lives by empowering students to become effective and independent users of information and ethical and productive members of our democratic society. The declaration champions the nation's right to quality libraries of all types - public, school, academic, and special - and the expert teaching and guidance provided librarians and library staff. Guided by the AASL learning standards, school librarians teach students to think critically, create new knowledge, share knowledge, and pursue personal and esthetic growth. . AASL is an advocate for the indispensable role of school library programs with school librarians, for best practices in school librarianship, and for the core values and ethics of the library profession. It is within this capacity that AASL endorses and encourages the profession to support the "Declaration for the Right to Libraries."

Pat Kyle, librarian at the Washington International School (WIS) was presented with a rare opportunity. A private PreK-12 institution in northwest Washington, DC, WIS had launched a five-year redesign of the school in which she would take an active role, helping build a brand new media center.

Alan November considers school library design as a space that thoughtfully integrates online learning, and collaboration and content creation among students, and will serve the entire school community well into the future.

Students are the future, but what's the future for students? To arm them with the relevant, timeless skills for our rapidly changing world, we need to revolutionize what it means to learn. Education innovators like Dr. Sugata Mitra, visiting professor at MIT; Sal Khan, founder of Khan Academy; and Dr. Catherine Lucey, Vice Dean of Education at UCSF, are redefining how we engage young minds for a creatively and technologically-advanced future. Which of these educators holds the key for unlocking the learning potential inside every student?

I found this interesting in how many of the presenters shared Sir Ken Robinson's views on education. That as it began out of the Industrial Revolution, it's now time to adapt to the skills that our current students need. Dr Mitra's list of what students really need: Reading Comprehension skills and the ability to search and retrieve from the internet I found particularly relevant to my role as a teacher librarian.

Interesting article, around the 50th anniversary of the moon landing, about conspiracy theories and fake news, and how people get caught up in them. As TLs we are often in a role of teaching digital literacy and combating fake news is a part of that.