The work of the high school librarian : Five high school librarians on their work, role and relation to the educational activity of their schools

Abstract

The aim of this Bachelor´s thesis is to deepen our understanding of the high school librarian’s work, role and relations to teachers and management. Research questions concern how high school librarians prioritize work assignments and for what reasons, as well as how they regard their occupational role. Issues of integration in the educational activities of the school as well as obstacles and possibilities in relation to teachers and management are investigated. Five semi-structured interviews with high school librarians from different school contexts were conducted. The theoretical framework is based on the idea of the sociology of knowledge together with Loertcher’s Library Media Specialist´s Taxonomy. The results show librarians strive to prioritize pedagogical activities. Their pedagogical role in schools is not static but is developed by some of the librarians. Pedagogical work depended mainly on individual initiatives, with one exception. Possibilities for developing cooperation were found to exist in all the schools. Obstacles identified, though rare, were some teachers’ tendencies to work individually and the lack of opportunity to prioritize pedagogical work as administration consumed their time. Further obstacles were school managers tendencies to rely on the school librarians for initiatives and that only one school used meetings for regular pedagogic discussions