Cooperation takes time.
Not cooperating takes more time.
If you have access to EBSCOHost, search for this article: Teachers and Librarians: Collaborative Relationships. ERIC Digest., By: Russell, Shayne, ERICRIE0, 20000801Database: ERIC
Now, since ERIC Digests are in the public domain and may be freely reproduced and disseminated, I'll put some key points here:
- "Assignments developed in partnership between teachers and library media specialists are known to be more 'authentic'-exhibiting a higher degree of meaning and significance" (Gross & Kientz, 1999).
- "...test scores increase as school librarians spend more time collaborating with and providing training to teachers, providing input into curricula, and managing information technology for the school" (Manzo, 2000).
- Administrative Factors: "The greatest amount of collaboration occurs when the media specialist has a flexible schedule and team planning is encouraged by the principal" (Tallman & van Deusen, 1994).
- Interpersonal Factors: "It is up to the library media specialist to take steps to change this by serving on curriculum committees, attending planning meetings, and sharing ideas for integrating the media center into the curriculum" (Bishop & Larimer, 1999).
Wouldn't it be sweet if we could do something about changing the statement in #4 by including teacher/librarian collaboration in teacher training as well as school librarian training?
