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=Welcome to my Teacher-Librarian Portfolio!=

= = Come with me on my journey of discovery as I learn about and explore the wonderful world of Libraries and Teacher-Librarians!

//"At the moment that we persuade a child, any child, to cross that threshold, that magic threshold into a library, we change their lives forever, for the better."// - **President Barak Obama**

media type="youtube" key="E4HY70ORQWc" height="315" width="420"**"Why do we need Teacher-Librarians?"**
The ASLA/ALIA standards describes the professional knowledge, skills and commitment demonstrated by teacher librarians working at a level of excellence (ASLA/ALIA viewed 2011). As the teacher-librarian's role is multi-faceted, so too are the standards in which they should adhere to. Throughout this portfolio the three standards of professional excellence for teacher-librarians will be of focus. Also, four key topics will be outlined: information literacy, promotion of reading, collection development and collection management.

The following portfolio has been collated and is based on a state primary school in the suburb of Manunda in Cairns. For identity and privacy concerns, the school mentioned throughout this portfolio has been referred to as "Cairns School 1" and the teacher-librarian has been referred to as "Ray" or TL (teacher-librarian). Information collated for this portfolio was compiled over approximately 20 hours whereby observations and interviews were conducted with both the teacher-librarian "Ray" and his full time library aide "Lyn", as well as the Principal and other staff from the school community.

=__School Demographics__=

Cairns School 1 is central to the tri-hub of three major suburbs which are a targeted area for government renewal. The school community is made up of diverse multi-cultural backgrounds and many of the enrolled 600 students are from non-English speaking backgrounds where Torres Strait Islander and Aboriginal students make up 70% of the student population, Cook Islander’s 15%, Hmong and North African 7% and Caucasian 8%. This demographic mix adds to the complex nature of the school as does the social and economic disadvantage faced by many of the students. As cited in the annual school report for 2010:
 * 70% of the school community comes from an area which is 50% housing commission homes. One of the catchment suburbs has the highest density of public housing in Queensland, and is cited in many State and Commonwealth studies as one of the most dysfunctional suburbs in Australia.
 * According to the MySchool website 89% of families are in the bottom quartile of socio-economic status.
 * High unemployment (majority of families receiving a pension) 46% of parents not in paid work in last 12 months 34% of parents had no occupation stated.
 * High transience – from mid term 1, 110 students left the school during 2009 but 136 students enrolled.
 * Low health standards (high instances of diabetes) which leads to a lowered life expectancy (Students screened for hearing annually of which at least 60 students per year receive support from Hearing Australia.

Cairns School 1 has a staff size of approximately 70 and the school is considered 3 stream, meaning that there are three classes per year level. There is also a special education unit on site and has approximately 20 students with varying disabilities. The majority of special needs students are integrated into mainstream classes for several of their lessons which also includes their weekly library lesson and borrowing time. =__The Library__=

The Library is known as the 'Raymond XX Information Literacy Centre' and was newly constructed in mid 2010. It is situated in the centre of the school and opens onto a beautiful kitchen garden which has been a recent addition to the school curriculum through an initiative sponsored by [|Stephanie Alexander.] The Teacher-Librarian at the helm "Ray" has been both in the profession and at the school for his entire career of 24 years. The Teacher-Librarian’s full time aide "Lyn" has a workroom next to his office that is used for all of the school’s publishing services. It is here that the following is done: -Chart laminating. -Colour copying. -Book binding. The Library houses two classrooms with a bi-fold door separating the space, as well as a 30 computer study lab that can be utilized from an external entrance from the library whilst classes in the main area. The Library is renowned for it's extensive range of teacher resources and reference books, with various schools including the neighboring 'Catholic' School requesting to loan resources on a frequent basis. Whilst the Library is considered to be a place of learning, it also takes on a recreational role, whereby children can play games, watch short DVDs in the ‘Break Out’ room and draw or colour-in during both lunch breaks. All students are welcome at the library at both breaks and the computer lab is available to years 4-7 in the first break and Prep-3 in the second break.