Part 1: Understanding Leadership as Part of the School Library Professional’s Role

This is the first post in a series that updates my previously posted articles on school library professionals and leadership. 

Whether it is writing the library’s strategic plan, negotiating timetables with senior staff, developing a suite of library policies or running an informal professional learning lunchtime session, school library professionals are enacting leadership roles every day.

Yet many teacher librarians (TLs) and other library staff don’t see themselves as leaders. This is often reinforced by school cultures that do not recognise the value of the school library, and a lack of understanding of the role school library professionals play (Kachel, 2025).  The voice of school library professionals is often not heard, despite ongoing advocacy and research evidence (Webber et al., 2024). While school library professionals share incredible evidence of the work they are doing and provide high quality professional learning opportunities to each other at network meetings and conferences, the audience to which they advocate consists mostly of their colleagues, and the observation that ‘we are preaching to the converted’ is frequently made.

To push back against the ongoing marginalisation of the profession, new strategies are needed to help extend the influence of school library professionals. One powerful approach could be to speak the language of leadership, to build more effective communication with stakeholders beyond the library space.

The following blog series discusses this strategy in detail. It begins with this post, which establishes how leadership is already embedded in the roles held by school library professionals, using the TL as an example, even when not formally recognised. The second post will explore how leadership styles and frames can help school library professionals influence school culture more effectively and will close with a third post focusing on strategic leadership in practice.

Leadership is Already Embedded in the TL Role

The recently released ALIA/ACSL statements on school libraries and school library staff state that qualified TLs can lead “information literacy development and a culture of inquiry across the school community”, “initiatives to enhance teaching and learning” and “the design, management and evaluation of school library operations” (Australian Library and Information Association & Australian Coalition for School Libraries, 2024a, 2024b). These national statements aren’t just rhetoric; they reflect the real and wide-ranging impact school library professionals can have. Unlike most educators, TLs work across all year levels, subjects, and teaching teams. That kind of reach is leadership in action.

While misconceptions and stereotypes of TLs, in practice these professionals are (or should be):

• Guiding technology integration and investigating the impacts of GenAI
• Championing reading for pleasure and the development of a school wide reading culture
• Resourcing the curriculum and collaboratively planning the with teachers
• Influencing school-wide policies around information and digital literacy, academic integrity and digital citizenship

These are not support roles—they are strategic leadership actions.

Leadership vs Management: Why Both Matter

Leadership and management are related, but distinct. As Kevin Kruse (2013, para 5) puts it, “Managers manage things. Leaders lead people.” TLs must do both.

• Management includes running the space, budgeting, maintaining the collection, and scheduling.
• Leadership involves setting a vision, inspiring others, advocating for the library’s role in learning, and leading change.

The challenge is that much of the professional learning offered to school library staff focuses heavily on management tasks, leaving a gap in leadership capability and confidence. As Merga (2019) notes, TLs may hesitate to claim their leadership identity, especially when their role is not formally recognised in the school hierarchy.

Why Learn Leadership Theory?

If we accept that TLs and other school library professionals lead, then it follows that we should understand how leadership works. Leadership theory provides the vocabulary, strategies, and insight to make that leadership more intentional—and more visible.

In particular, theory enables school library staff to:

• Frame proposals in ways that resonate with school leaders
• Build influence by understanding power dynamics (Raven, 1993)
• Strengthen strategic planning by drawing on conceptual models
• Use evidence to advocate for the profession more effectively

Hughes’ words remain as true now as when they were first published: “Advocacy involves not only assembling evidence but ensuring that it is presented in a suitable format for the intended audience” (2014, p.40).

Practical Step: Build Your Fluency in Leadership Language

Start by looking at your current library goals. Are they framed in terms of capacity building, student agency, or whole-school impact? If not, try rewriting one.

Example:

• Instead of: “Run a lunchtime book club”
• Try: “Foster student agency and wellbeing through literacy enrichment”

Reframing your work using the language and priorities of school leadership helps decision makers see its value more easily. When you link your work to the school’s strategic goals, you make it easier for busy leaders to recognise your impact.

What’s Next in the Series?

In the next post, we’ll explore leadership styles and frames—how they influence school culture and decision-making, and how TLs can use them to “read the room” and pitch ideas more effectively.

Because understanding leadership isn’t just about professional growth—it’s about professional survival. In a time when the role of the TL is too often under threat, we must lead with clarity, confidence, and strategy.

References

American Association of School Librarians. (2017). School librarians as learning leaders. http://www.ala.org/aasl/sites/ala.org.aasl/files/content/aaslissues/advocacy/AASL_LearningLeaders_Admin_V2_FINAL_R2.pdf

Australian Library and Information Association, & Australian Coalition for School Libraries. (2024a). ALIA ACSL statement on school libraries and information literacy. Australian Library and Information Association. https://www.alia.org.au/common/Uploaded%20files/ALIA-Docs/Group-Docs/ALIA%20ACSL%20Statement%20on%20School%20Libraries%20and%20Information%20Literacy.pdf

Australian Library and Information Association, & Australian Coalition for School Libraries. (2024b). ALIA ACSL statement on school library staffing. Australian Library and Information Association. https://acsl.alia.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/ALIA-ACSL-Statement-on-School-Library-Staffing-1.pdf

Australian School Library Association, & Australian Library and Information Association. (2001). Learning for the future: Developing information services in schools (2nd ed.). Curriculum Corporation.

Hughes, H., Bozorgian, H., & Allen, C. (2014). School libraries, teacher-librarians and student outcomes: Presenting and using the evidence. School Libraries Worldwide, 20(1), 29–50.

Kachel, D. E. (2025). Restoring school librarians: Challenges and strategies. Learning Hub, 1(1), 7. https://scholarworks.sjsu.edu/learning-hub/vol1/iss1/7

Feature image: Photo by Frankie Cordoba on Unsplash