Wellington College China

OBJECTIVES

The Hiba Academy Shanghai Primary School Teacher Librarian is responsible to the School Master through the Head of Library and the Head of Primary. The Hiba Academy Shanghai Primary School librarian has the professional responsibility to live-out the purpose and values of the school in and out of the classroom.

The Hiba Academy Primary School Teacher Librarian is both a teacher and an information specialist. The librarian oversees the day-to-day operation of the Primary Library. The librarian is responsible for creating a stimulating educational environment and for working closely with other members of staff to plan, provide, and curate learning resources. The librarian manages the physical and virtual library for Grade 1 to 5 students, parents and teachers, ensuring resources permeate the school.

The Hiba Academy Librarian supports all students and teachers to progress and become better inquirers, consumers and creators of information. The Librarian models high impact teaching and works alongside other academic school leaders to further enhance and embed the school’s pedagogical vision. 

All teachers contribute to the overall pastoral care of students. In addition, all teachers are required to demonstrate a commitment to the school’s co-teaching model; developing effective and respectful professional connections with other educators to enhance pupil learning. 

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

The Teacher Librarian provides support to teaching and learning by:

• cultivating and maintaining an environment that is welcoming, inclusive and respectful of the needs of all students, their families and teachers
• assisting students and teachers to find resources to support their learning, teaching, research and interests 
• monitoring borrowing habits and finding ways to support student interests, capabilities and promoting a wide range of materials
• creating a physical learning space that is engaging and aesthetically pleasing, where learning is visible 
• creating and maintaining a physical learning space that offers diverse of learning materials for students to explore, promote inquiry and entice rich language exchange
• engaging and challenging learners in a supportive and inclusive, information rich learning environment
• ensuring that the library resources, facilities, programs and services support the school’s concept-based inquiry approach to learning
• instilling a love and appreciation of Chinese and English literature within students, working in partnership with form tutors to fulfil this endeavour
• collaborating with other staff to plan and co-teach sequential learning programs that enable students to develop digital, information and media literacy 
• promoting the joy of reading and the services offered by the library within the broader school community using the school’s communication channels
• offering ongoing training to other staff to support and embed the student research framework 

The Teacher Librarian is responsible for all administrative tasks related to the successful operation of the library services by:

• liaising with the Head of Hiba Academy Library Services and other members of the library team both within Hiba Academy Shanghai and across other Wellington China schools to ensure efficient procedures and systems
• upholding all school policies and feed into review processes for continual refinement
• planning an annual calendar of events for the library to complement other school happenings and to support the ongoing development of our students’ international mindedness

• preparing and managing the annual library budget, coordinating this with other members of the Hiba Academy Library staff and academic leaders
• maintaining an effective and supportive printing and preparation area to support students and staff

The Teacher Librarian proactively collaborates with other teachers by:

• networking with and supporting other teacher librarians both within and beyond Wellington College China
• actively participating in the school’s annual review, offering proactive assistance to drive initiatives forward 
• staying current with copyright requirements and legislation; sharing this with other stakeholders
• staying up to date with new multimedia and IT resources and supporting teachers with appropriate information and training
• offering professional training and support to teachers in areas related to information literacy and the development of student research skills 
• engaging with school-wide pedagogical training opportunities

The Teacher Librarian manages the library resources by:

• ensuring the collection is continually enriched by drawing on student voice, collaboration with other Hiba Academy Shanghai educations and through the acquisition of high-quality materials that meet government requirements
• collecting and analysing data to inform the ongoing development of the collection, programs and services within the allocated budget
• overseeing all aspects of the library collection, including resources in other parts of the school beyond the library 
• maintaining the library database system
• managing staff and student library records
• overseeing the circulation, borrowing, organisation and cataloguing of all books, publications and equipment 
• managing and promoting the school’s e-book library and subscriptions
• coordinating regular stocktaking and updating of publications and resources

BASIC QUALIFICATION

• Bachelor’s degree, teaching certificate 
• Librarian qualifications

EXPERIENCE

• Experience in a primary school library environment
• minimum four years teaching experience
• international and bilingual school experience
• cross-cultural work experience

EXPERTISE

• Excellent written English and effective interpersonal communication skills 
• Excellent technological literacy across a range of applications 
• Excellent IT knowledge and capacity to assist others with relevant programs, resources and applications
• An outstanding capacity to engage respectfully and positively with students, parents and staff
• The ability to work collaboratively with other members of staff
• An applied understanding of concept-based learning 
• Effective administrative and organisational skills
• ability to assess student interests, needs and development
• open, proactive, patient and caring
• proficient in Microsoft Office and other educational software

Preferred Aptitudes

All staff are expected to uphold the school’s values by:

• safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children
• supporting and promoting the School’s culture, reputation and strategic objectives  
• complying with the School’s Code of Conduct and other policy and regulatory requirements
• building relationships with students, staff and parents based on respect, trust and shared purpose 
• behaving ethically and with appropriate confidentiality and sensitivity  
• modelling punctuality and adherence to organisational deadlines 
• supporting the Hiba Academy Values

As an employer of choice, Wellington College China is committed to making professional learning and personal development central to its ethos and approach. WCC fully recognises its responsibilities for safeguarding children. Our safeguarding policy applies to all staff, governors and volunteers working in the Group.