Should we change the terminology in order to ensure people realise we are advancing as technology and attitudes do? Will the term 'director of learning technology' gain more respect than 'teacher librarian' in the future? Will an 'information services unit' be more likely to be used by students than a 'library'.
I do not think so. I think that changing the name of something means nothing if it has not changed, and I believe if something does change then those who are exposed to it are aware of that whether the name has changed or not. If a teacher librarian and a director of learning technology do the same thing - support students and staff by providing them with information support and reading material, among other things - then the name is not going to make a difference to those around them.
The only situation where this terminology might be useful in my mind, is the one where students and staff are not aware of the role the TL wishes to play, or how important a resource the school library is - but even then I think if the TL campaigns hard enough he or she should be able to eventually have everyone realise what they haven't already, and changing the terminology could potentially do more harm than good, with people seeing it just as a name change...
I think TLs and their libraries should move with the times, and do what libraries have always done - provide everyone with up to date information and textual entertainment. Hopefully everyone will realise the potential their TL and library has sooner rather than later.
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