Teacher and librarian collaboration: A qualitative study

The twenty-first century is marked by increased challenges in education and limited resources to address them. A solution proposed within school librarianship is teacher and librarian collaboration. This qualitative study examines the practices of highly collaborative teachers and librarians and identifies mechanisms that operate within schools to facilitate high-end collaboration. Five broad themes emerge from the data and identify essential elements of successful collaboration: school culture, positive attributes of collaborators, communication, management, and motivation. This study adds to the body of knowledge of teacher and librarian collaboration by providing empirical support for collaborative practices described in school librarianship literature. The model of teacher and librarian collaboration that emerged from the data provides a preliminary framework for high-end collaborative environments in schools. Of particular interest were findings regarding time management. Participants indicated that in spite of limited time, time issues are overcome when collaboration is highly valued.