Jennifer Toerien schreibt unter dem Titel «The role of the Librarian in the IB DP» über die Rolle des Mediothekars/der Mediothekarin in International Baccalaureate-Schulen (IB Schools), von denen es in der Deutschschweiz einige gibt (die Neue Kantonsschule Aarau, in der ich arbeite, gehört auch dazu). Besonders wichtig ist die Begleitung bei den Extended Essais (EE), die an Stelle einer Maturaarbeit geschrieben werden:
«As you can see from the above, although my role as a librarian does involve the traditional “librarian” activities of acquiring and curating resources, and helping my students to navigate them, it is actually so much bigger than that. I see my role directly as an educator. Perhaps more than anyone else in the school, it is the librarian’s job to nurture, enable and empower life-long learners because our subject is inquiry. I am not constrained by the need to teach my students to pass a Chemistry or Latin or Sports Science exam as well as teaching them how to think and learn independently – how to find, access, interrogate, assimilate, evaluate information and transform it into knowledge for themselves.
Not for me, not for the IB, not for the EE, not for their parents or their teachers. For themselves.
My students think I am supporting them through the EE, but my goal is so much larger. Done properly an EE can be a life changing experience that transforms a young person’s relationship with information and knowledge. It may well be the first time in your life when you realise that you have the power to turn yourself into an expert – when you realise that you know more about an academic topic than anyone around you, including your teachers, and that your thoughts and ideas matter.»