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The Teaching Librarian 21.3 29 Now what? After designing our inquiry-based learning framework, we knew that we needed the help of teacher-leaders to support staff and students in exploring and beginning to use it. Over the last few years, our board has worked hard to identify and support our teacher-librarians as key system leaders. When it came to sparking an interest in inquiry, we knew that elementary and secondary teacher-librarians were vital partners in creating curiosity about inquiry-based learning. Teacher-Librarians as Inquiry Igniters When we think about engaging students in inquiry, we think about the different ways we can ignite a "spark" of interest in a topic. Teacher-Librarians, by the very nature of the conversations we have each day with students, colleagues and parents, are constantly igniting interest. When we suggest a new author or text to a student, we're capturing their interest and inviting them to take a risk by exploring something new. Teacher-Librarians as inquiry igniters and lead learners about inquiry just makes sense. Creating an inquiry disposition One of the most important things we've learned about inquiry- based learning is that we each need to cultivate our own sense of curiosity. Being curious is the first step - being willing to ask those questions that as adults, lurk a little below the surface, but that as students may be floating on top (or even blurted right out loud). As we cultivate our own curiosity as teacher- librarians, we begin to model with our language and actions how to be curious. For our students, being curious and pursuing that curiosity into an inquiry can be very challenging. Inquiry-based learning takes stamina and perseverance. Teacher-Librarians, with our strong background in scaffolding how students access and make sense of information, are vital in supporting students when they participate in inquiry-based learning. Our familiarity with many subject areas and curricula empowers us to anticipate and understand the learning goals. Our intimate knowledge of the resources we have available for students to access - from books, to digital resources, to human resources like experts in the community (and around the The Inquiry Process featured in the 2010 Together for Learning document.