In Chapter 1 we first investigated the power of collaboration. But what do we mean by collaboration in the context of working with subject teachers in our schools? Callison (2003) describes collaboration between a school librarian and a classroom teacher as a joint approach that includes enforcing standards from both disciplines as a ‘curriculum think tank’. He claims that by using the school librarian's knowledge of resources and the plans provided by the teacher, the team together is more equipped to teach lessons. However, the better known approach to partnership between librarians and teachers was developed by Montiel-Overall (2005) who defines collaboration as:

Montiel-Overall's continuum of collaborative practices, known as the Teacher and Librarian Collaboration (TLC) Model, is a theoretical framework that describes different levels of collaboration between professionals and families in the context of early childhood intervention, but it can be applied to school librarians working with teaching staff too. Eri (2018) gives examples of this in practice.

The TLC Model is divided into five levels, showing the extent of partner - ship between professionals and families, ranging from least collaborative to most collaborative:

• 1 parallel practices – professionals and families work independently of each other, with minimal interaction or co-ordination

• 2 consultative practices – professionals offer advice and guidance to families, but ultimately professionals make any decisions

• 3 co-operative practices – professionals and families work together in a more equal partnership, with shared decision making and a mutual understanding of goals and objectives

• 4 collaborative practices – professionals and families work together as equal partners, with shared decision making, joint problem solving, and a commitment to achieving common goals

• 5 integrated practices – professionals and families work together seamlessly as a team, with a shared understanding of each other's roles and responsibilities and a deep level of trust and respect.