The Australian School Libraries Research Project

The Australian School Libraries Research Project is a partnership between the Australian School Library Association (ASLA), the Australian Library and Information Association (ALIA) and
Edith Cowan University (ECU).

All school library personnel eg. teacher librarian, librarian, teacher, library technician, library officer/assistant/clerk, library volunteers are requested to take time to complete the survey.
Survey dates: Survey 1: Australian School Libraries – State of the nation - Runs from 6 – 20 August 2007.
Survey 2: Australian School Library Personnel and roles - tba.

Visit the website to see more background information - http://www.chs.ecu.edu.au/portals/ASLRP

As the infomration notes: ...."Within the teacher librarianship profession, the lack of national data about school libraries has long been recognized as a factor that limits the effectiveness of advocacy. Lonsdale (2003 p.32) in the ACER Report commissioned by ASLA on the Impact of School Libraries on Student Achievement: a Review of the Research pinpointed the serious nature of this gap. She commented:
Perhaps a useful starting point for Australian library professionals would be to gain a more accurate picture nationally of the current state of school librarianship … Before embarking on a sustained and systematic program of research, or even a promotional campaign to highlight the positive contribution that school librarians can make to student learning, it would be useful to have an accurate snapshot of what is currently happening around the country in regard to school library staffing."