the Inquiry

Representing my school, a verbal comment that I made to the Australian Parliament House of Representatives Standing Committee on Education and Training Inquiry into school libraries and teacher librarians in Australian schools at the Hobart hearing on 30th April follows:

The role of the Teacher-librarian has never been more critical in our schools. Their roles can epitomize the shift in thinking to the new learning spaces, and the teaching and learning styles that have been brought about by embracing technological change. The thinking curriculum, the growing evidence about how students ‘learn to learn’ as well as the importance of growing good leadership in resourcing schools adequately, all underpin our call for new staffing roles and funding for school library services.

This investigation demonstrates that research has always said there is a direct relationship between improving student achievement and adequate resource allocation - well-stocked and professionally led school library instructional programs designed and delivered by teacher librarians have an important impact on the [whole] school effects, not just the classroom effects.

The many faceted roles of the school library staff incorporate areas such as:
* reading for everyday literacy, pleasure, well-being and school engagement;
* ICT skills, competencies, digital literacy, and technology based learning;
* self-directed learning and independent study for academic integrity as well as lifelong learning;
* resource allocation for the effective management of learning spaces and the school's assets;
and what we now call across school, college and higher education
* a ‘learning commons’ for information literacy programs – whether inquiry based learning, creative and critical thinking, cross curricular literacy and new media literacy, technology rich learning spaces; and differentiated instruction.

What does a Teacher-librarian do? TL’s teach all students, not just classes as they are the key providers of the everyday literacy programs within schools, ranging from handling information, using traditional print media through to the sophisticated critical literacy and new media literacy skills. Teacher librarians teach all students every year, so they develop ongoing relationships with students.

Schools require new libraries, new teams, new systems, new services, new licenses and permissions that encourage safe and remote access. The new discovery interface technologies that better school library information management systems provide, allow effective and efficient information handling skills across a vast number of the world’s electronic databases and quality digital educational content beyond the access of the search engines such as Google. Libraries provide a managed gateway to world knowledge.

Good libraries have been providing more access to far more digital resources than the physical resources for a decade. As books are increasingly digitized, there will be less reliance on low quality and controversial online resources from the internet or the ‘great library in the sky’.

In response to the ‘format shift’ for books and other curriculum resources to e-books, the need for an ICT skills continuum and competency frameworks will ensure that school libraries and teacher librarians pay special attention to information literacy as a cross-curriculum and over-arching set of 21st century and transferable skills. Whilst the Australian Curriculum embeds digital literacy, national ICT reports focus on these emerging technologies and new media literacy skills . Fluency in the new media literacy skills is not automatic and it requires explicit teaching and development across the curriculum.[i]

In summary, Teacher librarians need to be available for their facilitating roles in partnership with classroom teachers to ensure the integration of information literacy, ICT and literature programs as well as supporting all students on personalized bases in their research, study, online learning and recreational reading.

[i] Australia. Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations. Strategic ICT Advisory Service (2009) Collaboration in Teaching and Learning (CTL) Dulwich, SA: Education.au Available at http://www.educationau.edu.au/sites/default/files/2009_SICTAS_CTL_1.pdf