Networking

One of the unique aspects of teacher librarians in schools is how well many of them are networked with their colleagues around Australia and the world.  Necessity was the mother of this invention, as always, born in the days of interlibrary loans and strengthened by the often isolated environment of a staff of one or two.  So it is good to see that after the success of Hubber Barbara B’s Teddybear drive in the weeks following the Canberra bushfires in 2003,  TLs from Australia and around the world are once again sending fluffy friends to those children affected by the recent Victorian fires.  If you would like to donate a new teddy to the drive,  they can be posted or delivered to

Mt Lilydale Mercy College, 12o Anderson St, Lilydale  VIC  3140

Kildare Campus, Lavalla Catholic College, PO Box 1080, Traralgon  VIC  3844   (or Kosiosko St, Traralgon)

Werribee Primary School, Deutgam Street, Werribee  VIC  3030

Of course, these aren’t the only children who benefit from the extensive network of school libraries worldwide. The International Association of Librarianship (IASL) provides “an international  forum for those people interested in promoting effective school library media programs as viable instruments in the educational process”.  Membership is divided into zones,  with fees based on the GNP index for country of residence, so that, for example, those of us in Australia  help to subsidise those in Afghanistan, who might otherwise be unable to be meet the full cost of membership.   Sure, it’s usually a lot of travel to attend a conference,  but what else lets you claim a tax deduction for a trip to Italy?  Seriously though, it’s a great experience to meet fellow-professionals from around the globe and is first rate PD.   Don’t ever think that video conferencing can replace the real thing, they’re not even in the same league.

You can read more about IASL here.

Kids and books

The $A42 billion stimulus package passed through the Senate today means lots of investment in primary school libraries around the country, which is fantastic news. Let’s hope students are able to get plenty of access to the resources, beyond the weekly scheduled hour (or less) that so many seem to be restricted to.

If anyone still needs convincing that kids and books are the perfect combination, then here’s the definitive proof, demonstrated in just 92 seconds. 

Thanks to Jacquie Porkchop in Canada for sending this link.  No, that’s not her real name, but she knows who she is.

Is the federal government responsible?

The continuing argy bargy over who is responsible for school library staffing is beginning to grate.  How long can we allow the federal government to continue to fob us off with “Ensuring that there were trained librarians in libraries would therefore be a responsibility of the states “? (See latest response to questions on notice in the current Senate inquiry.) Let’s look at some examples of the way the federal government can influence staffing, and has in the past.

First, the federal government compiles national education and training statistics, to
 

“provide measures of the levels and outcomes of education and training activity. They are seen as key indicators of the well-being of society. The information is used by governments for purposes such as planning, budgeting, policy design, and program evaluation. The data are also used by providers of education and training, researchers, and community organisations.” (ABS on Education and Training)
 

Yet what planning can be made by these bodies when no statistics are collected on staffing levels, qualifications and number of graduates for teacher librarians?  This is clearly a federal responsibility.
 

The federal government has taken an active role in the development of national standards for teaching.  The teacher librarianship profession has responded admirably and Standards of professional excellence for teacher-librarians is frequently pointed out as a model to other teaching professions.

The federal government should now have the responsibility for the

• Inclusion of statements supporting the significant role of school libraries and teacher librarians in federal Education policy.
• Recognition of the significant role of school libraries and teacher librarians in federal Literacy and other Education initiatives.
• Federally funded research into the impact of Australian school libraries on the literacy skills and academic achievement of students at all levels and across all sectors.
• Development and validation of national standards for school library facilities and staffing.

(ASLA letter to then Opposition Leader, Federal Election 2007 and ALP response)

The federal government frequently prioritizes teacher training in specific areas.  Their latest initiative is to support childhood education teaching.
 

“The Government is committed to meeting the TAFE fees of people who want to become child care workers. We want people to be going into this industry. We want to encourage them to do so and we’ll be meeting their TAFE fees if that’s what they want to do. We’re also creating 1500 new places at Australian universities for early childhood teachers”. Julia Gillard , June 20, 2008.
 

So it is a federal responsibility to determine the necessary number of trained teacher librarians to staff every Australian school library, to  increase the number of teacher librarian courses (for example, to reintroduce a Graduate Diploma in Teacher Librarianship and broaden Graduate courses in teacher librarianship in South Australia) and to create places in these courses for TLs.
 

A recent email from a retired state school library consultant (yes, we had many of them once!) stated, “Whitlam was big for primary libraries and for training TLs. In 1974 selected secondary & primary librarians were seconded to tertiary institutions to undertake a year’s training. Kuring-gai CAE was … asked at short notice to design a course for primary TLs. It was still being designed when delivery began. From memory the first course for secondary TLs was at Newcastle, later transferred under Margaret Trask to Kuring-gai where it was still going on when I left in 1985. The initiative seemed to have come from the federal government….”

The federal government has frequently and continually tied state grants to conditions. Commonwealth funds for state school resources can and should be tied to established school library staffing standards to ensure professional selection, accountability and use of these resources.
 

So who is responsible for the state of our nation’s school libraries?  You be the judge.

21st Century School Libraries Need 21st Century TLs

I was possibly one of a few who caught the PM’s “fireside chat” announcing the latest economic stimulus package. Everyone else, including my husband, was rightly still at the beach.  And I surely was one of a small minority who let out a whoop when school libraries were mentioned!!  Now that the dog and I have settled down, memory nags.  Didn’t something like this happen back in the 70s?  Some 1200 new secondary libraries were built by 1977 with Commonwealth grants, following intense lobbying by ASLA, LAA (now ALIA), ALPC, state government and other groups and individuals. 

I can tell you it was an exciting time to be visiting new NSW school libraries armed with that powerful departmental furniture catalogue!!

Yet a survey of all state and territory supervisors of school libraries at that time found that by 1978 there were only some 3500 qualified (at least the equivalent of one term full-time training in school librarianship) teacher librarians in Australia, although 5000 more were needed to meet the standards outlined in the Schools Commission’s standards, Books and Beyond.  

Since then, no one is even keeping track.  The federal government can not tell you how many TLs there are in school libraries. How many “state and territory supervisors of school libraries” even exist anymore to ask? ALIA can not tell you how many TL graduates there are in Australia. ASLA can not tell you how many TLs are needed to be trained to staff Australia’s 6,853 (2007 figures) government schools to their professional standards. State departments of education don’t even distinguish between classroom teachers and teacher librarians in their staffing statistics. So they can’t tell you which schools have no teacher librarians, let alone what training their TLs might have.

Yet there IS anecdotal evidence and some preliminary data which shows that all too few Australian primary school libraries are staffed to professional standards. For example, possibly up to half the primary schools in Victoria do not have teacher librarians. The Northern Territory has very few professionally trained primary teacher librarians and none in remote schools, and government primary schools in Western Australia are not staffed with teacher librarians.

So we ask the question (updated) which was asked in the 1970s:

What use are 21st century primary school libraries if they are not staffed by 21st century teacher librarians?

Today might be a good day to ask a state senator (click for sample letter and suggested email addresses).

 

gp