School librarians empower thriving schools. This briefing note has been created for Head Teachers, Senior Leaders and Governors by CILIP and the CILIP School Libraries Group.
For more information on the campaign and to download case studies illustrating the role of professional librarians in delivering thriving schools, visit As a school leader, you know how fundamental education is to the life chances of every single child. The work you do unlocks potential, builds skills and confidence and empowers children and young people to go out and make a better world. What does a good library tell you about a school? Thank you Governor Walz and Lt Governor Flanagan for recognizng the important role school library media specialists play in building great schools!
What does a good library tell you about a school? (from School Libraries Head for the Edge.) Had I any say in the decision, my grandsons would attend only the very best schools. And in order to qualify as a “best school,” the educational institution would need a darn good library program – one that has professional and support staff, up-to-date materials in a generous quantity, an articulated information/ technology literacy curriculum, a modern physical facility, and lots of up-to-date technology. As it turns out, I am not the only person who feels this way about the importance of good libraries.
Libraries, the heart of the school. Dear School Leaders: Own Your Choices. Libraries, the heart of the school. New children's laureate worries for teen readers. At Brisbane's new Fortitude Valley State Secondary College, learning will be paperless, while a Victorian school has replaced librarians with "change adopters" who host discussions with students and teach "soft skills" such as ethical and creative thinking "Libraries are not just sources of information, they are sources of the imagination," she said.
"A library symbolises a space where you would come in and know that reading is important, and you would hope that in a school that is what they think. " Dubosarsky has been appointed to the ambassadorial role that champions the role of creativity and reading in children’s lives, replacing outgoing laureate Morris Gleitzman. The theme of the author's two-year term is Read For Your Life, recognising that reading often drops off after primary school and needs to be developed as a lifelong habit. "Sophisticated reading is a dying art, that's the sad possibility," she said. Growing up in Sydney, Dubosarky was a member of 10 local libraries.
The mystery of shrinking school libraries – Students Need School Libraries. Research Confirms Value of School Librarians. Great School Libraries: UK Campaign. A new study published by the Great School Libraries campaign has found that one in eight schools in the UK do not have a designated library space.
In addition, schools with a higher proportion of economically disadvantaged children are twice as likely not to have one. Primary (elementary) schools are less likely to have a library than a secondary (middle & high) schools. And if they do have a library space, Great School Libraries notes that they are often used as classrooms or meeting rooms rather than what they were designed for: reading and learning valuable inquiry skills, digital literacy, responsible researching, and more.
This is a result of a survey of 1,750 schools across England, Wales, and Northern Ireland. It also comes at a time when local governments are closing public libraries faster than you can blink. Australia's Teacher Librarian of the Year. While modern school libraries are no longer hushed and are as much about the digital world as print, there is one important role they fill for today's children as much as any generation.
"There is just a feeling of psychological and physical safety that people experience when they come in to a well-run library," Canberran Holly Godfree said. Holly Godfree, the teacher librarian at Lake Tuggeranong College, was this week presented with the Australian Teacher Librarian of the Year award by the Australian School Librarian Association. Photo: Jamila Toderas "And, also, the people who sometimes gravitate to the school library staff, they might be among the more quirky kids, the kids who are having a hard day or just hard period of life. Every School needs a School Library. Full Title: Every School needs a School Library with a School Librarian – By Elizabeth Hutchinson I love school libraries!
Well you would, I hear you say, you’re a librarian. My love of school libraries is not about being able to work in a room in a school with a lot of books, or my ability to sit and read books all day (I wish) or even being able to play with the bleepy scanny thing (that is one of the many names for the book issue scanner). Nor is it my love for school libraries based on sorting out photocopier jams, or peeling the plastic from yet another laminator jam, or being called the library lady, shelf sorter or any other name that teachers or students can think of when what they are looking for is the librarian. Don’t overlook your school librarian, they’re the unsung heroes of literacy. When talking about teaching and learning, most people don’t immediately think of librarians.
But in a school where the librarian or learning resource centre manager is valued and properly made use of, we can teach important skills. Librarians are in the privileged position of being able to work with teachers across all subjects and students of all ages, observing the inner workings of a school from a slight distance. One thing I’ve noticed is that the belief that students are adept at using the latest technology to find the information they need is simply not true. Students turn up in the library with the ubiquitous task of researching a topic and they don’t know where to start. Usually they head to Google, which takes them straight to Wikipedia (it’s top of the list so it doesn’t take much effort). The importance of having a school library. Lisa Kent, the chapter leader at PS/IS 155 in Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn, has taught there for 22 years.
In all that time, the school has never had a working library. That finally changed this spring, thanks to the school’s current and former principals, community grants and donors, PTA volunteers and the tenacity of art teacher Lisa Ryan. On March 6, the school community gathered for a ribbon-cutting to unveil a library stocked with $10,000 worth of brand-new books. What will it mean for students and teachers to have access to their school’s own library? “It’s going to mean everything,” says Kent. In our politically fraught times, as the rise of social media has made gathering reliable information more challenging, libraries are experiencing a renaissance. The Difference a School Librarian Can Make. A few years ago, we moved our young daughter to a new school district. When we toured her new school before the year started, she noted with interest, “Hey, they have a librarian here.
A real one.” At my daughter’s last school, they only had a beleaguered media specialist who was shared with four other schools. When the specialist wasn’t in the building, the library was considered “closed.” So, my daughter — a big reader — was excited to learn that her school library would actually be open every single day. “DAD!” 100 Things Kids Will Miss If they don't have a school librarian. Every School needs a School Library. Why school librarians matter. When schools have high-quality library programs and librarians who share their expertise with the entire school community, student achievement gets a boost. Since 1992, a growing body of research known as the school library impact studies has consistently shown positive correlations between high-quality library programs and student achievement (Gretes, 2013; Scholastic, 2016).
Data from more than 34 statewide studies suggest that students tend to earn better standardized test scores in schools that have strong library programs. Further, when administrators, teachers, and librarians themselves rated the importance and frequency of various library practices associated with student learning, their ratings correlated with student test scores, further substantiating claims of libraries’ benefits. Skeptics might assume that these benefits are associated mainly with wealthier schools, where well-resourced libraries serve affluent students. 5 Reasons Children Need School Libraries. What makes a Great School Library? The relationship between reading attainment and reading for pleasure is dynamic and reciprocal, and school library staff can impact attainment by identifying barriers to reading, having specialist knowledge about which books suit which child, and supporting teachers in developing their reading environments.
Critical literacy is an essential skill in today’s world – the ability to evaluate information and entertainment sources is something no young person should be without, and the skills that allow them to do this also allow them to play an active role in society. Library staff have been specialists in this area for decades, teaching children how to find, evaluate and use information effectively and ethically – now there is a new air of urgency, and library staff have the knowledge and resources to empower pupils and support teachers in this vital area. Report: School Libraries: The Heart of 21st Century Learning – Students Need School Libraries. Evidence that school libraries make a difference. 7 reasons your school doesn't need a library. I know there will be some raised eyebrows seeing my name associated with the “nay” side of any question about the necessity of school libraries.
But let’s be honest here. There are schools that don’t need library facilities, library programs, or librarians. These school’s teachers and administrators: Are content to have their instruction be textbook and test-driven. Given the number of standards in the state-mandated curriculum and the state’s test-based accountability requirements, the staff does not see the need for in-depth study of topics, problem-based teaching, or authentic assessment. Small classroom book collections that supplement the reading series and a word-processing lab with access to Google are all that such schools currently require.
School libraries - a student right. Here's a little riff on ALA President Barbara Stripling's Declaration for the Right to Libraries... Declaration for Student Rights to School Libraries Thomas Jefferson wrote, “An educated citizenry is a vital requisite for our survival as a free people.” An educated citizenry is the product of effective schooling that is available to every child. Librarians Save Lives. I had a wonderful evening last week, that both filled me with joy and left me sad and frustrated. The Amazing Book Award is an award established by four school librarians, Sally, Amanda, Louise and Rachel. They wanted to create an award that was voted for by young adult readers.
I think there are now 3,500 children who vote in this award and over 40 schools that take part. I was shortlisted for the award in 2017 but couldn’t attend because I was frolicking in a Glastonbury field. Why do teachers need school librarians? Why School Librarians Are Educators Too. ‘’We are all educators…….accompanying young people in their efforts to build their lives for today and tomorrow.’’ For seventeen years I worked as a librarian in a school at which the words above formed part of the mission statement. When I left in the summer of 2017 the head-teacher said that as the school librarian I was an example of this. SLA - Making a case for #GreatSchoolLibraries. Why School Librarians Are the Literacy Leaders We Need.
Earlier this year, I wrote a post about how teams of teachers can work together across subject areas to improve student reading. I received comments on the piece from two school librarians, pointing out that they have important contributions to make to the effort, and questioning why I had not included school librarians in my suggestions in the first place. Well, they are absolutely right about this, and their voices prompted my reflection on the topic. Schoollibraries. Great School Libraries Should Start in Primary Schools. The Role of the School Librarian. By Elizabeth Hutchinson The role of the school librarian is an elusive one. 10 traits of successful school librarians. Why we need qualified school librarians.
New campaign would make school libraries a statutory requirement. School Librarian Staffing Status. 2017 Softlink Aus & NZ School Library Report. Lack of qualified library staff a 'quiet crisis' Striving Readers? Hire Librarians. | by Nader Qaimari As an ESL student and a child from an immigrant, economically disadvantaged family raised in blue-collar northern Ohio, I know first-hand the power a good book can have on a child who feels different and inferior from everyone around him. Aside from being a great escape vehicle, through character dialogue and imagery, books can introduce you to the colloquial language parents cannot teach – creating fewer awkward situations among friends and classmates. However, without proper guidance, children with backgrounds like mine struggle even further, as they often do not even know where to start reading. When I recall my childhood, I see now, whether at the schools I attended or in the community, my life would have taken a very different course if it were not for librarians.
Libraries power schools. School Libraries Matter. Wow, two articles at The Book Chook on the same day? Letter to PM Jacinda Arden on school libraries & librarians. This blog is about encouraging reading throughout the school years. School Libraries a Key to Boosting Student Achievement. Ten Reasons Libraries Are Still Better Than the Internet. 5 Ways to Advocate for Your School Library This Year. We need school libraries & librarians. SLANZA: Inspiring School Librarians. 8 Ways To Make Your Library More Visible. Are school libraries on the way out or up? Changing Role of the School Librarian.
SchoolLibraryAdvocacy.org. Excellence in Practice.