Qualified Teacher Librarians Make a Difference
The School Libraries Association of SA released its census into SA school libraries on International Literacy Day. The ACER published report is available at
https://mailchi.mp/efbd570dac9b/slasa-school-libraries-sa-report-release
The report makes important findings and concludes with the following:
This 2019 census of school libraries in South Australia suggests a diverse cohort of dedicated but under-qualified staff, managing a complex array of library and information services, often in isolation, and at levels below AEU SA staffing recommendations. While school library services are reported as being valued and moderately effective, the library is often overlooked and not promoted to the wider community as a valued school asset.
The evidence suggests that school libraries without a qualified teacher librarian on staff (77% of schools), are less valued and less effective as a basic library service, and may lead to lower student literacy outcomes. Schools with a teacher librarian show stronger NAPLAN literacy results.
While it appears that around 6% of schools in South Australia do not have a physical on-site school library, all schools report having access to library-type reading, research and curriculum resources and information services, either virtually or through a community or mobile library.
There are challenges ahead, particularly in the short-term for primary schools with the decline in enrolments due to the Year 7 shift to secondary school. There is an undertone that things will get worse if budgets and floor space continue to diminish, if fewer school libraries are managed by qualified staff, if the culture of support declines, and if the rhetoric of library-less schools is normalised. Such trends run counter to the research evidence into what makes an effective 21st century school.
Accordingly, it would be prudent to replicate this census in other states and territories, and over time, in order to inform policy decisions based on hard data, identifying trends in the provision of school libraries locally and Australia-wide.