synergy : volume 1, number2
Interactions
In line with our strategic partnership with public libraries and our productive relationship with Dr Alan Bundy we feel this recent interaction between Alan and the office of the Minister for Education was worthy of note. Alan kindly contributed an excellent overview article to the first edition of Synergy 'Only connect: Towards the information enabling of young Australians' a paper he gave at SLAV's 28th March, 2003 Conference - Libraries, Literacy and Engaging Learning.
Dear Minister,
Are Australia's school libraries in crisis? I write to bring your to your attention a developing crisis in library resourcing and staffing in Australian schools, particularly in the availability and employment of dually qualified teacher librarians.
This situation has been developing for some years, but has yet to reach the disastrous stage described in the just released The crisis in Canada's school libraries: the case for reform and reinvestment. This report . . . confirms that:
1. Good school libraries employing qualified teacher librarians make a real, measurable, difference to literacy development, learning outcomes and text scores.
2. That particularly in the public sector primary and secondary schools are often not resourcing their libraries well, or employing adequate numbers of qualified teacher librarians to work with classroom teachers in resource based learning, literacy and information literacy development.
3. The teacher librarian sector of the teaching profession is ongoing, and there is a developing shortage of them.
4. University programs for teacher librarian education have been reduced over the last decade.
5. State education departments have no policy response to these issues, which have been exacerbated, as in Canada, by the trend towards self-managing schools.
All of this is occurring at the very time when the development of literate and information literate young Australians has never been more important.
Although there is considerable anecdotal evidence about the progressive decline in the resourcing and professional staffing of school libraries, it is extremely difficult to obtain information about resourcing and staffing from state education bureaucracies and individual schools, both public and private.
I believe that the only way to bring the extent of the actual and impending crisis into the public arena would be for the Commonwealth to lead with a national review, the first such review for nearly 30 years. This need not be a costly or slow exercise.
Yours Sincerely,
Alan Bundy (Dr)
University Librarian
Dear Dr Bundy,
…The just released report on teacher supply and demand in Australia
for 2002, which was prepared by the Australian Government on behalf of
the Ministerial Council on Education, Employment, Training and Youth Affairs,
indicates that teacher librarians are not in shortage at the national
level, as is the case with mathematics, science and technology teachers.
However, it does report shortages of teacher librarians for New South
Wales and the Australian Capital Territory…
The report is available at http://www.curriculum.edu.au/mceetya/public/demand.htm
…The Review Committee's interim report Attracting and Retaining Teachers of Science, Technology and Mathematics was released on 20 February 2003 and focused on issues central to the attraction and retention of high quality teachers. The interim report and further information about the review is available online at: http://dest.gov.au/schools/teachingreview/.
. . . As to the funding of libraries, the Australian Government commenced in 201 the Grants to Primary Schools (PSL) Program, as part of the four year Book Industry Assistance Plan, to help compensate for the cost of GST on books.
The Australian Government has now channelled some $34 million into primary school libraries under the PSL programme which has one the support of principals; authors and publishers; and schools.(see http://www.dest.gov.au/ schools/bookassistance.htm.)
. . . The Australian Government is keen to see all children develop strong literacy skills and in turn, give them a head start in their school life. Research shows that children who enjoy reading books achieve a higher level of educational success and there is no better way to encourage this than through our own home grown literature.
Yours Sincerely,
Alan Tudge
Adviser – Schools and Indigenous Education