- Haycock, K. (2003). The crisis in Canada’s school libraries: The case for reform and re-investment. http://www.cla.ca/slip/final_haycock_report.pdf
- Herring, J. (2007). Teacher librarians and the school library. In S. Ferguson (Ed.) Libraries in the twenty-first century : charting new directions in information (pp. 27-42).
Many of the recommendations for an improved teacher librarianship program in the Canadian report were excellent, in my opinion, and matched with the concepts in the Herring article. The Herring article was more about the different roles of the teacher-librarian, the various definitions of "information literacy", and overall foundational topics relating to what the teacher-librarian does and is. Both the Canadian report and the Herring article did present significant support for the fact that collaboration between teacher-librarians and classroom teachers are big indicators to increased student learning.
The Canadian report surprised me in a couple of ways. First, I didn't realize that there was a lack of formal qualifications for obtaining the role of teacher-librarian in Canada. Being from the US, I know that to be a teacher-librarian in California, I must meet certain educational requirements that are state approved, and apply for my certification when the coursework is complete. I'm surprised that this isn't also the case in Canada, formally. From what I can tell, there are good academic programs out there, but as far as formal requirements are concerned, it seems that this is not in place. Second, the Canadian report advocated for flexible scheduling. This seems to make sense, and is different from what most of are familiar with in the fixed weekly or bi-monthly "library time." I'm interested to know more about how this works logistically, and would be interested in encountering more case studies where it is already happening.
It's tough for me to relate this to what is happening in Australian school libraries, as I have not worked with libraries in Australia (I'm an international student). However, I have worked with libraries in the US, and internationally. I think the steps that the Canadian report is suggesting might face many challenges in the California (US), because from what I understand, teacher-librarianship roles and programs are dwindling due to budget cuts. I'm not sure how a program could improve without state support. Principals' and Superintendents' hands are tied when there simply isn't enough money. Classroom teachers (and ultimately the students) end up bearing the brunt of budget restrictions, as specialist teachers like the teacher-librarian become fewer and more far between. Fortunately, I don't plan to be a teacher-librarian back at home in California (consider the situation). The situation seems to be much more promising and very supportive of a strong central library in the international school circuit.
