“The library is the heart of the school.”

1. “The library is the heart of the school.” ~Roch Carrier Author & National Librarian of Canada ~Image courtesy of Creative Commons. See original source Here.

2. Research has shown that school libraries contribute directly to student academic achievement... Haycock, K. (2003). Crisis in Canadian school libraries: The case for reinvestment & reform. Toronto: Association of Canadian Publishers & Heritage Canada. Lance, K.C. (2000). How school librarians help kids achieve standards. Denver: Colorado Department of Education. Lance, K.C. (1993). The impact of school library media centers on academic achievement. Denver: Colorado Department of Education. Lonsdale, M. (2002). Impact of school libraries on student achievement: A review of the research. Melbourne: Australian council for educational research. People for Education. (2006). School libraries and student achievement in Ontario. Toronto: Ontario Library Association.

3. Research Conclusions: • A school library, staffed by professionally trained teacher librarians, improves • reading achievement scores on standardized tests by 5.5 percentile points. • -People for Education. (2000). • Students with access to professionally staffed, well stocked and well funded • Libraries perform from 10% to 25% higher on standardised tests than students • with poorly resourced libraries. • -Lance. (2000). • Students in schools with full-time librarians and full-time access to the school • library perform higher on academic tests than students with part-time access • to their school library. • -Lance. (1993). • The positive relationship between student achievement and school library • resources cannot be explained away by other school variables or community • conditions. • -Haycock. (2003)

4. The Current Situation... • From 2002 to 2004, teacher librarian staffing declined by 25%. That means that one • in four teacher librarian positions disappeared from BC schools. • -BCTF. (2005). A note from your teachers. LINK • While 90% of Canadian schools have a library facility, only 38% of these are staffed • by professionally trained teacher librarians. • -Statistics Canada. (2005). Education matters. LINK • Average collections budgets in BC school libraries are $11.13 per elementary student • and $13.21 per secondary student. • -BCTF (2005). A note from your teachers. LINK • 2008 FSA results indicate that 26% of grade 4 students and 31% of grade 7 students failed • to meet minimum requirements for reading fluency and comprehension. • -BC Ministry of Education. (2008). FSA Reports. LINK

5. What Can You Do? Write to your MLA and our provincial Minister of Education, Shirley Bond, and ask them how they plan to ensure that every student in B.C. has access to a fully stocked and professionally staffed school library. Raise awareness of the importance of full time teacher librarians to student achievement. Ask the Parent Advisory Council at your school to get involved in lobbying the Ministry of Education and the local school district for adequate school library funding. Get involved in International School Library Month this October! Organize a campaign to raise awareness and vocal opposition to the underfunding of school libraries in B.C. Learn more about the relationship between school library funding and student achievement. Visit the School Library Advocate blog for links to important research findings. LINK