• The Great School Libraries campaign - Summary of Survey report - Education HQ Special Report
• Honours List - Australia's Great School Libraries - ACT, NSW, NT, QLD, SA, TAS, VIC, WA
• New report shows the impact of teacher librarians on student outcomes - Impact Report - Impact PPT
• Staffing crisis in school libraries
• Call for government to endorse a teacher librarian for every school
• Media release 
• Case studies of best practice
• Campaign partners
• Portfolio of great school libraries 
• Early campaign materials

The Great School Libraries campaign

In October 2015, FAIR (Freedom of Access to Information and Resources) joined with library associations and EducationHQ to seek nominations of Great School Libraries across the nation.

We were looking for libraries that help children and young people find reliable information; use the information effectively; think critically; make informed decisions; work productively with others; build knowledge and understanding of the world; safely navigate the internet; communicate and share their ideas; and find great reads to meet personal interests and abilities.

Nearly 600 students, teachers, parents, principals, library staff and other members of the community nominated more than 200 school libraries across Australia. There was a good mix of government, Catholic and independent; K-12, primary and secondary schools, and supporting materials included drawings, stories, quotes and photographs showing how much these libraries are valued.

Download Summary of Survey Report 

Download the Education HQ Special Report

We asked nominators to respond to 10 questions and this is what they told us.

1. Is there a qualified teacher librarian managing the library?

The campaign was open to all school libraries but it was clear from the nominations that a qualified teacher librarian was an enormous asset. More than 90% of the nominations were for schools employing a teacher librarian.

 “Mrs X was my favourite teacher at high school. Honestly think I wouldn't have made to uni without her encouragement and teaching.”

“She is phenomenal. The reason this library is so successful is due to her efforts. She has made the space a warm and inviting learning hub for both teachers and students.”

“Not a single event happens at our school which does not have X's signature or touch on it. I have nicknamed her GLUE as she holds us all together. She is our Librarian as well as on the Executive team as a coordinator but she holds many roles, including support for our IT personnel.  She also manages the Gifted and Talented Program and so much more. She is irreplaceable.”

2. Is the library open whenever the school is open?

92% of schools were open for the same hours as the school and many libraries offered extended hours for use by students, teachers and the wider community. Some were open for up to 12 hours a day.

“We are open from 7.30am until 7.30pm Monday to Thursdays, and 7.30am until 5pm on Fridays. We also open on Sundays in peak senior exam periods.”

 “We often have kids and parents dropping in before or after school. The library is open every lunch time for reading, games and computer. We also have a chess club once a week.”

“It is used by the chess club, Minecraft club and early bird reading buddies, and volunteers tutor students with homework.”

3. Can students learn information skills in the school library?

95% of the nominated school libraries were said to support students learning information skills.

“The library staff run information skills lessons throughout their library program, including targeted programs for Year 11 students. They also have run great Professional Learning for staff.”

 “Our students are able to learn how to reference, how to use databases and how to find books. Essentially, they are taught the skills that they will need to become life-long learners and prepare for university. Additionally, the library has created an online resource to ensure that all of our students have the opportunity to find valuable sources.”

“The Librarian holds extra instruction classes in a number of areas to assist students, eg using technology, such as Google apps, study skills, research skills.”

4. Can students borrow the resources they need, when they need them?

96% of the nominated libraries had resources available for students at the time they needed them, often 24/7 for digital access.

“Our students can reserve and renew resources online 24/7 and have access to traditional as well as ebooks.”

“Students have the capacity to suggest new resources for the library. The resource is sourced, purchased, catalogued, processed and delivered to the student in the shortest amount of time possible.”

“So convenient!  If I need a book on a particular topic, I just go and borrow it any time.”

5. Can you borrow popular fiction without a long waiting period?

94% of nominated school libraries had sufficient popular fiction on the shelf to satisfy the needs of their students. Balancing the breadth and depth of the collection is one of the skills of the librarian, to ensure that keen readers have access to their favourite author, the next title in the series or the latest move tie-in.

“We have a wide range of popular fiction so even if a particular title is unavailable, books in the same series or similar can be borrowed.”

“The library has a large collection of current fiction as well as an extensive manga collection.”

 “Our librarians have their finger on the pulse and they really have a great list of popular books for the girls to borrow. And they are always open to suggestions for new items.”

6. Is there enough space for a whole class to fit into the library?

97% of the nominated schools could fit a whole class into their library, and in the case of one small school in regional WA: “On occasions we fit the whole school in!”

 “We can accommodate five classes, with additional tutorial rooms, casual areas, outside decking and a state of the art video conferencing facility.”

“It's just been refurbished and is colourful, vibrant, interesting, and encourages collaboration and experiences, not silent isolated working.”

“There are many different working areas in our Library, from study nooks, to booths which are great for discussion as well as tutorial rooms and open areas with couches and beanbags for reading periods.”

7. Is there high speed access to the internet?

Location and funding were the limiting factors for the 9% of nominated school libraries where there was not always high speed access to the internet.

 “This is an area that the school would like to improve as the library relies on technology and wifi can be an issue in ensuring lessons run smoothly. This is simply down to money!”

“But at peak times it can slow down. Hopefully the new server will address some of the issue. A full fibre connection is needed and hopefully will be funded by a future government to assist student access to information.”

8. Are students encouraged to use online resources?

This was said to be the case in 96% of nominated schools. Where there was less access to online resources, this was linked to funding and Department of Education security filters. Not only were students encouraged to use online resources, but many nominators commented on the role of the school library in promoting cybersafe practices.

 “My daughter was proud to tell me all about how she was learning to code (Year 3/4) using Scratch.”

 “Students access a wide range of online resources including websites, databases, Edmodo blog and Survey Monkey (to self reflect on students' learning).”

“100% Yes! The teacher librarian takes classes through school terms and guides students on how to access and use our schools database.   But it doesn't stop there, the library staff also assist students on how to use and access our online resources during recess and lunch, study periods, class time and whenever a student needs assistance.”

9. Are there special activities, for example Book Week, the Premier’s Reading Challenge?

Book Week celebrations, reading challenges, manga illustration sessions and author visits in 97% of the nominated libraries have generated publicity for the school and promoted books and reading. Minecraft, coding, Science Week, Library Hacks and similar tech-related activities have encouraged students who are less keen on reading to use the library and its resources. Events such as Grandparents and Special Persons days, NAIDOC Week, ANZAC memorials and charity fundraisers have enhanced the visibility of the library and its contribution to the wider community.

 “Book Week, Victorian Premiers' Reading Challenge, Student Book Clubs, Robotics Club, Chess Club, Lego Club, after school tuition support.”

“Also ... World Read Out Loud Day, World Dot Day, Indigenous Literacy, Maker days, Book Face Fridays, Book Speed Dating, Hour of Code, Robotics,  Tinkering activities and author visits.”

“The Staff encourage activities and displays from all areas within the school. Music Week had musicians in the library at lunchtime playing, maths teachers are encouraged to display work, and so on.”

10. Do students, parents and teachers think the library is AWESOME?

Nearly every nominated school library was described as ‘awesome’ (98%) for a variety of reasons – the physical space; the digital experience; the warm welcome for students, teachers, parents and the wider community; the print collections and electronic resources; the evolution of the library into a 21^st century learning place; the ‘wow’ factor of a vibrant, quirky, well-designed, highly active, special space with library and information professionals who support students of all ages.

 “When parents are brought through the school for orientation, they are always blown away by our library space.”

“Students, parents and staff are impressed with the terrific and changeable displays and vitality. It is a learning exchange saturated in information and technology.”

 “Best staff in the library ever. So helpful. They are extremely professional.”

Honours List - Australia’s Great School Libraries 

By popular nomination, this is the list of 213 Great School Libraries for 2015.

ACT 

NSW 

NT

QLD

SA

TAS 

VIC

WA

New report shows the impact of teacher librarians on student outcomes

At the same time as announcing the 2015 Great School Libraries, FAIR has published a new report on the impact of school libraries and teacher librarians, focusing on the three areas where libraries make a unique contribution – reading, digital literacy, critical thinking and research skills.

These three drivers represent vital elements of a student’s educational experience. They are building blocks for learning and underpin every aspect of the Australian Curriculum. However, Australia has a long way to go to ensure that all students benefit from these skills.

• The Australian Early Development Census 2015 results show that nearly one in five five-year-olds in Australia are at risk of not achieving a good standard of reading.
• The National Assessment Program – ICT Literacy Report 2014 found that 45% of Year 6 students failed to reach the proficient standard and 48% of Year 10 students. This was a drop in performance compared with the 2011 of 22 scale points for Year 6 students and 39 scale points for Year 10 students.

Writing in the Sydney Morning Herald on 18 November 2015, Dr Michael Phillips, lecturer in digital technologies in the Faculty of Education at Monash University, said, “One of the challenges for ‘general capabilities’ such as ICT is that all teachers in all subject areas are supposed to contribute to student knowledge and skill development. While this is a laudable objective, it does mean that the responsibility for teaching these digital literacy skills does not reside with an easily identifiable teacher or group of teachers as is the case for mathematics, English or science.”

FAIR proposes that school libraries and teacher librarians are perfectly placed to help instil these skills and further investment in school libraries and qualified teacher librarians is essential if Australian students are to fulfil their potential.

' The Impact of Great School Libraries Report 2016'

Impact of Great School Libraries Powerpoint

Staffing crisis in school libraries

FAIR’s newly released report on the impact of school libraries and teacher librarians includes further analysis of the Staff in Australia’s Schools survey from the Australian Council for Education Research (ACER), which shows that in 2013 only 4-5% of primary teachers and 2-3% of secondary teachers were working in a library role. This compared with 5% of secondary teachers involved in LOTE, 5% computing and 6% special needs.

The ACER findings suggested that fewer early career teachers are entering library roles in schools and more than a third of primary teachers and a quarter of secondary teachers in a library role had not undertaken any tertiary study in library and information science.

It also shows that the students who most need teacher librarians are the least well served, “Between 2010 and 2013 there is evidence of a greater number of teachers in library roles in high socio-economic (SES) schools and correspondingly fewer in low SES schools.”

From these statistics, it is clear that there needs to be a significantly increased emphasis on attracting, training and employing qualified teacher librarians in primary and secondary schools if the desired student outcomes are to be achieved.

For more information, contact fair@alia.org.au.

Call for government to endorse a teacher librarian for every school

FAIR’s sign off to its new report on the impact of school libraries and teacher librarians is a call for the Australian Government to endorse the goal of a teacher librarian for every school.

The report states, “Federal, State and Territory Governments’ acknowledgement of the vital role of school libraries in supporting reading, digital literacy, critical thinking and research skills, together with a strong recommendation from Education Ministers about the employment of teacher librarians and qualified library staff in schools within their jurisdiction, would be a significant step forward. Further, it would be of benefit to look for innovative ways of providing access to teacher librarians where there is not the critical mass to support a full-time appointment and to incentivise principals to employ teacher librarians where there is a large student body.”

FAIR and its library association partners will be pursuing this conversation with the Federal Government in the coming months.

Case studies

Examples of best practice from Great School Libraries.

Portfolio of Great School Libraries 

Check out all the great photos and videos in our portfolio.

Campaign partners

Joining FAIR to produce this campaign were:

• Australian Library and Information Association
• ALIA Schools
• Australian School Library Association
• Queensland School Library Association
• School Library Association of NSW
• School Library Association of South Australia
• School Library Association of Victoria
• Western Australian School Library Association
• EducationHQ

Early campaign materials

This campaign is now closed but see the earlier published campaign material.