TMC8: Resources to Get You Thinking

Foundations for School Library Learning Commons in Canada: A Framework for Success

CSL recently published a new document, Foundations for School Library Learning Commons in Canada: A Framework for Success. This guideline establishes strong policy, robust funding, and a commitment to equity of access as foundations for the LLC and the successful implementation of CSL standards of practice document, Leading Learning: Standards of Practice for School Library Learning Commons in Canada. We are inviting you to study the new support document, explore the foundations and frameworks, and considering your own practice, decide on a sub-theme you would like to focus on for your own research. We suggest either teacher action research and/or academic research related to the theme and sub-themes.

TMC8 Theme: Foundations for School Library Learning Commons in Canada: A Framework for Success

NOTE: In your research plan to explore your focused sub-theme issue through the lenses of strong policy, robust funding, and equity of access.

TMC8 Sub-Themes:

  • Physical and Virtual LLC spaces
  • Technological Infrastructures
  • Human Resources
  • Accessibility
  • Ethical Standards
  • LLC Management
  • A Culture of Growth
  • Accountability

We have gathered some additional resources to help you explore the sub-themes for the TMC8 Symposium.

For an excellent overview of Foundations for School Library Learning Commons in Canada: A Framework for Success view this presentation by CSL Chair Anita Brooks Kirkland and Joseph Jeffrey, CSL Board of Directors and District Learning Commons Teacher-Librarian in School District 57, Prince George, BC.

Recommendations in Foundations for School Library Learning Commons in Canada: A Framework for Success are based on the International Federation of Library Association’s (IFLA) School Library Guidelines, 2nd revised edition (2015), internationally-approved standards for school libraries, adapting IFLA recommendations to the Canadian context. IFLA School Library Guidelines, 2nd revised edition

Physical and Virtual LLC Spaces

A unique look at physical design for the LLC includes many innovative designs such as a garden in the library presented by BC teacher-librarian Kelly Johnson. Includes many photos and videos to inspire. At the Heart of It: Our School’s Journey from Library to Library Learning Commons

The pandemic famously forced schools to quickly “pivot” from face-to-face instruction to online learning. Ontario teacher-librarians Jenn Brown and Beth Lyons rose to the challenge to bring quality resources and interactive learning opportunities to their students through their virtual library learning commons. Taking the Leap: Growing a VLLC

CSL Chair Anita Brooks Kirkland discusses the multiple facets needed for designing a student-centred VLLC with multiple functions including and beyond resource access. The Virtual Library Learning Commons: Leveraging the Pandemic Tipping Point for Lasting Change

Technological Infrastructures

The public education advocacy group People for Education issued this report on technology in schools in 2019, which discusses the state of technological infrastructures in schools and associated issues. The report includes a section highlighting the vital role that teacher-librarians can play in facilitating learning with technology in schools. Connecting to Success: Technology in Ontario Schools

The American Library Association advocates for equity of access to digital resources and services. Their position highlights the rights of users. Access to Digital Resources and Services: An Interpretation of the Library Bill of Rights

The American organization EveryLibrary advocates for library funding. In this article, published in 2021, they make the case for equity of access to technological equipment, digital resources, and learning opportunities in libraries. Digital Equity Means More than Just Access to the Internet

Human Resources

In a video presentation at the Leap into the Future of School Libraries Conference 2024, noted researcher Dr. Keith Curry Lance discusses his latest research about school library staffing in the USA with Dr. David Loertscher.

The School Librarian Investigation—Decline or Evolution? (SLIDE) is an exploratory project submitted by Antioch University Seattle and funded by the Institute for Museum and Library Services for $348,905, conducted from September 2020 – August 2023 to determine patterns in the continuing, national decline in school librarian positions and how school districts decide to staff library, learning resources, and instructional technology programs for K-12 students.

Read about Canadian information gathered on staffing in Ontario school boards through the Ontario School Library Association (OSLA) in 2020-2021. Ontario School Libraries in the 2020-21 School Year: A Survey of Ontario School Boards (November 2020)

Yes, Your School Librarian Can Do That (and More) In this Cult of Pedagogy podcast, Jennifer Gonzalez talks to four accomplished school librarians to explore all the ways a certified school librarian can make teachers’ work easier, more efficient, and more effective, and to make a strong case for why every school needs one. Cult of Pedagogy, April 14, 2024.

Investing in School Libraries and Librarians To Improve Literacy Outcomes This report from the Center for American Progress, an independent, non-partisan policy institute concludes that libraries and librarians not only spark a love of learning; they are are crucial to reversing low reading assessment scores across the United States, and makes associated policy recommendations. CAP 20, April 18, 2024.

Accessibility

A policy framework for accessibility in schools is set out by the Ontario Human Rights Commission. The Ontario Human Rights Code guarantees the right to equal treatment in education, without discrimination on the ground of disability, as part of the protection for equal treatment in services. The commission’s policy on accessible education for students with disabilities provides a thorough examination of all aspects of associated legal frameworks and applications in practice. Ontario Human Rights Code Policy on accessible education for students with disabilities

The web guide to the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA) includes a section describing new requirements for school libraries that came into effect in 2020, specifically in the provision of accessible resources. AODA Requirement for School Libraries

The Centre for Equitable Library Access (CELA), the public library service for Canadians with print disabilities, provides five tips for accessible library programming for kids and teens. CELA Accessible library programming for kids and teens

This resource from Inclusive School Communities makes the connection between accessibility and Universal Design for Learning (UDL). Accessibility and UDL

Ethical Standards

Ethical standards for librarianship in Canada have been established by the Canadian Federation of Library Associations / Fédération canadienne des associations de bibliothèques (CFLA-FCAB). CFLA-FCAB Code of Ethics

The CFLA-FCAB Statement on Intellectual Freedom and Libraries describes the critical role that libraries play in protecting freedom of expression rights for Canadians. CFLA-FCAB Statement on Intellectual Freedom and Libraries

The Centre for Free Expression at Toronto Metropolitan University recognizes the critical role that libraries play in protecting intellectual property rights. They provide comprehensive resources, including the library challenges database, which they maintain in partnership with CFLA-FCAB. Promoting Libraries & intellectual Freedom

Dianne Oberg, PhD, Professor Emerita in teacher-librarianship in the Faculty of Education at the University of Alberta in Canada, emphasizes the key role teacher-librarians must play in acknowledging and respecting rights of everyone in the school community, including students. Who Speaks for the Kids in Your School When the Censor Comes Calling?

How do our students experience school library joy?

In this article reflecting both Canadian and Australian approaches, CSL Chair Anita Brooks Kirkland regards the library as a “radical place” where the ethical foundations of librarianship are based on advancing principles of democracy and human rights, by making information and learning accessible to all. Library Neutrality as Radical Practice

The very things that give students joy in the school library learning commons do not happen by accident, but rather through the intentional actions of school library professionals, based on the ethics of the profession. Ethical Foundations of School Library Joy

LLC Management

CSL Chair Anita Brooks Kirkland reflects on whether library routines, as well-intentioned as they may be, could sometimes conflict with the library’s mission to engage readers and inspire learning. Learn why she wonders if the ways we manage things like overdues or the choices we make about collection management create inequities or violate students’ right to privacy? Taming the Library Dragon: Mission, Ethics, and Library Routines

A Culture of Growth

Esteemed school librarianship leader and professor of School of Library and Information Science at San Jose State University, USA, Dr. David Loertscher presents the AliveLibrary.Info project website. The site contains nine different “exhibit” rooms where the major contribution of teacher librarians can be viewed and used as discussion starters for schools and districts across the world. Includes many Canadians whom Dr. Loertscher expresses are engaged in leading work in the field. Bringing the School Library ALiVE: Canada Leads the Way

Accountability

Brandi Bartok, Junior School Librarian at St. John’s-Ravenscourt School, Manitoba, and current President of the Manitoba School Library Association, promoted a list of questions regarding school libraries on the MSLA website and social media platforms, that one might pose in an electoral campaign to ask provincial candidates “if they came to the doorstep”. Manitoba School Library Association’s Social Media Advocacy Campaigns

Follow along as Beth Lyons, a teacher-librarian leader in the Peel District School Board, ON, shares three consecutive years of her school’s innovative year-end school library report. Documenting the School Library Journey in 2020

The Ontario Library Association (OLA) shares a listing of key school library research resources including the Ontario School Library Impact Project (OSLIP). Initiated in 2018, the purpose of which was to conduct a research study that investigates the impact of secondary school libraries on the development of key information literacy skills in students entering post-secondary education. OLA School Library Advocacy

Accountability means credibility. Anita Brooks Kirkland shares strategies for building credibility and committing to the cycle of accountability. The Power of Accountability: Strategies for Building Credibility and Support