School libraries

This document assists in the promotion of the role of the school library and the teacher librarian to parents.

It supports the short promotional film developed by ALIA Schools, 'Promoting your School Library', which gives an overview of the role that school libraries and teacher librarians can play by contributing to student success in learning in both primary and secondary school settings.

Five key stakeholders have been targeted as the audience for this film:

The Australian Library and Information Association (ALIA) Schools and the Victorian Catholic Teacher Librarians (VCTL) make available to school communities 'A Manual for Developing Policies and Procedures in Australian School Library Resource Centres'. It is the result of a joint working party and has been published to support the professional practice of staff in school libraries.

The Australian Library and Information Association (ALIA) Schools and the Victorian Catholic Teacher Librarians (VCTL) make available to school communities 'A Manual for Developing Policies and Procedures in Australian School Library Resource Centres'. It is the result of a joint working party and has been published to support the professional practice of staff in school libraries.

Australian Library Design Awards and Conference, 19 June 2017 Melbourne

This conference presentation (PowerPoint slides) discusses how technological change and the emergence of interconnected learning communities have influenced the design of high school and university library spaces.

Australian Library Design Awards and Conference, 19 June 2017 Melbourne

This conference presentation (PowerPoint slides) provides two examples and two schools of thought in the approach taken to design school library spaces suitable for 21st Century education.

In 2013, the Australian Library and Information Association (ALIA) set out to investigate (1) How will libraries remain relevant for users? (2) What changes will institutions and individuals in the sector experience? (3) Will ‘library and information professional’ continue to be a necessary and desirable occupation? Three years on, we have reviewed the themes, actions and what we have learned since the original investigation. This is the May 2017 update of the Future of the LIS Profession: School Libraries report.

Australian school libraries power high performance government, Catholic and independent schools through providing modern learning environments, digital hubs, developing student research skills, promoting reading for pleasure, providing curriculum support and cybersafety education, celebrating diversity, enabling participation and access, coordinating special programs, and building communities.

ALIA 2016 National Conference, 29 August-2 September 2016, Adelaide: Engage, Create, Lead

[Peer reviewed] This paper engages with the issue, raised by Lonsdale in 2003, of a lack of data regarding national staffing trends in Australian school libraries. The authors review the literature available, including general census data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics, library sector-specific information, and data from the education sector (including school libraries). Particular focus is given to the Staff in Australian Schools survey, as well as its limitations.

ALIA welcomes the Australian Government’s commitment to online safety for children but we are concerned that creating a new position may not achieve as much as investing in existing programs and activities.

This paper is submitted as feedback to the Productivity Commission’s Issues Paper relating to the National Education Evidence Base. ALIA comes to this from a number of perspectives: as a member of the informal coalition of organisations promoting a national early literacy strategy for Australia; as the peak body for libraries, with members in the school, academic and public library networks; and as an Australian Research Institute supporting deeper knowledge and evidencebased practice in the library and information sector.