Canadians Demand More School Librarians

Taking a cue from their U.S. colleagues, the Canadian Coalition for School Libraries wants to invest in literacy by sharply increasing school library budgets and placing a qualified, full-time librarian in every school.

The group, comprised of educators, parents, publishers, and literacy experts, spoke about the alarming decline of Canadian school media centers at a May 28 national summit in Toronto, and called for increased library funding as a way to improve the academic performance of schoolchildren. "The research from the United States is very clear," says coalition member and children's publisher Patsy Aldana. "A well-stocked, professionally staffed school library has a direct impact on increased test scores." The coalition is asking education ministers to staff every school with a full-time librarian.

School library funding has been declining steadily nationwide, reports the coalition. In Alberta, the number of teacher-librarians dropped from 550 in 1978 to just 106 in 2000. Fewer than half of Vancouver's schools have a full-time teacher-librarian, and the average elementary school library is open only 26 hours per week.