SLJ Chats with Canada’s Largest Book Retailer about Her Campaign to Rescue School Libraries
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Joan Oleck -- School Library Journal, 10/16/2007 2:15:00 PM
As president and CEO of Indigo Books & Music, Canada’s largest book retailer, Heather Reisman likes to call herself “chief book lover.” She's confirmed that title by addressing the crisis in her nation's school libraries: In 2004, she founded her nonprofit Love of Reading Foundation, which annually awards three-year $150,000 grants to 10 of her county’s neediest school libraries. And recently, she's taken further steps, producing the documentary Writing on the Wall to bring public attention to ailing school libraries, and vowing to lobby all ten provincial premiers and deputy education ministers for extra funding of books and librarians. SLJ spoke with Reisman about her campaign.
What got you involved with school libraries?
Thirty years ago, Canadian provincial governments used to provide each school with three new reading books per child per year. Today, it is less than one-third of a book per child. That statistic is stunning at any time, but when you realize that literacy is the foundation for self-esteem and democracy, it becomes an absolutely devastating statistic.
The other statistic [that got me involved] was that around 38 percent of adult Canadians are not functionally literate, which means they may be able to do basic reading, but they can’t read a newspaper effectively; they can’t fill out an application form; they can have trouble with a prescription. Couple that with [the statistic that shows that] a one-percent increase in societal literacy in our economy is worth $17 billion.
You talk about “uncovering the literacy crisis.” Is it unknown in Canada?
It is a completely unknown crisis. Completely. And, by the way, it’s not only that there are no books; there are no librarians. What parents in middle- and upper-class school districts know is that, on a regular basis, they are canvassed to provide funds for their libraries. But everybody thinks about it in terms of “their school”; they don’t think about it in terms of what’s going on across the land.
You have established a goal of three books per child and a minimum of at least a part-time librarian per school across Canada. Are you working with library groups?
We are working with a group that is responsible for supporting librarians in Ontario and are moving to work with all of [the provincial groups]. We will be working with a national group shortly.
Your documentary Writing on the Wall is both moving and effective.
The reason we initiated the documentary was that once you are exposed to this problem, you can be so passionate about it. But nobody knew!
Tell me about the Love of Reading Foundation.
The short-term objective is to contribute money each year to high-need schools, to transform their library experiences. The long-term goal is to get each province to take this on.
How far have you gotten with your campaign to meet within the year with every premier and deputy education minister?
We've just had our first commitment from the premier of Ontario [Dalton McGuinty]. It's the biggest province, and this is the most significant commitment that has been made: over four years, $110 million [Canadian] for librarians and $80 million for books [if McGuinty is re-elected]. I'm just in the process of setting up the second province right now: British Columbia.
In the U.S., Bill Gates is donating millions of dollars to school libraries. Have you had any communication with his foundation?
No, but it’s interesting: Two years ago, I was in his library at his house, at an event that he had for chief executives. And he had the most gorgeous library on the planet! I never thought about talking to him about this—I should have!
