Report on the Impact of School Libraries on Student Achievement

4.5 Changing role of school libraries

Harvey (2001) refers to the general trends identified in a 2001 study by Tilley and Callison, in which they note a shift away from 'audiovisual, library skills, selection of materials, isolated skill sets, resource input, general resources' towards 'multimedia and telecommunications, information literacy and inquiry, learner needs analysis, collaboration and curriculum integration and learner performance diversification to target unique needs' (Harvey, p. 11). Harvey notes that library education is becoming more focused on users and their needs and less focused on the library and its particular practices.

While the school librarian's job today, at a fundamental level, remains the same in that it is still about facilitating access to information, it has also become more complex and demanding. The responses to a small informal survey of teacher librarians in Australia (Todd 2001a) reveal the extra challenges associated with developing and maintaining digital collections and services. Respondents indicated that they were now faced with maintaining information technology equipment and servicing the needs of users, and are being forced to assume the various roles of web master, network password administrator, professional development organiser for staff, computer technician with no extra staff or time allowance, and facilitator of technology use for both students and teachers (p. 6).

Book (2002) also notes an increased expectation that school librarians will supervise students' Internet usage, assist with home page and website development, help teachers with the intranet, provide staff professional development, assist with data retrieval, and the uploading and downloading of software and programs, and be responsible for system back-ups and general maintenance-'all this on top of their role of co-ordinating information literacy rather than as a replacement thereof' (p. 19). The changes, Book suggests, have meant a greater demand on the time, skills and energy of school librarians.

The post-1990 research studies that examine the relationship between school libraries and student achievement have thus been conducted against a background of these broader changes in school library demographics, profound developments in information and technology, a shift to outcomes-based education and an inquiry-based approach to learning, generic skills and lifelong learning, and greater accountability in the form of performance indicators. At the same time, it is worth remembering that, as Prestebak (2001) points out, the three elements of libraries, 'information, education, and recreation', have changed little since 1918. Although the school library has evolved in response to the kinds of radical changes outlined in this review, these three services are still fundamental to the work of the school librarian.

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