Libraries in Australia have evolved over decades and are no longer rooms where books are kept. They are a central part of each school communy and provide a range of information services. I see a number of issues affecting school library services highlighted in Hazell's paper, the main ones being:
1. the need to produce information literate students;
2. the role of teacher librarians not being given the recognition they deserve; and
3. financial constraints affecting decision making.
I think it's ridiculous that in 2010 these same concerns are still affecting schools worldwide. Even after all this time, TLs continue to advocate for the need to develop the skills in children which will enable them to safely and competently navigate their way through the abundance of information available to them, but often hit brick walls when trying to plan collaboratively for this with classroom teachers as they see this as something the TL should teach in isolation in the library. From posts made in forums by my fellow students, it appears that many schools continue to use TLs for providing non-contact cover for classroom teachers. This, to me, is a blatant waste of a TLs expertise. Government schools continue to work to tight budgets and often library services are the first to be pared down as school budgets dwindle.
Why, after so many years and so much research, are school libraries still being affected in this negative manner?
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