The school library and teacher-librarian play a critical role in promoting a love of reading. Research indicates that attitude towards reading is a key indicator of student success. (S. Krashen.
The Power of Reading, 2nd Ed. 2004)
The teacher-librarian supports reading literacy by:
- Developing a rich collection of fiction and non-fiction materials, to appeal to all interests and reading levels
- Advising teachers and students on reading materials, matching the reader to the resource
- Promoting reading enjoyment through book talks, author visits, displays and other literacy events
- Promoting reading enjoyment through participation in the Ontario Library Association's Forest of Reading™ programs
- Partnering with teachers to support self-selected and independent reading activities
The Research
Many international studies demonstrate the positive relationship between professionally staffed school libraries and student achievement. On April 5, 2006, a landmark Canadian study,
School Libraries and Student Achievement in Ontario, was released.
The important findings of this research include:
- The presence of a teacher-librarian was the single strongest predictor of reading enjoyment for both Grade 3 and 6 students.
- Schools with teacher-librarians could be expected to have reading enjoyment scores that were 8 percentile points higher than average.
- Reading enjoyment is strongly and positively linked to student achievement.
- Schools with professionally-trained school library staff could be expected to have reading achievement scores that were approximately 5.5 percentile points higher than average in Grade 6 EQAO results.
- Schools without trained library staff tend to have lower achievement on Grade 3 and 6 EQAO reading tests, both in terms of average achievement and attaining Level 3 or higher.
- Eastern and Northern regions of the province are particularly disadvantaged due to lower staffing levels.
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