Reflection and Renewal in PEI School Libraries
An Executive Summary

Prepared for
The Department of Education and
the School Library Community of
Prince Edward Island

by
Ray Doiron, Ph. D. University of PEI
Judy Davies, M.Ed. Department of Education

October 1, 1996

Table of Contents

The Prince Edward Island School Library Policy
Executive Summary
Introduction
The Research Process
The Researchers
Support for the Study
The Research Participants
Research Methods
Data Analysis
The Credibility of the Research
Summaries and Actions
School Library Facilities -- Summary
School Library Facilities -- Actions
Action 1
Action 2
Action 3
Action 4
Action 5
School Library Personnel -- Summary
School Library Personnel -- Actions
Action 6
Action 7
Action 8
Action 9
Action 10
Action 11
Action 12
Action 13
Action 14
School Library Programs and Services -- Summary
School Library Programs and Services -- Actions
Action 15
Action 16
Action 17
Action 18
Action 19
School Library Resources -- Summary
School Library Resources -- Actions
Action 20
Action 21
Action 22
Action 23
Action 24
Action 25
Nine Major Findings of the Study
Broadening the Context for Renewal
A Closing Thought

The Prince Edward Island School Library Policy

School library services are an essential element of the educational process for students at all levels of the school system. In today's rapidly changing society, students must have the opportunity to develop the ability to retrieve, assess and apply information. As we equip students with these skills, we will help ensure that learning does not end with the completion of formal education, but continues throughout life.

These goals can be best achieved through resource-based teaching/learning, that is, a library program fully integrated with the school's instructional program with teacher-librarians and teachers using a cooperative program planning and teaching approach.
(PEI Department of Education, 1989 and 1992)

Executive Summary

Introduction

This research project was initiated in October, 1995 and was largely defined by one major goal:

∙to examine the impact that the PEI School Library Policy Statement (1989) has had on school library programs in the province of Prince Edward Island.

Two additional purposes motivated this comprehensive study:

Reflection:

• to inform educators, including the school library community, about the progress which has been made in realizing the principles and the vision articulated in the Policy.

Renewal:

• to provide policy-makers at the provincial, district and school levels with reliable information on which to base future directions and decisions about school libraries.

The Research Process

The Researchers
The research study was conducted by principal investigators, Ray Doiron, Ph.D., Faculty of Education, University of Prince Edward Island, and Judy Davies, M.Ed., Department of Education.  They were assisted by three individuals who are well-known and respected by the school library community, who wrote concise histories that helped establish the historical perspective for the research report.

• Sandra Richardson, School Library/ Media Consultant, Department of Education, contributed the overview of the growth of school libraries in PEI,
• Donna Lavoie, Director of Media Services, Department of Education,
  examined the history of educational technology in Prince Edward Island,
• Norine Hanus, President, PEI Teacher-Librarians’ Association,
  reviewed the role of the Association.

Support for the Study
Support for the year-long project was provided by the PEI Department of Education and the Faculty of Education at the University of Prince Edward Island.

The Department of Education facilitated the data gathering, provided some secretarial service, provided a professional development day for teacher-librarians and administrators to hear the research results, as well as covering the costs of travel and making copies of the report.

The Senate Committee on Research at the University of PEI awarded the research project an $1800 grant, which covered professional computer services for the data analysis, transcription services for the interviews and general operating costs.

The Research Participants
It must be noted that participation in the research study was overwhelmingly positive. Sixty-four of sixty-six schools completed the Survey of School Libraries in Prince Edward Island, for a 96.9% response rate. As well, 24 principals and 24 teacher-librarians or library contacts took part in individual, one-hour interviews. The willingness of teacher-librarians, school library contacts and principals to get involved in the process makes this an exceptionally descriptive report, reflecting what is actually happening with regard to school libraries in this province. 

Research Methods
The study was based in descriptive research techniques. The data gathering and analysis were aimed at creating an accurate picture of each of the five areas examined in the research report:

• school library FACILITIES
• school library PERSONNEL
• school library RESOURCES
• school library PROGRAMS and SERVICES

Two instruments were constructed by the researchers. The Survey of School Library Programs in PEI contained twenty pages of questions within each of the five research areas and provided a “wide-angled view” of school libraries.  The data collected from the Surveys generated a set of interview questions which were also organized into the same five areas of study. Twenty-four schools were contacted and the subsequent interviews were conducted by the same principal investigator in each of the schools, with the principal and the teacher-librarian or library contact. These 48 interviews provided a “close-up view” of the school-based experiences shared by each of the participants.  Together, the Survey and the interviews contributed mountains of data on what is presently happening in school libraries and on what principals, teacher-librarians and library contacts identified as the key issues facing all educators.

Data Analysis
Data analysis was organized under the key areas explored in the study - school library facilities, personnel, resources, programs and services.  The findings from the Surveys were presented in a series of graphs and tables that presented numerical summaries for the information gathered. The interviews were transcribed and analysed for recurrent themes, common answers and consistent issues. The interview results were presented with the actual comments made by those who completed the Surveys and participated in the interviews.  The discussion about the collected data also synthesized the dozens of graphs and tables and provided a further exploration of each area.  Following the discussion and analysis of the findings, 25 recommended Actions were suggested as ways to alleviate the problems identified and they provide a base for further discussion and future plans for school libraries in PEI.

The Credibility of the Research
The main goal of this research project was to examine the impact that the PEI School Library Resource Centre Policy has had on school library programs in PEI. It focused on collecting information on the status of school library facilities, personnel, resources programs and services currently available in our elementary and secondary schools. The study has been successful in generating a vast amount of information on school libraries in this province which led to the formulation of twenty-five recommended actions as part a general plan for renewal in school library programs. Before reviewing what the study found, several points about the study itself  are important to remember.

First of all, almost all school libraries in the province took part. There are 65 public schools in the province and one school was housed in two locations with two school libraries and two teacher-librarians so this was counted to make 66 schools.  Of  that number, 64 completed The Survey of School Library Resource Centre Programs. This gives the results credibility and  reflects the tremendous interest that principals, teacher-librarians and library contacts showed in the study. They saw it as an opportunity to have input into a research project and to express their concerns about many of the issues raised in the study.

Secondly, the study was based in descriptive research techniques. It was not an attempt to establish causality or make inferences based on the statistical procedures performed. The data gathering and data analysis were aimed at creating a "picture" of what is happening and what has happened since 1989 when the Policy was first proclaimed. The use of these  research methods kept the participants relaxed and less intimidated than empirical measures of success tend to do.

Thirdly, the Survey and the subsequent set of interviews provided two views of school library programs. The Survey, with its twenty pages of questions, took a long time for participants to complete and it provided a wide-angled view of  what was happening. Since it was sent to all schools, every school had the opportunity to supply information on specific questions in the five areas examined in the study --- school library facilities, personnel, resources, programs and services. The 24 interviews with principals and 24 interviews with teacher-librarians or library contacts were based on information collected in the Survey and on a set of questions related to the five research areas. This provided an up-close view of what participants were experiencing at their school. When combined, these two views provide both breadth and depth to any refection on the PEI situation.

Fourthly, the research operated from a historical perspective on the development of school libraries in PEI. Four researchers wrote short histories of several aspects of the historical development of school libraries, technology in the school library, the development of the School Library Policy itself and  the role played by the PEI Teacher-Librarians' Association. When considered together, these four historical reviews set the context for the reflective process undertaken in the study.

Summaries and Actions

The following Summaries and Actions are taken directly from each section of the full report. They cover the areas of school library facilities, personnel, programs/services and learning resources and they are collected here to quickly summarize the findings and to list the suggested Actions.

School Library Facilities -- Summary
The information about the school library facilities in PEI schools was collected from a survey and a set of interviews and it points to a wide variance in the state of these facilities. The school library facilities averaged over 1500 square feet, and were reported to be open for students and teachers most of the time. The students and teachers in the school used the school library facility for a variety of purposes, other than as a school library, and the community also used the facility as a meeting place for various events. Almost all school libraries reported space for a reference collection and for collections of fiction and nonfiction trade books. Other collection areas, such as periodicals, professional materials, AV/computer software and information files were found in varying degrees in the facilities. Variance was also found in the type of seating available for students. If a school library facility could accommodate whole classes, small groups, independent study and quiet reading, respondents felt they were better able to meet the varied needs of an integrated school library program.

Computer facilities are rapidly changing in all school libraries. The number of computers available in the school library is growing, but many respondents still reported limited access to lab facilities and only one multimedia workstation. Access to the Internet and networked systems are also increasing, but they were often described as emerging as parallel services for teachers and students, rather than as integrated components of a school-wide plan for information literacy.

In discussions with teacher-librarians/library contacts and school principals, several recurring themes were identified. There is a need to coordinate the installation of new educational technologies in the school with the technology needs of the school library facility. In many cases, plans were racing ahead for adding computer labs, on-line services, networks and software applications without any knowledge of what the school library had already accomplished in automation and in providing computers for accessing databases and word processing. Collaboration is needed by all educational partners to streamline the duplication of effort and also to promote the development of expertise by different partners for areas in which they can contribute the most to the overall information literacy needs of students. Part of that collaboration is recognizing the future potential for the school library.

Schools with open-area libraries or single-classroom/double-classroom facilities were found to have a set of problems rooted heavily in the nature of their facility. It appeared that newer schools came closer to matching the expectations of the School Library Policy and the School Library Resource Centre Guidelines documents, while schools with open area facilities are limited by noise and traffic problems, lack of walls and poor display space, as well as limited  or inadequate storage facilities. The single-classroom/double-classroom facility seemed limited by size and lack of room to grow. Many of these facilities were designed and built at a time when a school library program was limited to reading stories to children and signing out books. Several respondents felt they were limited by their facility in developing a program that included more research by students, more independent resource-based learning projects and  activities that include the use of technology. It appears these facilities will continue to deteriorate unless a concerted effort is made to address their limitations imposed by the facility itself.

With such a variance in the state of school library facilities and with such a wide range of individual needs, it is necessary to take a different approach in dealing with improvements to these facilities. It is impossible to recommend one action or set of actions to alleviate the problems. The province has a set of Guidelines and a clear vision for what the school library program should be like. What is needed is a team approach to the situation where other practitioners could go to visit a school library and provide assistance to a committee of teachers in the school to develop a long-range, plan of action that would address the specific needs of  that school library facility.

The Department of Education could support this model as a professional development activity by providing release time for people to visit schools and consult with staffs as they develop an improvement plan. Individual school districts could encourage schools to develop strategies for implementing their improvement plans that would include budget plans for maintenance and renovation. Improvements to school library facilities could be achieved with a collaborative approach. In this way, the plan of action could be kept realistic, and thus more attainable, since it would emerge from the school base and would be supported in a collegial way by all education partners.

School Library Facilities -- Actions

Action 1
It is recommended that Department of Education officials, district administrators and individual schools should coordinate their efforts in the implementation of new educational technologies so that full access in all classrooms and in all school libraries is ensured and that curriculum plans are collaboratively developed to ensure full integration of these new educational technologies into the school’s plan for information literacy.

Action 2
Any future new school construction and/or major school renovation project should be designed with the school library facility centrally located with an adjacent computer lab

Action 3
The Department of Education and the school districts should identify open-area school libraries with specific problems in their facility and then facilitate the development of a plan of action for individual schools to address the problems related to noise, traffic patterns and appropriate use of the school library facility and any other problems that restrict the implementation of the PEI School Library Policy.

Action 4
Any future new school construction and/or major renovation project should be designed with the size of the school library facility in mind, the technical and physical demands of  educational technologies, as well as addressing the various needs it fulfills and the myriad of services it provides in the overall school curriculum.

Action 5
It is recommended that the Department of Education and each school district facilitate the establishment of teams of practitioners who could be released from their regular duties for a time to provide on-site support to assist teacher-librarians and principals in designing a plan of action that addresses the specific problems of their school library facility. The team would analyse the specific school library facility, suggest solutions that are realistic and design long- and short-range plans that would see that the improvements are made.

School Library Personnel -- Summary
Staffing issues continue to dominate the development of successful school library programs in this province. Findings indicate that staffing is holding at consistent levels over the past few  years, but that staffing below the .5 FTE level is still too common. The designation of library contact positions needs to be reassessed since in many ways these individuals are acting as teacher-librarians with no time to do the work. This results in the illusion of staffing being created with no real gains for the school library program. It was also noted that there are some wide variances in the staffing of school libraries with schools of the same size having very different allocation of staff to the teacher-librarian position. The recommendation has been made that a new set of staffing guidelines be issued to clarify the 1.0 FTE to 400 students ratio as previously suggested in the provincial Guidelines and to stimulate new initiatives in the staffing of school libraries.  

The use of outside-the-ratio positions was also a cause for some concern as there seemed to be some serious differences in the way these positions have been awarded and used across the system. It was recommended that this program be maintained and increased, but that more accountability be attached to the awarding of such a position to a school.

Improvements in the qualifications of teacher-librarians were noted, thanks to the success of the Diploma in School Librarianship at the University of Prince Edward Island, and various provincial, district and in-school professional development efforts over the past few years. Suggestions were made to identify more specifically future professional development needs and the development of a long-range plan for teacher-librarian professional development. Efforts also are needed to share the accomplishments of many frontline teacher-librarians who have developed incredible programs, many in spite of some serious limitations.

School Library Personnel -- Actions

Action 6
The following staffing formula for qualified teacher-librarian positions should be applied across the school system:

School Size	Staffing Allocation
over 800	1.5 FTE plus 1.0 clerk
400-800	1.0 FTE plus .5 clerk
400	1.0 FTE
200-400	.5 FTE
<200	.5 FTE (2 or more schools share)

Action 7
It must be considered that the bottom line for staffing be .5 FTE. Anything below that becomes ineffectual and it forces the person to simply be a manager, with little or no time for cooperatively planning and teaching with teachers and for implementing resource-based learning. Schools below 200 students should be expected to twin with another school close by and use their allocated position in an equitable way.

Action 8
The Department of Education, in consultation with the school districts and the teacher-librarian community, should establish an ad hoc Committee to explore the benefits of school twinning and clustering as a means of providing more qualified staff to school libraries and as a way  of encouraging the sharing of resources, local expertise and general school library program activities.

Action 9
The Department of Education should maintain, and increase, the program for allocating outside-the-ratio positions for qualified teacher-librarians. The Department, in consultation with the school districts and the teacher-librarian community, should examine and evaluate the present system for allocating outside-the-ratio positions with an eye to providing more equity, balance and consistency in the procedures for awarding these positions.

Action 10
The following criteria should be applied when awarding outside-the-ratio positions:

• that the recommended guidelines for staffing provided in Actions 6 and 7 above be used to decide how much of a position should be awarded to a school.
• that no more than 50% of the allocation for the teacher-librarian position should come from outside the ratio. The other 50% should be expected to come from within the school’s overall allocation for staffing.
• that the guiding principle for awarding an outside-the-ratio position is the assurance of the effective use of a qualified teacher-librarian, who spearheads the implementation of a fully-integrated school library program.

Action 11
The present system of library contacts in schools with no teacher-librarian should be abandoned in favour of the deployment of qualified personnel with adequate staffing time assigned.

Action 12
The School Library Resource Centre Guidelines should be revised so that the expectations for a qualified teacher-librarian would be the completion of a Diploma Program in School Librarianship or its equivalent.

Action 13
A multi-dimensional plan for the professional development of teacher-librarians needs to be developed by the provincial School Library Advisory Committee, in partnership with representatives from school principals, classroom teachers and curriculum developers at the Department of Education. The goals of this team should be the establishment of a peer-coaching project for teacher-librarians and a long-range plan for professional development for teacher-librarians that reflects the diversified demands of implementing an integrated school library program.

Action 14
The School Library Advisory Committee  should  form a sub-committee to identify, document and disseminate a wide variety of examples of “best practices” in school library program implementation. Booklets of successful projects could be made and videotapes of planning sessions and students at work could be created; electronic media such as the Department of Education website could be used for highlighting interesting success stories. The results could be shared with all levels of the school system in PEI and beyond, could act as useful professional development material for all program implementers and could act as a tool to reinforce the belief that we have come a long way.

School Library Programs and Services -- Summary
The quality and comprehensiveness of school library programs and services was seen as directly related to the percentage of allocated time for the position of teacher-librarian. The more time allocated to the position of teacher-librarian, the larger the amount of time that could be given to instruction and cooperatively planning with teachers. Those in positions with less than .5 FTE spent a greater proportion of that time on the management duties associated with operating a school library resource centre. There seems to be a critical mass of time needed in the teacher-librarian position before a comprehensive instructional program can develop, one that is in line with the goals outlined in the PEI School Library Policy. The same findings held for the use of time for planning -- the larger the FTE, the more time was spent planning with teachers, the more times the Information Skills Continuum was used and the more meetings were held with principals.

School library programs were described in one of three ways: as limited ones focused on book exchanges and some isolated teaching of skills; as parallel ones where the teacher-librarian complemented the classroom teacher’s program; or as collaborative ones where instruction was integrated with classroom programs. Strengths were seen in the area of providing instruction, providing resources and in working with classroom teachers. Principals added that strengths were in the teacher-librarian as a strong leader and the collaboration with classroom teachers. Major weaknesses were in the staffing allocation for the teacher-librarian position and the resource collection.

The interviews suggested that the concepts embedded in the School Library Policy are well understood and accepted. The need for classroom teachers to have a greater understanding of these same concepts was identified as a major in-service need. Many participants felt that the Department of Education needed to send a clear message of support and commitment to the educational community to clear the air of uncertainty from the future of school libraries  in PEI. Many of the future professional development activities should focus on creating a climate for collaboration that will bring teachers together to build resource-based learning and many of the other educational concepts embedded in several of the educational documents that are currently influencing our school system. Participants also identified the need to update the School Library Policy and the other school library documents to bring them more in line with current thinking on information literacy.

School Library Programs and Services -- Actions

Action 15
The Department of Education should send a clear message to the school library community in particular, and to all educators in general, that it supports the ideals of an integrated school library program as articulated in the School Library Policy and that it will continue to support school libraries as part of its overall educational agenda. Such a message could take the form of new program initiatives for school libraries, increased staffing and resources and a ministerial directive supporting the Policy and Guidelines.

Action 16
Program consultants, curriculum implementors, teacher educators at UPEI and all educational leaders that provide professional development in the province need to seek opportunities to include the school library program in their program initiatives and to show leadership in connecting classroom teaching practices with cooperative program planning/teaching, resource-based learning and information literacy skills.

Action 17
It is recommended that the Department of Education and other educators at the district level provide administrators with in-service workshops that explore alternate management strategies that will allow them to address the needs of their school library programs with particular emphasis on creative staffing procedures, innovative ways of using outside-the-ratio positions, resource management/sharing and methods for achieving the goals of a school library program.

Action 18
Plans need to be developed to provide administrators, consultants, teacher-librarians and classroom teachers with information on the importance and benefits of collaborative planning and teaching, with workshop sessions for developing strategies for improving a school's collaborative culture and with on-going support for maintaining a school-wide commitment to collaboration in all aspects of the school program.

Action 19
The Department of Education should form an ad hoc committee to write an information literacy document for all educators in Prince Edward Island. The committee should consist of representatives from the School Library Advisory Committee, one curriculum representative from the Department and one from each school district, as well as a technology consultant from the Department and a Department representative that sits on APEF. The information literacy document should include a vision statement for information literacy, philosophical foundations for information literacy, a set of learning outcomes for information skills, specific strategies and learning outcomes for the integrated use of information technologies, as well as various examples of user-friendly, teaching/learning strategies that will facilitate the implementation of principles of information literacy by teachers and teacher-librarians.

School Library Resources -- Summary
Although elementary and elementary/junior high school collections met the minimum expectation of 15 books-per-student, other school types did not. Nonfiction collections were identified by all levels as inadequate to meet curriculum needs and student reading levels. Trade book collections also had more fiction than nonfiction, a balance that did not meet the recommendations in the Guidelines.

Reference collections had a wide variety of different types of items in them but concerns were expressed about the currency of the materials and the size of collections to meet the demands of student research projects and teachers' programs. Information files were found mostly in schools with enough time allocated to the teacher-librarian position to allow for time to be spent keeping the information current.

Many concerns were raised about the state of repair of audio/visual equipment and software. Many reported it as out-of-date and not well matched to current curriculum needs. Concerns were also expressed about future maintenance of the new computer hardware and software currently enjoying favour across the system. Periodicals were reported heavily used in senior and junior high schools, but ratings for their match to student interest and reading level were low.

Almost all school libraries reported a budget was given each year to buy learning resources. Some funds were also raised from book fairs, with minor amounts from community groups or other fund raising. Concerns were expressed about situations where the teacher-librarian had little input into the budget process so that resource collections could not be developed with any consistent budget allocation. It was a universal concern that more money for resources is needed if collections are to be brought up-to-date and enlarged to meet the demands from current curriculum and resource-based learning projects.

The current school library collections need some financial support from government over the next few years in order to alleviate some of the present poor conditions in the collections and to give students and teachers the resources they need for current and future curriculum endeavours. Recommendations were made for the development of a centralized selection system for school library collections that would establish a process for new curriculum resources to be selected and made available for the local school library. Liaison with the Provincial Library system, publishers and all levels of program implementation would be essential to facilitate the success of this system.

It was suggested that individual schools also set up plans for collaboration on the collection development process to include setting consistent budgets for resources, writing collection development plans and including teachers in the selection process. Linked to the issues around the state of school library collections was the need to update the PEI School Library Resource Centre Guidelines and the Information Skills Continuum to more accurately reflect the current curriculum and the resource needs of students and teachers.

School Library Resources -- Actions

Action 20
A financial support plan for building school library resources needs to be established through which the Department of Education will give $5-per-student for each of three consecutive fiscal years for the purchase of learning resources for centrally located school library resource centres. Each individual school would be expected to at least match the $5-per- student figure, so that a total of $10-per-student will be spent for the next three years to rejuvenate the school library collections across PEI. Individual schools would be responsible to write a collection development plan that would outline their needs and how the extra funding would be spent.

Action 21
It is recommended that the Department of Education establish a procedure for all curriculum developers and implementers stipulating that no new program implementation be undertaken without evidence that a thorough consultation has taken place with representatives of the school library community to determine what resources exist presently to support the new program and what resources will be needed to support the new program and make connections between it and the school library program.

Action 22
A more detailed study should be established by the Department of Education to examine issues surrounding audio-visual and computer equipment in PEI schools. The study should focus on an inventory of the available hardware and software, an analysis of the state of repair of this equipment, its currency and relevancy to the curriculum, as well as making recommendations for future maintenance and development of these AV/Computer collections.

Action 23
The Department of  Education, in partnership with the PEI Provincial Library and the school library community should explore the possibility of establishing a centralized selection, purchasing and processing system for common and core learning resources for the school library collection. A feasibility study should be conducted by the School Library/Media Consultant, who will determine if such a system would have benefits for schools, make suggestions for the parameters of the system and offer a plan for the implementation of a centralized selection system for PEI school libraries.

Action 24
Each school should initiate a process by which the principal and teacher-librarian will discuss budget issues as they relate to the school library collection and together they will establish a three-year plan for the school library budget in order to ensure some consistency and stability for long-range collection development. The teacher-librarian should coordinate the selection of resources with input from the school staff.

Action 25
The PEI School Library Resource Centre Guidelines should be updated and revised to match the curriculum needs of today’s school libraries and to outline specifically basic resource requirements in all areas of the school library collection. These Guidelines should be incorporated into the general information literacy document suggested earlier in Action 19 and be part of a general professional development initiative to help administrators, classroom teachers and curriculum consultants become more aware of all school library support documents and their impact across the curriculum.

Nine Major Findings of the Study
There are several conclusions or major findings emanating from all five areas investigated.  These may be expressed as “summative statements” based on the analysis of the collected data and a full year of working with principals, teacher-librarians and school library contacts. They form the framework for a general renewal of school library programs in PEI. The following excerpts are taken from those summative statements:

• There has been a general growth and acceptance of the principles of resource-based learning, the role of the teacher-librarian, cooperative program planning and teaching, and the integrated role of the school library program:
   
• Participants felt strongly that the current Policy, Guidelines and Information Continuum needed to be up-dated to reflect the influence technology is having on the role of the school library and to set direction for the use of the concept of information literacy as a more inclusive way of expressing the role that school libraries and the teacher-librarian should play in the school curriculum;
   
• Participants expressed a need for the Department of Education to make it clear that it still sees the school library and the role of the teacher-librarian as a vital and integral part of its curriculum goals for the province;
   
• There is clear evidence of the inextricable link among the school library program, the personnel hired to develop the program, and the resources needed to fully implement the program;
   
• Teacher-librarians and administrators saw a great need to broaden the implementation process for school library programs to include more efforts aimed at curriculum consultants and classroom teachers;
   
• Future curriculum development plans need to be made with the goal of making connections, whenever possible, with the school library program;
   
• Several major issues related to staffing school libraries and up-grading school library collections will have to be addressed if the philosophy of the school library program is to be fully realized;
   
• In some schools, the facility used for the school library is inadequate for fully implementing a school library program;
   
• Collaboration across the system, within the school and between teacher-librarians and administrators was identified as a crucial determinant of success for the school library program.

Opportunities are now needed for the school library community, educators across the school system, and officials from the three school districts and the Department of Education to engage in discussion about the implications of the study and to define the next course of action. Any “Agenda For Renewal” should include both immediate initiatives and long-term plans for action and improvement. 

Broadening the Context for Renewal

It is also necessary for educators to view the findings of this study within the broader educational and societal context. Many economic, social and political pressures have influenced the current reform process in education. At the same time, new developments in our understanding of learning and the change process are forcing us to re-consider traditional strategies for solving problems. A brief examination of several of these future influences was included in the final chapter of the full report. These include the following:

• Embracing the Concept of Information Literacy:  It will be necessary for the school library community to recognize the concept of information literacy as the key concept that will link the school library program to all aspects of the curriculum.  Information literacy, and its manifestation resource-based learning, are closely aligned with the goals of integrated school library programs.
   
• Learning in an Electronic Environment: It will be impossible in the future to separate teaching and learning from the pervasive realities of information technology. School libraries will need to be “community access points” in vast information networks and technology will become even more important in the integrated school library program.
   
• Complexity of Change: In the past, “vision-driven” models of change were the norm.  These included the change process surrounding the implementation of the School Library Policy Statement. In the future, change will need to be rooted in collaborative models, with shared commitment to new innovations and directions.  There will be little room for the concept of “they” in this model; instead “we” at all levels of the province’s education system must be willing to discuss the agenda for renewal  and decide how we will take part in these new directions.

A Closing Thought

Although Prince Edward Island has not yet reached universal, province-wide implementation of its vision for information services and literacy, much has been achieved. Our structural model and our fine school library programs are the envy of many other jurisdictions across Canada, including our neighbouring Atlantic provinces. The advantages of centralized school library collections include their local accessibility, equity of service and economic viability.  The instructional program mounted around these resource collections helps students achieve the competency in the myriad of information literacy outcomes that will allow them to function well as life-long learners. Our school library resource centres also provide access points to other specialized collections and services in the province. Our centralized Provincial Library ordering and processing service, our Media Centre collection and technological services, and our provincial consultancy, combined with the collections and services provided at the district level, are all evidence of the vast support system available to school libraries in Canada’s smallest province. The time has certainly come to promote our successful model.

This study has provided all educators, and teacher-librarians in particular, with the opportunity to pause and reflect on our achievements. It suggests that there is much to be lost if we do not choose to actively support our school libraries.  Continued investment, in terms of collaboration and dollars, will be required to maintain and improve  the model and to ensure that every student in the province has equitable access to information, plus the necessary instruction to use that information effectively. Surely it is time to set the agenda for the future, to determine how best we can do this. We will need to examine the best practices of successful school library programs and successful teacher-librarians and we will need to make decisions about how to overcome the existing inadequacies. Now is the time for a renewed commitment to the educational  philosophy which guided the writing of our own provincial School Library Policy Statement, knowing this course will lead to long term educational improvements for all our students, preparing them for a future we may never see.

Note:

Full-text copies of the entire report Reflection and Renewal in PEI School Libraries are available upon request from Dr. Ray Doiron or Judy Davies.