By Lila Armstrong
The Canadian Federation of Library Associations / Fédération canadienne des associations de bibliothèques has issued a position statement on the status of school libraries in Canada.
In the statement, CFLA-FCAB supports the establishment of:
- an open and accessible library learning commons in every school, including the protection of existing libraries;
- policy and funding frameworks to provide equitable access to school library facilities, collections, services, and programs designed to meet the diverse needs, abilities, and identities of all learners;
- policy and funding frameworks to ensure every school library is professionally staffed and appropriately funded, and able to provide relevant and current resources, technologies, and physical and virtual learning spaces to support the evolving needs of all learners;
- a policy framework that recognizes the importance of intellectual freedom in libraries, particularly in protecting and amplifying the voices of underrepresented identities.
Canadian School Libraries welcomes the release of this statement, national in scope, and long called for. More than twenty years ago the report, The Crisis in School Libraries: The Case for Reform and Re-Investment (Haycock, p. 38 – 39)) made thirteen recommendations for all ministries of education to make consistent and coordinated approaches to leveraging the potential of school libraries. Likewise in 2014 the Royal Society of Canada called on the Council of Ministers of Education (CMEC) to establish a national policy consensus on school library learning commons to “maximize their contribution to the K-12 experience and its learning outcomes” (Demers et al, p. 158).
The current educational landscape is coloured with an array of provincial education policies, funding and strategies. Similarly, these jurisdictions have vastly different understandings and practices for how school libraries are funded, staffed and managed. It is for this reason that in 2023 Canadian School Libraries (CSL) wrote Foundations for School Library Learning Commons in Canada: A Framework for Success, helping teacher-librarians and library professionals to advocate for change and challenge the status quo through action. It was created for school library staff and leaders to help build foundational understandings related to school library learning commons in Canada.
It was within this context that Anita Brooks Kirkland, Chair of CSL, and Andrea Cecchetto, Chair of the Canadian Federation of Library Associations/ Fédération canadienne des associations de bibliothèques (CFLA-FCAB), first began to grow the idea of a collaborative effort for school libraries in Canada. Finding avenues to “help jurisdictions assess the essential elements necessary for libraries in their schools to function as true learning commons, capable of advancing the school’s goals and having an impact on student learning and personal growth” (Canadian School Libraries, p. 18) is part of ongoing advocacy supported by the CSL.
The partnership with CFLA-FCAB is natural, as CSL is a member organization of CFLA-FCAB, the united voice of Canada’s libraries. “We work to influence public policy, advance library excellence, and raise the visibility of libraries in Canada to advance our national intellectual, social, economic, and cultural success.” (CFLA-FCAB).
In February, Anita Brooks Kirkland attended a board meeting at CFLA-FCAB to pursue the conversation started with Andrea Cecchetto, to further raise awareness of issues at the school level and suggest a dedicated project with CFLA-FCAB. The board was very receptive and Anita began to pull together a team from various jurisdictions to lend a voice to the process. The final result would be the CFLA Statement on the Status of School Libraries in Canada, available in both English and French.
The committee included a team of collaborators from CFLA member organizations, including: CSL Board of Directors Chair Anita Brooks Kirkland, Co-Chair Joseph Jeffery, and board member Lila Armstrong; CFLA Chair Andrea Cecchetto and Chair of the CFLA Intellectual Freedom Committee (and school librarian), Michael Nyby; Associations des bibliothécaires de Québec/Québec Library Association (ABQLA) youth and school libraries section representative Alisa Soukhodolskaia; and Quebec school library leader Julian Taylor, also representing CSL.
A draft statement was prepared by the CSL board and shared with the group for review and comments, prior to a scheduled meeting on Zoom. This initial stage of review sparked dialogue around wording and immediately highlighted the geographic differences and experiences between group members. Several times in this first round we saw ideas getting fleshed out, agreement between committee members, as well as respectful and collegial dissent.
When we finally met over Zoom, we had margins full of comments to guide our discussion and edits. Although there were few philosophical differences, you might be surprised to know how many times we got hung up on commas and grammar rules. Professional definitions also surfaced and we were faced with how we might advocate for the best school library results, acknowledging the vast differences in models and staffing that exist across the country, but focussing on consistency and excellence in practice.
Over the course of a two hour call, the group was collaborative and flexible, and we were able to weave together ideas and viewpoints in a way that everyone would be well-positioned. We achieved success both as representatives of our CFLA member organizations and as a united group upholding school libraries.
As we progressed through the statement, we identified areas that needed additional language and worked together to determine how those words could be placed for maximum effect. One such item was the statement on intellectual freedom, the final line of the document: “The CFLA recognizes that all students have the same rights of inquiry and access to information as any library user, and these rights should not be impeded by political or ideological considerations”. The importance of the additional statement was explained by Michael Nyby.
“While the current political climate is fraught with explicit attempts to curtail the intellectual freedom of students by limiting the resources available in school libraries, it’s important to recognize that this threat is not new. Every attack on school libraries – whether it is in a more visible form like outright censorship or more insidious forms such as budget cuts or deprofessionalization – is an attack on students’ inalienable human right of inquiry. By framing the argument in those terms, the CFLA-FCAB is making it clear that providing proper educational resources through school libraries is not only socially beneficial, but a moral obligation.”
President of the Alberta School Learning Commons (ASLC) council Harold Semenuk wholeheartedly supports the position statement and shared that, “In Alberta, we have to reverse the normalized trend of multiple decades of indifference, neglect, and a lack of comprehensive understanding regarding school libraries and learning commons spaces, and the need for direct oversight, management, and instructional integration by certified teachers.” Alberta’s situation is illustrative of how lack of a clear vision has resulted in vast inequities across the province, where the decline in teacher-librarian staffing has threatened the very existence of the ASLC council.
Alberta teachers aren’t the only ones facing professional hardship; many Ontario school districts continue to reduce teacher-librarian staffing, and school libraries in New Brunswick and Nova Scotia have long been mostly de-professionalized. Most recently a wave of districts in British Columbia are slashing district learning commons budgets and eliminating district lead teacher-librarian positions.
CFLA-FCAB Chair Andrea Ceccetto asserts that “equity of access to well-funded, professionally staffed school libraries should be the right of every Canadian student. CFLA’s position statement affirms the Federation’s commitment to a national consensus on the value of school libraries and equitable policy and funding frameworks across the country.” She added that they are actively looking to support CSL advocacy efforts moving forward.
“Across the country there are widely divergent understandings of the role of the school library, and equally divergent or even non-existent policy frameworks, funding models, staffing, and program expectations. That Canadian students’ access to library programs and services depends largely on where they live is a deplorable situation in one of the world’s richest democracies. Equity of access to quality school library programs and services should be considered as a core foundation for education in Canada.”
CFLA Position Statement on the Status of School Libraries in Canada.
Read the complete statement here.
The Canadian School Libraries board of directors expresses our appreciation to all committee members: Andrea Cecchetto, CFLA-FCAB Chair, Michael Nyby, representing the CFLA Intellectual Freedom Committee, Anita Brooks Kirkland, Joseph Jeffery, and Lila Armstrong representing the Canadian School Libraries board of directors, Julian Taylor, also representing CSL, Wendy Burch Jones representing the Ontario Library Association / Ontario School Library Association, and Alisa Soukhodolskaia, representing the youth and school libraries section of l’Association des bibliothécaires du Québec – Quebec Library Association. We especially thank the CFLA-FCAB board of directors for their support in publishing the statement.
References
Canadian Federation of Library Associations / Fédération canadienne des associations de bibliothèques (2024). CFLA Statement on the Status of School Libraries in Canada / Enoncé de position de la FCAB sur la situation des bibliothèques scolaires au Canada. Accessed at: https://cfla-fcab.ca/en/pressing-issues/cfla-position-statement-on-the-status-of-school-libraries-in-canada-enonce-de-position-de-la-fcab-sur-la-situation-des-bibliotheques-scolaires-au-canada/
Canadian School Libraries (2023). Foundations for School Libraries Learning Commons in Canada: A Framework for Success. Accessed at: https://www.canadianschoollibraries.ca/foundations-frameworks/
Demers, P. et al (2014) Expert Panel Report on The Future Now: Canada’s Libraries, Archives, and Public Memory. Ottawa, ON: Royal Society of Canada. Accessed at: https://rsc-src.ca/en/future-now-canadas-libraries-archives-and-public-memory
Haycock, K. (2003). The Crisis in Canada’s School Libraries: The Case for Reform and Re-Investment. Toronto, ON: Association of Canadian Publishers. Accessed at: http://accessola2.com/images/home/HaycockACP2_v2rev.pdf
Lila Armstrong is a teacher-librarian in Courtenay, BC, SD71, a member of the CSL board of directors and a member of the CSL Leading Learning committee. She is also an asparagus farmer, beekeeper, and all about learning. She is currently pursuing studies in Educational Leadership. Lila is dedicated to making her LLC vibrant and to growing the strength of the TL group in the district. She enjoys the adventures that come with a farm with her sons, husband and critters.