By Anita Brooks Kirkland, Carol Koechlin and Judith Sykes
The three of us have been around the school library world for a long time, and with some humility, we can claim to have contributed quite a lot to school libraries in Canada. And flattered we were, when it was suggested that we might write retrospectives of our professional lives for your reading enjoyment. We agreed, however, that while that might be a feel-good experience for us, it wouldn’t, in all truth, be very useful to you. More useful is for us to reflect on our experiences and the big lessons learned over the years, in the hope that our insights might help you to frame the future.
And as ever, we start with a critical question. How can we inspire people to use all of the wonderful resources that CSL has developed over its relatively short lifetime, in the ongoing and crucial battle to gain commitment to and reinvestment in school libraries?
We are assured of the new board’s commitment to this battle. CSL Chair Joseph Jeffery outlined the new board’s strategic priorities for the coming year in his article in the fall edition, Same Ship, New Crew: The Past, Present, and Future of Canadian School Libraries. These include plans to foster leadership, continue to support and develop CSL projects, strengthen the network of provincial associations and allies, continue outreach to other education stakeholders, and to engage in advocacy directed at school board and district administration regarding the critical role of school library learning commons in education today and into the future.
As we take leave of the CSL organization, we reflect on where we have been on our journey to establish a national voice for the work of school library professionals. We leave you with the hopes we have for your ongoing efforts to reach a common understanding of the value of school library programs across the country, and a commitment to strong policy, robust funding, and equity of access.
Every Child in Canada Deserves an Excellent School Library
Education is the basic building block of every society. It is the single best investment countries can make to build prosperous, healthy and equitable societies.
https://www.un.org/en/academic-impact/education-all
School library professionals have a vital role to play in every school to help ensure that every student is well equipped with “learning for the future” skills and mindsets. Consistent and adequate investment in school libraries and professional staff is needed in Canada to ensure that every student from coast to coast to coast is assured access to this learning potential.
Starting with the belief that every student in Canada deserves and needs the benefits of excellent school library programs and facilities, a decade ago we began the work to establish a national organization to advance school libraries. When our legacy team succeeded in establishing Canadian School Libraries, we created a vision and mission to give focus to our work.
Vision: Library learning commons approaches advance learning potential and school wide improvement.
Our mission is to assist schools in working toward excellence of school library learning commons teaching and learning approaches and facilities to prepare students in Canada with skills and opportunities for learning today and into the future.
Over the years the CSL team has accomplished many steps in support of these goals.
A new and very talented CSL team is ready to inspire and support school libraries in Canada into the future. The objective is to empower educational leaders and school library professionals to lead learning for the future in their schools and districts. We want to emphasize that everyone who works in school libraries is a leader, and so we share our sincere wishes for your success as you move forward.
Wish #1: Be inspired by the growth mindset of Leading Learning, and use it!
There is no other standards document that compares with Leading Learning: Standards of Practice for School Libraries in Canada. Rather than setting benchmarks that may be unachievable to so many schools, Leading Learning focuses on the core principles for learning in the library, the five standards, and describes a growth framework for moving forward. Leading Learning is also unique in that it is not static, but is continuously updated as contexts change and approaches evolve.
As we take our leave, our greatest wish is that more school library professionals, other educators, school districts, and indeed ministries of education use Leading Learning to realize the potential of the school library learning commons to support student success.
Leading Learning: Standards of Practice for School Library Learning Commons in Canada:
- Promotes five core standards of practice that weave together to generate dynamic learning
- Provides a growth continuum of indicators of success and authentic examples happening in libraries today.
- Invites participation of all schools in Canada to invest in learning for the future.
- Positions the library learning commons as the hub of school improvement.
- Moves forward student learning opportunities and potential.
- Envisions a pro-active model for educational change.
- Helps schools shift approaches to collaborative and self directed learning as well as participatory knowledge building.
- Values student voice and choice, freedom to read and intellectual freedom.
- Supports futures oriented learning – creativity, innovation, critical thinking, and communication.
- Infuses technology for learning and evolving literacies, including digital media literacy, eco-literacy, and information literacy in an information context increasingly dominated by artificial intelligence (AI).
- Provides themes and growth indicators to help schools target areas where they are and where they would like to improve.
Wish #2: Refer to Foundations for School Library Learning Commons in Canada: A Framework for Success for authoritative infrastructure standards.
Excellent school library programs are built on solid foundations and infrastructures or frameworks for success. Foundations for School Library Learning Commons in Canada: A Framework for Success provides standards for building these strong foundations and frameworks. It establishes strong policy, robust funding, and a commitment to equity of access as necessary foundations. It describes the elements that frame program success, including design factors for library spaces, technological infrastructure, professional staffing, and accessibility, as well as the ethics of school librarianship, a commitment to a growth mindset, and ongoing accountability.
Foundations & Frameworks describes the conditions necessary for the successful implementation of Leading Learning. It is your go-to, authoritative source for understanding the infrastructure for Canada’s school libraries that align with international standards. It describes the conditions necessary for the successful implementation of Leading Learning.
Wish #3: Explore and use the wealth of resources developed by Canadian School Libraries and other associations, particularly in your own jurisdiction. You are not in this alone!
Wish #4: Embrace accountability, evidence-based practice, and “Made in Canada” action research.
Leading Learning: Standards of Practice for School Library Learning Commons in Canada takes an evidence-based approach to program evaluation, setting a framework for growth and continuous program improvement. Program planning and instructional practice is based on evidence gathered in practice, assessing outcomes of instructional approaches and the impact on learning. The goal is to engage in continuous improvement to achieve the school and school district’s mission and goals. Embracing this level of accountability puts the school library at the centre of learning in the school.
One of the main benefits of taking an evidence-based approach is to deepen our collective understanding of professional practices, yes, but also to provide evidence to inform strong advocacy approaches.
Canadian School Libraries has developed a large body of resources related to accountability and research approaches. One of the most profound innovations that CSL has embraced is to encourage, foster, support and share Canadian research and professional knowledge about the library learning commons for and with school library practitioners, scholars and researchers, through its Treasure Mountain Canada (TMC) symposiums. TMC has served as an incubator for much-needed research into school library practice. It has empowered dozens of school library professionals to become active action researchers. TMC symposia are action-oriented, inspiring major initiatives and projects, including Leading Learning, Foundations & Frameworks, and the Collection Diversity Toolkit, to name but a few.
Wish #5: Work together, seek allies, and increase your circle of influence.
We are stronger when we work together. One of the main goals over the first decade of CSL has been to strengthen the network of school library organizations and supporters from across the country. How fortunate we are to have access to the British Columbia Teacher-Librarians’ Association’s (BCTLA) extensive program resources, and to benefit from their advocacy work, particularly with professional unions. What a marvelous example we have for building support from the broader library community and from the public in the Manitoba School Library Association’s (MSLA) battle against censorship and book bans. What would we do without the large body of resources developed by the Ontario School Library Association (OSLA), and the unwavering support of the Ontario Library Association (OLA) for school library advocacy.
The CSL Association Liaison Committee brings association leaders together on a regular basis, breaking down silos and building mutual support. CSL has also increased its own circle of influence, actively participating in the Canadian Federation of Library Associations / Fédération canadienne des associations de bibliothèques (CFLA-FCAB) and the International Association of School Librarianship (IASL).
There have been two very tangible results of CSL’s efforts in this regard. We are very grateful for CFLA/FCAB’s recently-published Statement on the Status of School Libraries in Canada, which strongly endorses the role of the school library, demonstrates the support of libraries and librarians from all sectors, and makes a strong call for improvement. With nominations from CFLA/FCAB and from Library and Archives Canada, CSL Chair Joseph Jeffery and Vice-Chair Melanie Mulcaster have recently been appointed to the International Federation of Library Associations (IFLA) School LIbrary Section.
Wish #6: Speak up for school libraries!
We are all responsible for advocacy. What we all do every day has an influence in the school, the district, and the province. Advocacy is a process of developing credibility, relationships, and understanding over time.
Being an active advocate means:
Articulating the unique value proposition of the library learning commons. If we want others to understand our impact we must be able to clearly articulate our unique contribution to student success. When school librarians lead learning through innovative practice, they gain credibility. That credibility is affirmed by sharing evidence of positive impact.
Expanding your sphere of influence and building relationships. The more we increase our sphere of influence through relationship-building, the more influence we will have about things that concern us. No matter your role, your voice is needed. Join that school success committee! Talk to parent organizations. Work with library colleagues across your district and subject associations. Join your provincial / territorial school library association. Write an article sharing your program success. Participate in TMC, or even submit a paper. Take every opportunity to connect with school and district leaders, faculties of education, and education decision-makers at all levels.
Not leaving advocacy up to the leaders! We have shown how CSL has stepped up to increase its circle of influence, and how the work of associations from across the country has been so critical. Leadership and action-based advocacy from the grass roots and from the middle of organizations is also so very important. We can all contribute at every level.
Being prepared to put those elbows up! Developing credibility and building relationships over time are critical for advocacy, but there are times when your voice is urgently needed. This has never been so true as right now, when freedom of expression rights, the freedom to read and the right to inquire freely are under attack. Arm yourselves with knowledge of the foundational principles of libraries and public education, and associated professional ethics. Take strength from your networks of support. Get those elbows up to defend the role of school libraries. Be assured that CSL will be here to support you. Please take time to explore the wealth of resources developed by the board and so many volunteers, and imagine how you can use them!
Some Final Words
There is still so much work to do, and never a good time to leave. The three of us have dedicated much of our professional lives to leadership for school libraries, but our most important roles have been as mentors in so many professional contexts – at schools, in school districts, and in associations. Imagine then how gratified we are that after ten years of first establishing and then growing Canadian School Libraries, leaders have emerged to take the organization forward. We would be very gratified if you were to take our final advice as presented in this article, and even more gratified should you decide to step up yourself and become involved in Canadian School Libraries. The future is now in your hands.
Carol & Anita at the very first TMC in Edmonton (TMC1, 2010) and the most recent one (TMC8, 2025) in Toronto.
Judith speaking at the official release of Leading Learning at TMC3, 2014 in Victoria.
As Chair of CSL from 2016 to 2024 Anita Brooks Kirkland was project leader and a contributing writer for the CSL Research Toolkit, the Collection Diversity Toolkit, and the guideline Foundations for School Library Learning Commons in Canada: A Framework for Success. She also co-edited CSL Journal and was a lead organizer for Treasure Mountain Canada symposiums. Over the past two years, she has frequently represented CSL in the media regarding book challenges and censorship in school libraries. Anita served as president of the Ontario Library Association in 2014 and the Ontario School Library Association in 2005.
Carol Koechlin was a founding member of the CSL Board of Directors, and served as Vice-Chair. She is an experienced educator who has contributed to the field of information literacy and school librarianship writing professional books, articles for professional journals, facilitating on-line courses, and presenting workshops in Canada, United States and Australia. Working with Dr. David V.Loertscher, the team has developed foundations for the transformation of school libraries and computer labs into a Physical and Virtual participatory Learning Commons. Carol is a co-founder of Treasure Mountain Canada (TMC) and has co-chaired TMC Symposiums since 2010. Carol was a contributing writer for Together for Learning: School Libraries and the Emergence of the Learning Commons and writing coordinator for Leading Learning: Standards Of Practice For School Library Learning Commons In Canada. Carol’s favourite saying, “Empower students to own the question.”
Judith Sykes was a founding member of the CSL Board of Directors, and chaired the CSL Awards and Grants Committee as well as chairing the bi-annual association liaison meetings held by CSL. Judith has been a teacher, teacher-librarian, district school library specialist, and elementary school principal for the Calgary Board of Education in Alberta. She was the provincial school library manager for the Alberta Ministry of Education, leading the School Library Services Initiative 2008-2012. She has published several books about school library practice, including two that deal specifically with action research approaches. Judith was the project coordinator and a contributing writer for Leading Learning: Standards Of Practice For School Library Learning Commons in Canada when it was first published, and continues as co-chair of CSL’s Leading Learning Committee.