By Joseph Jeffery
Canadian School Libraries is a relatively young organization, just eight years old and for the whole of its life it has been stewarded by a dedicated group of teacher-librarian luminaries at its core. Across the next year each of that group will be stepping back and passing the baton to a new generation. We are taking this opportunity to look back on the route we’ve taken and on to where we plan to go.
The Past
Following the dissolution of the Canadian Library Association (CLA) and its associated journal School Libraries in Canada, the future of scholarship around school libraries in Canada looked in doubt. With only a handful of professional researchers left, and seemingly no appetite from universities to recruit more, there arose questions of what would happen. Leading Learning: Standards of Practice for School Library Learning Commons in Canada was only two years old but would soon be lost to only exist in the internet archive. What could be done? Utilizing the opportunity of a national gathering at Treasure Mountain Canada (TMC) 2016, discussions commenced on whether it was possible to launch something new based on the paper, Toward a New National School Library Association in Canada: The Case, Considerations, and Potential Models.
Members from TMC, School Libraries in Canada, and CLA’s School Library Advisory Committee and Voices for School Library Network came together to form a working group and put together a new national organization as the old one fell. Moving fast they managed to pick up the rights to several projects including Leading Learning.
The founding members who have steered CSL through the last eight years are Anita Brooks Kirkland, Carol Koechlin and Judith Sykes. The other founders, Liz Kerr and Jo-Anne Gibson moved on in 2018 and 2019 respectively. Other past board members have included Caroline Freibauer, who sadly passed away in 2022, and Richard Beaudry who retired from the board in August 2024.
Major Accomplishments/Projects
CSL has built up an impressive portfolio of national projects to engage the school library community over its lifespan. As you can see from the graphic below these are highly interconnected projects that have come from community requests–such as the research toolkit and collection diversity toolkit–or from exercises at various Treasure Mountain Canada symposiums.
Want to know more about this graphic and what all those connections are? Stay tuned for the Winter Journal to learn more about Building a Community of Canadian School Libraries.
The Present (and Near Past)
During the last few years CSL has been focused on two main goals. The first was building leadership capacity for this transition, by bringing on new board members sourced from participation in projects that CSL has done. The second of these goals was to use the work done at TMC7 in New Westminster, BC to evolve Leading Learning. This led to the updates to Leading Learning, as well as the creation of Foundations of School Library Learning Commons: A Framework for Success. The final project is currently ongoing and it is to address a hole in digital literacy. This project is still in its early days, and has had some teething issues as we try and figure out exactly what we want it to be, but we plan to show off where we are at during OLA Super Conference and ask for feedback.
As part of building leadership capacity over the last few years new board members have joined starting with Melanie Mulcaster (Ontario) and Joseph Jeffery (BC) following TMC7; Lila Armstrong (BC) following her work on the 2023 updates to Leading Learning; and Jennifer Casa-Todd (Ontario), Harold Semenuk (Alberta), Sarah Wethered (BC), Chelsea Baker (Quebec), and Diana Maliszewski (Ontario) as part of the transition planning at the 2024 AGM. Several others who represented other provinces and territories were considered and have deferred due to other commitments.
Introducing Your New Board
Leading Learning is a fundamental part of Canadian School Libraries, but that doesn’t mean as a board we’re all at ‘Leading’. The work of building and growing a learning commons is never done. We wanted to show off what areas of Leading Learning we’re focusing on in our own professional roles and how we’re going about doing it.
Joseph Jeffery (Chair) is the District Learning Commons Teacher-Librarian in School District 57 – Prince George, BC where he supports teacher-librarians in creating and maintaining information literacy rich library learning commons programming, designing participatory and flexible learning spaces, and developing culturally responsive library learning commons. Joseph has worked on the Collection Diversity Toolkit, the updates to Leading Learning, and the Foundations and Frameworks document. Additionally, he helped write the BC Teacher Librarian Association’s School Library Design document. Outside of school, Joseph is an avid gamer of all types from card to tabletop to video games and enjoys being transported to imaginative worlds of science fiction and fantasy as a reader.
Leading Learning Focus: Leading Action for School and Board Improvement
Leading Learning Goal: To improve administrator understanding of how TLs can support their school goals and how to use them as more than expensive checkout clerks.This is both something I am working on locally
Melanie Mulcaster (Vice-Chair and TMC Team) is a teacher librarian in the Peel District School Board. A life long learner and maker, she is passionate about inspiring and empowering modern learners to inquire, discover, connect, innovate and explore. Always messy and always unlearning and relearning how to collaborate with the communities she serves.
Leading Learning Focus: Leading Action for Collaborative Professional Development and Growth
Leading Learning Goal: In a central role that supports libraries across the board, my primary goal this year is to support collaborative professional development and growth. This goal is achievable in my immediate networking circles through central PD and centrally supported TL networking opportunities. Assisting the creation of additional collaborative networking opportunities across various boards, provinces and countries to design, implement and share best practices in Library Learning Commons spaces is going to my actionable item, and something I hope to begin to address or find potential new opportunities to explore through my participation helping to organize events like TMC8.
Diana Maliszewski, OCT BA BEd MEd (Member-At-Large and CSL Journal Team) is the teacher-librarian at Agnes Macphail Public School in the Toronto District School Board and has worked as a school library professional for over twenty-five years. From 2006 – 2018, she was the editor-in-chief of The Teaching Librarian, the official publication of the Ontario School Library Association. Currently, she is the co-Vice President of the Association for Media Literacy and Canada’s representative with the North American and European chapter of UNESCO’s Media and Information Literacy Alliance. Diana developed and still facilitates the Teacher Librarianship Additional Qualification courses for York University and Queen’s University. Diana has been honoured with several awards, such as the Follett International Teacher-Librarian of the Year in 2008 and the OLA President’s Award for Exceptional Achievement in 2013. She blogs weekly as part of her reflective professional practice at mondaymollymusings.blogspot.com.
Leading Learning Focus: Teacher-Librarian Collaboration Role / Evidence-Based Practice
Leading Learning Goal: Now that I have co-planning, co-teaching, and co-assessing back in my library timetable (2024-25), I want to lead collaborative site-based research on the impact of the SLLC and determine the most effective ways to share best practice results with other school library professionals!
Jennifer Casa-Todd (Social Media Coordinator) is wife, mom, educator, a former Literacy Consultant, a Google Certified Innovator, and author of several educational publications. Jennifer was nominated for the Prime Minister’s Award for Teaching Excellence (2024), was the recipient of the YSCPC Teaching Excellence Award (2023), and recipient of the ISTE Digital Citizenship Network Award (2020). She is also an ISTE Community leader, a Google Educator Group leader for Ontario and a Board member for the Canadian School Library Association. Jennifer can currently be found supporting pre-service teachers at Lakehead University (Ontario) or supporting student travel experiences for credit. She is passionate about showing parents, teachers and students how they can use technology and social media positively and productively. Learn more about her at jcasatodd.com
Leading Learning Focus: Fostering literacies to empower life-long learners
Leading Learning Goal: I am excited to be working on a framework for CSL to support digital and media literacy as well as continue to share the importance of digital literacy, critical literacy, and citizenship in the consulting and speaking work that I do.
Sarah Wethered (Treasurer) has been a teacher-librarian at New Westminster Secondary School in New Westminster, BC since 2000. A passionate advocate for public education, Sarah has held many roles within her local of the British Columbia Teachers’ Federation, including local president from 2020-2022. Sarah is very active within the British Columbia Teacher-Librarians’ Association and currently serves as treasurer. Since 2018, Sarah has been an online instructor in the Queen’s University BC teacher-librarian program. One of the biggest honours in Sarah’s career was being named a 2020 recipient of the Angela Thacker Memorial Award. In her free time, Sarah loves to read romantic comedies and historical fiction. Sarah is also a passionate knitter and Lego enthusiast.
Leading Learning Focus: LLC program contributes to the co-creation of cultural literacy.
Leading Learning Goal: To transition the non-fiction collection from the Dewey Decimal Classification to the Brian Deer Classification as an act of reconciliation.
Lila Armstrong (Member-At-Large and Leading Learning Team) recently returned to the classroom after enjoying teacher librarian positions in both elementary and secondary schools. Lila has been working with the CSL team since 2020, as part of the Leading Learning team, and as the Leading Learning website editor. She joined the writing team for the CSL Foundations Framework released in 2023, and was able to contribute her passion for advocacy and action in the Canadian school library context. Lila brings a French Immersion background to the Board of Directors, as well as a keen interest in Intellectual Freedom, Professional Development and Educational Leadership.
Leading Learning Focus: Learning experiences are developed to invite creativity and innovation.
Leading Learning Goal: Back in the classroom, I’m looking for how I can bring the innovation and creativity of the learning commons to my classroom.
Harold Semenuk (Member-At-Large) is the teacher-librarian and a curriculum coordinator for M.E. LaZerte High School with the Edmonton Public School Board. Recently, Harold was President of the Alberta School Learning Commons Council, a former specialist council of the Alberta Teachers’ Association (ATA). He continues to fight for, and support Alberta school libraries and teacher-librarianship in any way possible, within his school division and beyond. Previously, Harold led a centrally developed project, “Anytime Help Anywhere” with Edmonton Public Schools. He has held a variety of instructional and leadership roles and taught a variety of courses from grades 7 – 12. He proudly represented Edmonton Public Schools as a social studies curriculum writer and collaborator, participating in Government of Alberta working groups between 2016 – 18, prior to the discontinuation of that process and draft products by the current Government of Alberta. Harold draws on learning foundations and principles through his work as an Associate with the Human Venture Leadership organization and community.
Leading Learning Focus: Facilitating Collaborative Engagement to Cultivate and Empower a Community of Learners
Leading Learning Goal: Continue to cultivate sustained, provincial engagements and a networked, collaborative community in Alberta, to establish school administration and district and other institutional, aligned support and a professional community of learners – all in support of school learning commons and library learning commons (LLC) teacher program leaders at any stage or aspect of LLC leading learning. This goal is aligned with continuing modeled work (proof of concept) of visionary learning and collaborative design connected to the LLC in which Harold currently works to amplify the successes of the few but fortuitous teacher librarians in Alberta.
Anita Brooks Kirkland (Past-Chair, Member-At-Large until August 2025, TMC Team, CSL Journal Team). As Chair of CSL from 2016 to 2024 Anita 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.
Leading Learning Focus: Leading Action for Collaborative Professional Development and Growth
Leading Learning Goal: Canadian School Libraries was established to lead cohesive growth in the field of school libraries in Canada. We have achieved so much, but there is so much more to do. My goal is to support the new board as they take CSL into the future.
Carol Koechlin (Member-At-Large until February 2025, TMC Team, CSL Journal Team) 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.”
Leading Learning Focus: Learning for the future
Leading Learning Goal: Maintaining Leading Learning as a live tool to help all schools on their paths to developing vibrant school library learning commons for school wide improvement.
Judith Sykes (Member-At-Large until February 2025) has been a teacher, teacher-librarian, district school library specialist, and elementary school principal for the Calgary Board of Education in Alberta, Canada. She was the provincial school library manager for the Alberta Ministry of Education, leading the School Library Services Initiative 2008-2012. Judith consults, has led library and leadership associations, and has published and presented extensively including acting as committee co-chair/principal writer of Achieving Information Literacy Through Quality School Library Programs: The Vision and Standards for School Library Programs in Canada (Canadian Library Association 2003, 2006) and project coordinator/ contributing writer for Leading Learning: Standards Of Practice For School Library Learning Commons In Canada. She is currently a director of Canadian School Libraries (CSL). Judith is the author of five books with Libraries Unlimited; the latest is The Whole School Library Learning Commons: An Educator’s Guide (Fall 2016).
Leading Learning Focus: Leading Action for Collaborative Professional Development and Growth
Leading Learning Goal: Maintaining Leading Learning standards to support continuous and new national and global connections, research and studies for the purpose of designing and implementing best LLC practice.
Chelsea Baker (Member-at-large) is the library consultant for the Central Quebec School Board (CQSB), in Quebec City. The CQSB serves English schools across a large geographic area. She recently finished her two year mandate as the Quebec School Librarians Network (QSLiN) co-chair. Currently, Chelsea is working with fellow consultants, teachers, and school library staff on enhancing school reading culture and improving access to resources by supporting our library spaces. With the QSLiN librarians, she is taking part in a critical thinking initiative led by the Directors of English Education Network and working to provide professional learning opportunities for school library staff across the nine English school boards.
Leading Learning Focus: Designing for Collaboration / Engaging Readers
Leading Learning Goal: Engaging learners and fostering positive attitudes towards learning and reading through collaboration with our school communities.
The Future
With a new board, there will likely be changes, though we don’t foresee anything major. The purpose of CSL is to provide a space for action research for school libraries; to bring together the provincial organizations; and to assist with direction and standards for school libraries; these things are not going anywhere. They continue to inform every decision.
Going into this next year our strategic priorities are:
- To foster library learning commons leadership across Canada through the new board, TMC8, our national projects, and provincial networks.
- To increase our social media presence across additional platforms, particularly those used by younger teachers and teacher-librarians.
- Continue our outreach to other national education associations and movements.
- 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.
- To prepare for Treasure Mountain Canada 8 in Ontario and the projects that will come out from it.
Thank You for Your Trust: A final note from your new chair
I’m writing this on Thanksgiving weekend, though you will not read these words for over a month. Working on this article and thinking heavily about the history of this organization and the work that has been done over the years by CLA, school library researchers and CSL is a very humbling experience. Starting from a place of adversity trying to build something as CLA dissolved, into a global pandemic and then on to resurgence of book bannings and attacks on school libraries, the history of CSL has been storied. It takes a deep tenacity to not only keep something going but build it into what CSL is today. The new board would like to extend a huge thank you to Anita, Carol and Judith as well as all the past board members and indeed the whole school library community in Canada for trusting us to continue this work. We hope to continue to keep CSL a healthy and vibrant non-profit that we can hand over to another generation down the line.
Joseph Jeffery is the Chair of Canadian School Libraries.