Australian Library and Information Week starts with the Inquiry report being tabled!!!

What is Library and Information Week? 
"We find stuff!"

We catalogue stuff!
We look up stuff!
We research stuff!
We know stuff!

Library and Information Week will be held from 23 - 29 May 2011.

Libraries across Australia can use this week as a focus to promote and showcase their varied resources and services through different programs and events to the community. The week 

provides you the opportunity to introduce new services or publicly canvas issues of importance regarding library and information services in Australia.

The School Libraries and Teacher Librarians in Australia report
has now been tabled in parliament for debate at a later sitting. The full report is at
http://www.aph.gov.au/house/committee/ee/schoollibraries/report.htm 

Chapter  6 is of great interest as it comprises the concluding comments.

Have a read:

http://www.aph.gov.au/house/committee/ee/schoollibraries/report.htm#chapters

There are eleven recommendations:
Recommendation 1
The Committee recommends that the Commonwealth Government
partner with all education authorities to fund the provision of a core set
of online database resources, which are made available to all Australian
schools.
 
Recommendation 2: IL Continuum
The Committee recommends that the Commonwealth Government work
with the states and territories to develop a discrete national policy
statement that defines the importance of digital and information literacy
for learning in the 21st century, which can be used as a guide by teachers
and principals.
 
Recommendation 3
The Committee recommends that the Australian Curriculum, Assessment
and Reporting Authority include statistical information about the
breakdown of all specialist teachers, including teacher librarians, on the
My School website.
 
Recommendation 4
The Committee recommends that the Commonwealth Government
support additional initiatives to promote reading, such as a National Year
of Reading. The Department of Education, Employment and Workplace
Relations should collaborate with the Australian School Library
Association, Australian Libraries and Information Association and other
education stakeholders in developing these initiatives
 
Recommendation 5
The Committee recommends that the Commonwealth Government
initiate an Australian-based longitudinal study into the links between
library programs, literacy (including digital literacy) and student
achievement, including their impact on improving outcomes for
socioeconomically disadvantaged students.
 
Recommendation 6
The Committee recommends that the Commonwealth Government
support promotional activities undertaken by ASLA and ALIA that
demonstrate to the school community the valuable work that teacher
librarians are doing in respect of e-learning in their schools, including
those that highlight their leadership capacity
 
Recommendation 7
The Committee recommends that the rollout of the new national
curriculum, which is to be made available online, include a component of
training for teacher librarians.
 
Recommendation 8
The Committee recommends that the Commonwealth Government
commission a thorough workforce gap analysis of teacher librarians
across Australian schools.
 
Recommendation 9
The Committee recommends that the Minister for School Education,
Early Childhood and Youth, through the Ministerial Council for
Education, Early Childhood Development and Youth Affairs, establish a
national dialogue, including with tertiary providers, on the role of
teacher librarians today in schools and into the future. The dialogue
should include an examination of the adequacy of the pathways into the
profession and ongoing training requirements.
 
Recommendation 10
The Committee recommends that the Commonwealth Government,
through the Ministerial Council for Education, Early Childhood and
Youth Affairs, discuss ways to enhance partnerships with state and
territory and local levels of government to support school libraries and
teacher librarians.
 
Recommendation 11
The Committee recommends that the Commonwealth Government
partner with ASLA and ALIA to produce a document that showcases
some of the successful partnerships and programs between school
libraries and other libraries, and joint-use libraries. The document
should be made available to government and non-government
education authorities and school principals.



In Chapter 6, which contains the concluding comments, I thought that this point below would be a great one to get motivated and moving with-especially as the 2012 Year of Reading has already been announced and organised. 

6.23 One very meaningful way to get the momentum started may be to establish a National Year of Reading program with a range of coordinated activities, supported by all levels of government, the peak library bodies, principals and teacher librarians alike.


The Inquiry Report tabled in the House today can be the beginning of change, if a genuine national discussion is initiated and concretely supported.


Recommendation 6 could be the best of all.  There is much ASLA and ALIA can do with extra funding and staffing to “demonstrate to the school community the valuable work that teacher librarians are doing in respect of e-learning in their schools, including those that highlight their leadership capacity.”  This could see real changes in understandings if well funded. 

From: "Our initial response to the Inquiry Report recommendations" post by The Hub