A Wagga-based academic has challenged the idea that libraries are quickly becoming a thing of the past, saying schools well-resourced teacher-librarians will fair better in the aftermath of the global pandemic.
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With a background primary education and herself as a former teacher-librarian, Dr Kasey Garrison has spent many years observing school library cultures and the diversity of children's resources.
"There's been a lot of press on teachers [during the pandemic], but not much has been said about teacher librarians," Dr Garrison said.
"They are a real asset when it comes to taking the load off teachers. Teacher librarians, or TLs, have a Bachelor of Education and a background in teaching, they're not just minding the books."
Dr Garrison is the senior lecturer in the Charles Sturt University School of Information Studies and has spent extensive time in recent years interviewing teachers and TLs.
When schools in NSW were required to lockdown and promote learning-from-home at the height of the COVID-19 crisis, Dr Garrison said school TLs increased in importance by providing physical and virtual access to resources.
"It was so stressful for teachers to be introducing a whole new method of [classroom] delivery really overnight," she said.
"A qualified TL and well-resourced school library are especially critical in communities where students do not have devices at home or proper access to the internet."
Citing research from the American Association of School Librarianship, Dr Garrison said the students at schools with active TLs achieve higher academic results than those at schools without them.
The research is not something that has been replicated across Australian schools, but Dr Garrison is hoping to further impress the need for TLs across the nation's public schools.
"It's not just having the resources, schools need to know how to use them," Dr Garrison said.
"We talk a lot about children and digital literacy but just because a child is born recognising an iPad, it doesn't mean they can navigate the complicated information on it.
"They need someone who will help build digital literacy, and that's why teacher-librarians are so invaluable."