The School Library Commission

The School Library Commission chaired by Baroness Estelle Morris, is a joint initiative between The Museums, Libraries and Archives Council (MLA) and the National Literacy Trust.

Baroness Estelle Morris is joined by commissioners Peter Wanless, Chief Executive of the Big Lottery Fund; Jean Gross, Government Communication Champion; Catherine Blanshard, Chief Officer of Libraries, Arts and Heritage for Leeds City Council; Karen Tyerman, MLA board member, Director for Community Learning Kensington and Chelsea; Martin Cooper Deputy Head Teacher, Mile Oak Primary School, Brighton and Stephen Shields Chief Executive, SHINE Trust.

The Commission aims to set a national agenda to ensure school libraries are delivering exceptional services to help young people reach their potential. The Commission will launch its final report in summer 2010

Call for evidence

Between February and March 2010 the Commission ran an open call for evidence and requested schools, local authorities, education professionals and any organisation or individual with an interest in the future of school libraries submit their views and ideas.

Baroness Estelle Morris, chair of the Commission, said:

“School libraries make a vital contribution to teaching and learning. As the education landscape and pedagogical practice changes rapidly, so our vision for this vital service needs to be proactive, exciting and challenging, embracing new opportunities to inspire children and their families with a love for literacy and learning.”

Director of the National Literacy Trust, Jonathan Douglas, said:

“We strongly urge all individuals and organisations who are committed to the future of school libraries to submit their ideas to the Commission. As powerhouses of reading, school libraries are a vital resource that must be rediscovered in the context of a changing educational landscape. We need the expertise of all parties with a vested interest in school libraries to ensure our final report is balanced, results driven and engaging.”

Museums, Libraries and Archives Chief Executive, Roy Clare, said:

“Libraries are vital in offering children and families access to reading, learning and information - whether in physical media or digitally - and in supporting them to achieve their full potential. This Commission offers an exciting opportunity for everyone to contribute and help to shape the future of effective library services in a changing educational and economic environment. The new primary curriculum offers the potential for some fresh linkages, too, and we believe that everyone gains from the earliest possible engagement with all that libraries have to offer."

School Library Commission: Lines of Enquiry

1. It is generally agreed that children need to read widely, enjoy reading and are able to find the information they need from a range of sources, evaluate it, critically and synthesise their findings. In the context of the Commission’s work, are there other outcomes for children and young people, their families and parents and the wider community that we need to consider?

2. What are the adult skills, attitudes and knowledge required to help children achieve these outcomes?

3. What experiences do children need in order to achieve these outcomes?

4. What resources do children need to achieve these outcomes?

5. What resources and support are required by parents, teachers and the children’s workforce to allow children to achieve these outcomes?

6. How does the school library and school library service support the delivery of outcomes?

7. What other agencies have a role in delivering these outcomes?

8. How could these outcomes be delivered more effectively in the future?

9. How can the school library and schools library service work to deliver these outcomes more effectively in the future? Please consider the following:

• The opportunities created by developments in the curriculum
• The partners it should be working with
• The clusters and networks it should be involved in
• How it should fit within the extended school system
• How it should work within local authority performance and delivery systems
• How it could become more cost effective and efficient
• What the relationship should be between the school library, the school library service and the public library network
• What the relationship should be between the school library, the school library service and organisations working with children and young people

• What the relationship should be between the school library and school leadership in terms of target setting and monitoring to deliver the school’s priorities.

• What are the comparative challenges of establishing and popularising school libraries in areas with different socio economic and ethnic groupings

• Can other agencies and services add value through partnerships with schools libraries or deliver these outcomes themselves?

10. What do you think needs to happen to create a sustainable and valued school library and school library service in the next ten years?

School Libraries Commission Release Date

During the consultation period the Commission received 96 submissions to the open call for evidence. Further information was gathered through a roundtable discussion with key stakeholders, focus groups for head teachers, teachers, school librarians and pupils, plus a quantitative attitudinal survey of 17 thousand pupils.

The final report will be released on 15 September 2010 after schools and Parliament have returned from summer recess.