CSL Newsletter, March 29, 2018
Canadian School Libraries has created several new webpages and downloadable flyers to help you make the case to decision-makers and school administrators for the positive influence of the learning commons model on student success and achieving school goals. The information is practical and research-based. Please share these resources widely and use them strategically! Please download and use the “Start the Shift Now!” badge that heads up this newsletter too.
You will find the following new pages under the Professional Resources menu of the CSL website.
New Professional Resources from CSL
Excellent School Libraries: The focus of this page is how the learning commons contributes to student success. Don’t miss the link to the downloadable PDF version, perfect for printing and sharing.
For Administrators: This page answers questions that administrators and decision-makers might have about school libraries and the learning commons model. The focus here is on school success and professional leadership. Again, there is a link on this page to a downloadable PDF, perfect for printing and sharing.
Leading the Way with the Library Learning Commons: This page connects to examples from across the country of administrative leadership to transform school libraries to 21st century learning commons centres.
Learning Commons in Action: A collection of videos showcasing the work of the learning commons and sharing successful approaches from across the country.
And don’t forget our CSL Postcard highlighting Leading Learning / L’Apprentissage en tête, the CSL Journal and Research Archive and all of the resources from CSL for professional learning. We have included high resolution images of both sides of the postcard, ready for you to print and share.
No Library for Nunavut School: The CSL Response
A recent story from Nunavut raised concern across the country. A new school being built in Kugaaruk to replace one destroyed by fire will be completed in 2019, but will have no school library. What raised the most concern was a comment from Minister of Education David Joanasie quoted in the story, “We can put a whole library into one computer.”
The Canadian School Libraries board responded to this news by writing a letter to Minister Joanasie. The letter was informational in tone, addressing concerns about equity, access to diverse and professionally-selected print and electronic resources, the value of the school library’s physical and virtual spaces, and the need for instructional guidance in the context of today’s complex information environment. We invited Minister Joanasie to explore the current guidelines, research and professional resources about the school library learning commons that can be accessed through the CSL website.
We have not as yet received a response from the minister.
We’re Crowd-Sourcing!
The CSL Journal Wants Your Ideas!
The School Library Learning Commons can have an impact on not only closing the summer achievement gap but actually opening up new learning potential. How do you plan to keep your students engaged in learning this summer so that when they return in the fall they have even more knowledge and experiences to build on for the coming school year?
We are sourcing ideas from school library professionals across Canada which we will harvest to create an article for the spring issue of CSL Journal just in time for you to reinvent your old summer reading list into an expanded approach to keep your students engaged in learning this summer.
We invite you to connect to this Google form to share old/new ideas about how the school library learning commons can help close the summer achievement gap. Please share this survey link widely in your own areas!
Have you read the Winter Edition of the CSL Journal yet? Please take a look!
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