The School Library Association champions school libraries at the House of Commons

Justin Tomlinson, MP for Swindon North, hosted a roundtable event in July called “How can school libraries significantly contribute to the national commitment to educate, empower and level up our communities?”.

Key speakers included Teresa Cremin, Professor of Literacy Education at the Open University; Julian McDougall, Professor of Media and Education at Bournemouth University; Jonathan Douglas, Chief Executive of the National Literacy Trust; Ros Harding, School Librarian of the Year 2019/2020 and SLA CEO, Alison Tarrant.

Alison Tarrant shared her thoughts on the state of school libraries at the moment. She said: “We need to raise our aspirations for school libraries… our children deserve beautiful reading experiences and books which are tackling the topics of the day.”

She went on to say: “We want to develop a new reality for school libraries, where respect and understanding flow between school library staff and policy makers… the vision for the future should include school libraries.”

Professor of Literacy Education at the Open University, Teresa Cremin, highlighted that the right to read freely and for enjoyment is the right of every child. She demonstrated the immense benefits that stem from Reading For Pleasure: “It’s critical that children’s fiction should be diverse and reflect the multiple realities that children experience every day.”

Moving on from reading to processing, Professor of Media and Education and SLA Patron, Julian McDougall, also spoke about the need to think about media and information literacy in order to level up.

“On behalf of its many members who write for children, ALCS is delighted to support the Great School Libraries campaign and the vital work done by the SLA in schools and the wider community in promoting the best possible library provision for young people.”

School libraries are crucial spaces to the development of Information Literacy and the levelling up agenda, he said. “School libraries are rich third spaces for media and information literacy education.” McDougall also announced a new research project being undertaken to further explore the concept of how school libraries support resilience and wellbeing as pupils navigate digital spaces.

Chief Executive of the National Literacy Trust, Jonathan Douglas said that the challenge with levelling up is that it’s not located in the individual, but in the structures and policies surrounding the individual.

He focused on the ability for librarians to connect across students, business and the community to build skills and opportunity. “Libraries offer students the chance to learn for themselves, in a safe environment.”

Finally, librarian Ros Harding said that school libraries can educate and empower. She also spoke of her experience of being a judge for the SLA’s School Librarian of the Year Award.

On the reflection of the issues raised at the roundtable, Richard Combes, Head of Rights and Licensing at ALCS, said: “Research identifies the clear link between reading for pleasure in early years and educational attainment and improved life chances. As well as providing an essential role in developing young peoples’ literacy skills, school libraries are also crucial in connecting authors with young readers, particularly at a time when the number of public libraries continues to dwindle.

“On behalf of its many members who write for children, ALCS is delighted to support the Great School Libraries campaign and the vital work done by the SLA in schools and the wider community in promoting the best possible library provision for young people.”