The British Columbia Teacher-Librarians' Association recently received a letter from the Minister of Education, the Honourable George Abbott, indicating his support (of sorts) for National Library Day.
And while the Minister goes on to note that the Liberal government recognizes the important roles that libraries play in our society, his office fails to recognize the important (and distinct role) of school libraries and teacher-librarians play in improving reading levels and literacy levels in our schools. He fails to address the fact that hundreds of schools in BC do not have a trained teacher-librarian at best, and at worst, often have the doors to those libraries locked the vast majority of the time. (Anybody in there?).
Sadly, while the list of provincial MOEs that have joined the CASL (Canadian Association of School Libraries) in support of a National School Library Day continues to grow (including Manitoba, Ontario, Saskatchewan, and Nova Scotia), BC continues to be the odd province out.
Why the resistance you ask?
Take a second and write your MLA and ask them. I wonder if they know something that the Minister doesn't. We might be surprised.
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