by Dianne Oberg
School Library Education in Canada: Leading for the Future
Abstract
School libraries constitute the largest portion (approximately 75%) of the library sector in Canada and around the world. Despite their critical role in creating lifelong learners and the library users of the future, many school libraries in Canada are poorly resourced and staffed. The opportunities for school library education in Canada have been severely diminished. The challenges include: few providers and few faculty offering school library education; few students interested in the pathways leading to academic work; limited financial and human resources for school library education; and limited resources for research about school libraries.
Dianne Oberg, PhD, is Professor Emerita in teacher-librarianship in the Faculty of Education at the University of Alberta. She was an early adopter of online graduate-level school library education. Her research focuses on teacher-librarianship education and the implementation and evaluation of school library programs. Dianne co-edited, with Barbara Schultz-Jones, the second edition of the IFLA School Library Guidelines (2015). Her current project is a book on the role of principals in supporting school library programs.