Cooperative relationships between school libraries and public libraries have the potential to enrich school students' learning and advance lifelong learning in the wider community. Research findings.

1. Dr Hilary Hughes
Dr Mandy Lupton
Queensland University of Technology
mandy.lupton@qut.edu.au
Diversity Challenge Resilience: School Libraries in Action - The 12th Biennial School Library Association of
Queensland, the 39th International Association of School Librarianship Annual Conference, incorporating
the 14th International Forum on Research in School Librarianship,
Brisbane, QLD Australia, 27 September – 1 October 2010.

2. Background
Alan Bundy’s 2001 research “Essential connections: school
and public libraries for lifelong learning”
Survey of PLs (approx 400) and TLs (approx 600)
Conclusions:
“School and public libraries have three goals in common:
ensuring that students develop as information-enabled
learners;
providing access to a wide range of analog and digital
resources;
motivating students to use libraries and their professional staff
for informational and recreational purposes.” (Bundy 2001)

3. Complementary aims
PL-TL - literacy
PL-TL - lifelong learning
PL – early childhood literacy
PL – homework/study support after school
Bundy, A (2010) submission by Friends of Libraries Australia to the Senate inquiry into
school libraries and teacher librarians
http://www.aph.gov.au/house/committee/edt/schoollibraries/subs/sub319.pdf

4. TL-PL connections at Queensland
University of Technology
We encourage students undertaking the QUT Master of
Education (TL) to do some of their practicum in a public
library

5. Barriers
“The barriers identified by public libraries to greater cooperation with schools
include:
schools not interested in cooperation
frequent changes of school personnel, including teacher librarians
primary schools, in particular, with no teacher librarians
schools not advising potential demands on public libraries by their
students
teachers unaware of the roles and particularly the electronic resources of
modern public libraries
poor information skills of students
poor discrimination by students and parents in internet use
poor reading ability of students, especially boys.” (Bundy 2010)
Bundy, A (2010) submission by Friends of Libraries Australia to the Senate inquiry into school libraries and
teacher librarians http://www.aph.gov.au/house/committee/edt/schoollibraries/subs/sub319.pdf

6. Research 2010
Replication of Bundy’s 2001 study
Survey sent through QLD TL listserv
42 respondents (compared with Bundy’s survey approx
600 respondents)
One interview (case study) – Margaret Spillman
One focus group 3 PLs
Still to come:
Focus groups with TLs
PL survey
More PL focus groups

7. Survey questions
What is the current level of interaction with your local public library?
Low/average/high
Has that interaction in the last five years:
Reduced/same/increased?
What is the main factor that determines your current level of
interaction?
no need /lack of time/ lack of interest/response
Have public library staff ever visited your library for discussions?
Yes/No/Unsure
Are you aware of any special services your local public library offer
to schools? Yes/No/Unsure
What is your knowledge of public library issues & developments?
Very low/low/average/high/very high
Are you a regular public library user?
Yes/No

8. Interaction with PL
90%
80%
70%
60%
50%
40%
30%
20%
10% 2010
0%
low 2001
high
average

9. Nature of the interaction

10. In the last 5 years
80%
70%
60%
50%
40%
30%
20%
10%
0% 2010
decreased
stayed same 2001
increased
unsure

11. Main factor that determines
interaction
70%
60%
50%
40%
30%
20%
10%
0% 2010
need
time 2001
lack of interest/response
other

12. PL visits school
60%
50%
40%
30%
20%
10%
2010
0%
no 2001
yes
unsure

13. TL knowledge of PL issues
60%
50%
40%
30%
20%
10%
0% 2010
very low
low 2001
high
very high

14. TL regular use of public library
60%
50%
40%
30%
20%
2010
10%
0%
2001
no
yes

15. Case study: Productive Partnerships
Margaret Spillman – MacKay West State School & Mackay Regional Council
Libraries
Evolved from 2002:
Work experience (TL & PL plus support staff)
GOAL – Grade Ones At the Library
Library Monitor program
Database workshops
MacKay West State School Library website
http://www.mackwestss.eq.edu.au
Promotion of PL in school newsletter & on school library
website

17. http://www.mackwestss.eq.edu.au/productive_partnerships.htm

18. Public library perspectives
Focus group – 3 public librarians from south-east QLD (all 3
in the programs section of PL – not branch libraries). One
of the focus group participants has recently graduated
with her Master of Education (teacher-librarianship)
PL-TL:
Spent 1 day per week for 6 months in a school library as
part of her MEd practicum
Realised that the key to TL & PL connections was making
personal connections via TL network meetings, then
following up on Facebook & email

19. PL outreach
Some branch libraries have excellent connections –
depends on the personnel involved – Book Week,
Simultaneous Storytime visits etc
There is no systematic program in place – no systematic
effort to liaise about collection, programs and services
Ad hoc arrangements, a couple of strong relationships
discussed
Recognition that PLs need to go into schools
Strong understanding from central program PLs about TL
issues (as exemplified in the Senate inquiry), but also
assumptions made eg leisure collection

20. PL-TL:
[What]I hadn't anticipated was that a couple of the
[teacher]librarians were quite hesitant about having a
more formal relationship with the public librarians.
Mainly for reasons such as jeopardizing their funding.
They were concerned that why would they continue to still
be funded for resources if it was perceived that those
resources were available at [the public library] through a
library card… [the private schools said] “We might lose
our funding if we can get it, through the public library."
Whereas the state schools, it was much more: "Yes, bring
it on. We want to know about these things", because it'll
stretch our resources.

21. Collection
Marg Spillman: [re PL learning about age-appropriate
resources] So she took a list of all the series that we used
that were age appropriate and she then bought them,
and then there developed this wonderful synchronicity of
resources because then when our students go to the
public library they come back and say to us ‘do you know
they have the same books that we have’.
PL-TL: Sometimes they [the students] would be able to get a
book a lot more quickly through the public library because
the school library can maybe buy three of a popular book.
We buy 27, or 42 or whatever the ratio is.

22. Duplication of resources - positives
PL: I was at a P&C meeting for the school that my child goes to.
They were talking about Intrepica, which is an online literacy
…learning through gaming sort of thing. The school was
subscribing to it for each student…The kids were using it at
school, and were able to access it at home. I pointed out to
them that the library also has a subscription, so that any
member of the public library system can access it. They were
really keen to see that, because they said a lot of parents when
they've seen it, had sort of been: "Oh that's so much fun.“ For
the other kids who maybe weren't at that school, older or
younger or whatever. For the parents themselves to say: "Well
I can have an account, and my child can have an account, and
we can do it together and interact that way." That's kind of
nice, and it's not a competition.

23. Lack of TL awareness of PL databases
PL-TL: Because they were certainly aware of the public
library and certainly not negative in any way to the
library. They were very supportive of the library and
actually went there themselves for their leisure reading,
but hadn't taken the next step and kind of explored. So
15 minutes over a coffee one morning and said "Hey, do
you know we've actually got this database and that
database?" Because the kids were doing Australian
explorers and we've got some fantastic resources.

24. Lack of teacher awareness of PL resources
PL-TL gave a short talk to teachers at the school where she did her prac:
I actually gave just a 15 minute talk to the senior school teachers as
part of their staff meeting. Did a bit of show and tell about our
online resources particularly, and just couched it in the terms of:
"This is some of the new things. I know you've probably all been the
library, or you've all got library cards, or you use the catalog to
reserve your books, and have them picked up. But you might not
have explored some of these other areas.“
I [said] “these are just some of the things that you can access. You
might want to use it personally for your own professional
development, or for your own resources, or you might want to pass
it on to the students”.
And people came up to me afterwards and said: "Oh that was great,
because we didn't know, don't have time to play and look." So 15
minutes was really all that was needed.

25. PL ideas
“Check out a Librarian” (borrow a librarian to come to the
school)
Attend PD days at schools
Run workshops for parents at the school
Run year 7-8 information literacy program

26. Information user to information creator
PL-TL: They've got the chance to actually make it, make
themselves as part of the information. That they're actually
creating the content, not just sitting back and being told from
on high…
I had read about it, and heard about it as part of the [MEdTL]
course, and thought I understood it, but until I actually
experienced it, and the light bulb went on, and I went: "Uh
huh. OK. Yes." That young people and kids going through
university now, they actually are very strident in their opinion,
about having been part of the content creation. They don't
want to just sit back and be told stuff, they actually want to
work with you on it, they actually want to collaborate, they
want to understand it and they want to create it.

27. References
Bundy, A (2001) Essential Connections: school and public libraries for lifelong learning.
Presented at Forging future directions the 17th conference of the Australian School
Library Association, Sunshine Coast, QLD 30 Sept-4th Oct
http://www.alia.org.au/publishing//alj/51.1/full.text/essential.connections.html
Bundy, A (2010) submission by Friends of Libraries Australia to the Senate inquiry into
school libraries and teacher librarians
http://www.aph.gov.au/house/committee/edt/schoollibraries/subs/sub319.pdf
Spillman, M (2010) From small things big things grow. Submission to the Senate inquiry
into school libraries and teacher librarians
http://www.aph.gov.au/house/committee/edt/schoollibraries/subs/sub370.pdf
Spillman, M (nd) Productive Partnerships
http://www.mackwestss.eq.edu.au/productive_partnerships.htm
Contact: mandy.lupton@qut.edu.au