In the Winter 2011 issue of School Libraries in Canada appears a school library profile of Kelowna Secondary School’s (KSS) library. Reading this profile took me back to my “early days” of TL coursework and UBC’s LIBE 461 curriculum that looks at the basic management and layout of a school library; I recall reading similar library profiles in that course. But reading this profile also reminded me that all individual parts—though they may vary slightly depending on the uniqueness of each individual school’s context and nuances—that add up to the glorious whole that is the successful secondary school library are, by and large, the same. And this is good news, as the ever increasingly complex technological world that accompanies the school library mission today has the potential to create for the TL feelings of being overwhelmed.
The school, community, and administrative support for the KSS library is both impressive and sensible. It is impressive because a clear sense of mission and full support is connoted throughout the library profile. It is sensible because we know—and we have known empirically for decades—that a well-supported and well run library is one of the keys to a successful school environment. I think that most teachers or people involved in public education would nod their heads in assent when it is stated that “schools that are known as ‘vibrant’ and that strongly feature a ‘culture of engagement’ tend to also feature a strong library.”
Not only do students at the KSS library have access to 60 desktop and 60 laptop computers in the library, but they also have the ability to reserve audio-visual/technological equipment via an online form. Teachers have access to two online streaming video services; many educators are aware of the various—and generally increasing in quality—streaming services available for schools, but far from all schools subscribe to such services. To have the services available and make them a central part of a school’s content delivery methodology is commendable.
The KSS TLs note that having a strong library program has much to do with being vigilantly aware of the always evolving nature of libraries, information delivery, and patrons’ information needs. For example, how often and how conveniently can the community access the library? Do community members access the library, or are they involved with the library? Also, how can the library support new initiatives within the school or community? Finally, how are student needs changing? Having a keen and continuous awareness of these “moving targets” is essential to maintaining a successful library. Just as a teacher must be so in relation to students in the classroom, the TL must always be one step ahead of a multitude of possible or certain changes that are coming in the future.
Impressively, 75% of the KSS library’s seats are occupied by classes reserved by teachers. This is a truly phenomenal number, and a strong indicator of not only the health of the library, but the health of the school’s learning culture in general.
Interestingly, KSS TL’s note that the library has undergone a transformation from a “traditional resource centre” into a “learning commons.” The difference seems to mainly be moving away from an emphasis on the library as a place to come and find resources and move toward an emphasis on the library as a more active, working learning environment, where information is not only retrieved but also analyzed, discussed, evaluated, mashed up, and synthesized into something new—a new idea, a new product. Part of the KSS library’s journey from resource centre to learning commons included a greater emphasis on developing French language resources, recruiting and utilizing expertise from the broader community, and further emphasizing movement toward becoming a virtual library that has more to do with an online and database presence and less to do with “bricks and mortar.”
KSS TLs remark that it is important—though the library seems to be a constantly buzzing and constantly complex place—for the library to remain a refuge within the school. “Despite apparent flurry of activity, a library is still often a safe harbor among storms of public high schools,” they say.
While all the physical, technological, cultural details noted above are entirely important in creating a success school library program, at the end of the day, the KSS TLs seem more focused on the “teacher” portion of their twin moniker: “Remaining focused on professional service and encouraging our fellow teachers to embrace inquiry based instruction is our primary objective,” conclude these teacher-librarians.
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