The BCTLA Executive undertook a comprehensive study of working and learning conditions for teacher-librarians in BC, which uncovered significant challenges including increasing workloads, erosion of the teacher-librarian specialist role and inadequate funding. In order to raise awareness, the BCTLA created advocacy materials to raise awareness among fellow educators, parents and community stakeholders. The 鈥淟ove Your Teacher-Librarian鈥� colouring sheets and bookmarks distributed at the BCTF Annual General Meeting, provincial Parent Advisory Council conference and BC Federation of Labour events, helped people engage in a creative and informative way around the contributions and value of teacher-librarians.

BCTLA Executive: Tammy Le, Lisa Seddon, Sarah Wethered, Nicole Hurtubise, April Hilland, Doni Gratton, Holly Broadland, Kristie Oxley, Joseph Jeffery, Serena Mohammed, Devika Chudy, Keely Thornton, Marilyn Carr

Through a collaborative and impactful inquiry supported by the British Columbia Teachers Federation (BCTF) Teacher Inquiry Program (TIP), the BCTLA Executive has demonstrated exceptional leadership and innovation in addressing critical issues facing TLs, Library Learning Commons, and the broadereducational community in British Columbia鈥�. The BCTLA executive鈥檚 work embodies the values of leadership, innovation, and dedication that the Donald Hamilton School Library Advocacy Award seeks to recognize.- Shaunna MacDonald, Surrey School District Teacher-Librarian Helping Teacher

91精选 is delighted to honour the BCTLA as a 2025 recipient of the Donald Hamilton School Library Advocacy Award.   

What is the Donald Hamilton Advocacy Award?

The Donald Hamilton School Library Advocacy Awardwas established in memory of Donald Hamilton, (1938 鈥� 2023), a leader in the field of school libraries and teacher-librarianship throughout his long career, and a strong advocate for the crucial role of school libraries in student learning. The Donald Hamilton School Library Advocacy Award was established in 2023 in honour of Donald鈥檚 outstanding legacy.  This award will be presented bi-annually to an individual, group or organization who have publicly and successfully promoted school libraries and/or teacher-librarians, in a significant way, through the media, organized events, presentations, or other forms of public advocacy. This advocacy may have involved a single major accomplishment or a long-term contribution to supporting school libraries and/or teacher-librarians.

For more information go to Donald Hamilton Advocacy Award

Wendy Burch Jones is a teacher-librarian at Dixon Grove Jr Middle School, and the president of the Ontario School Library Association. An active voice for the state of school libraries and their funding, Wendy has consistently brought attention to the needs of teacher-librarians in Ontario and has even traveled across Canada to work with the BC Teacher-Librarian Association on shared advocacy efforts.

Wendy Burch Jones’ contributions to school library advocacy are most exemplified by the national #SchoolLibraryJoy social media campaign and the 鈥淒ear School Library鈥� advocacy campaign, which involved collecting 鈥榮chool library love letters鈥� created by students, teachers and the wider community and then creating a database of these to share.

Wendy is a confident advocate for growing school libraries in Ontario at a time when our profession and the teaching and learning services we provide to schools are in danger鈥�.Wendy is everything – school libraries. She is an advocate for programming, she is an advocate for staffing, she is an advocate for budget, and the overall well-being of school library professionals in Ontario. The Dear School Library Campaign aligns perfectly with this award and the insight of the founder鈥檚 views on advocacy and the school library learning commons. – Richard Reid, Teacher-Librarian, Glen Street Public School, Oshawa, ON

91精选 is delighted to honour Wendy Burch Jones as a 2025 recipient of the Donald Hamilton School Library Advocacy Award.   

What is the Donald Hamilton Advocacy Award?

The Donald Hamilton School Library Advocacy Awardwas established in memory of Donald Hamilton, (1938 鈥� 2023), a leader in the field of school libraries and teacher-librarianship throughout his long career, and a strong advocate for the crucial role of school libraries in student learning. The Donald Hamilton School Library Advocacy Award was established in 2023 in honour of Donald鈥檚 outstanding legacy.  This award will be presented bi-annually to an individual, group or organization who have publicly and successfully promoted school libraries and/or teacher-librarians, in a significant way, through the media, organized events, presentations, or other forms of public advocacy. This advocacy may have involved a single major accomplishment or a long-term contribution to supporting school libraries and/or teacher-librarians.

For more information go to Donald Hamilton Advocacy Award

Diana Maliszewski is a teacher-librarian at Agnes MacPhail Public School, a prolific presenter, former editor of The Teaching Librarian and course instructor for the Teacher-Librarian Additional Qualification at both York and Queen’s Universities. Internationally, she represents Canada with the North American and European chapter of UNESCO鈥檚 Media and Information Literacy Alliance, and as vice-president for the Association for Media Literacy (AML).

Diana Maliszewski鈥檚 contributions to the advancement of teacher librarians includes鈥�

鈥ontributing to the growth and development of teacher librarians not only in Ontario, but across the country. She is tireless in her dedication and commitment to the growth and development of school libraries and devotes a great deal of her time toward mentorship. Diana has contributed more to the success of teacher librarians and school libraries over the course of her career than anyone I know. She has been personally instrumental in my growth as a librarian and she is someone I look up to and aspire to be like professionally and personally. 鈥� Jonelle St. Aubyn, Teacher-Librarian, Louise Arbour Secondary School, Peel District School Board  

91精选 is delighted to honour Diana Maliszewski as a 2025 recipient of the Angela Thacker Memorial Award.   

What is the Angela Thacker Memorial Award?

The Angela Thacker Memorial Award has been established in memory of Angela Thacker, teacher-librarian, library coordinator, and school library colleague, mentor, leader and advocate who served the Association for Teacher-Librarianship in Canada (ATLC) and the Canada School Library Association (91精选A) in many capacities.  This award honours teacher-librarians who have made contributions to the profession through publications, productions or professional development activities that deal with topics relevant to teacher-librarianship and/or school library learning commons.

To learn more visit Angela Thacker Award

Jenn Brown is a teacher-librarian and guidance educator at Caledon Central Public School in Peel School District, Ontario. A past president of the Ontario School Library Association (OSLA), the Peel Elementary Teacher-Librarian, a writer for The Teaching Librarian and Open Shelf magazines, she has contributed a great deal to the profession. Jenn has presented in multiple provinces, written articles for numerous publications, and encouraged and supported new generations of aspiring librarians through presentations to York University Librarianship Advanced Qualification courses.

Working with Jenn every day and being able to first-hand witness the transformation of an outdated library space to a vibrant school library has been both a joy and a learning experience. Her dedication reminds me daily to bring the pedagogies of the school library into my classroom work – to honor the lived experiences and contributions of my students, to continually seek out current stories and books from authors that represent my students and a view onto the winder world, and lastly, to find the joy in my students鈥� interactions with maker materials and their own independently inspired inquiries. 鈥� Beth Lyons, OSLA President, 2022.

91精选 is delighted to honour Jenn Brown as a 2025 recipient of the Angela Thacker Memorial Award.   

What is the Angela Thacker Award?

The Angela Thacker Memorial Award has been established in memory of Angela Thacker, teacher-librarian, library coordinator, and school library colleague, mentor, leader and advocate who served the Association for Teacher-Librarianship in Canada (ATLC) and the Canada School Library Association (91精选A) in many capacities.聽 This award honours teacher-librarians who have made contributions to the profession through publications, productions or professional development activities that deal with topics relevant to teacher-librarianship and/or school library learning commons.
For more information go to Angela Thacker Award

Check that article out: by Anita Brooks Kirkland, Carol Koechlin, and Diana Maliszweski

Further articles on this theme:

by Christopher Hunt

by Danny Neville

by Tracey Donaldson

by Spencer Miller

by Michelle Arbuckle, Anita Brooks Kirkland, Michale Nyby, and Chelsea Baker

by Kunal Chaudhary

by Diana Malisweski

Also in this edition:

by Jo-Anne Gibson

by Joseph Jeffery

by Lila Armstrong

by Shaunna MacDonald

by TMC8 Organizing Committee

by Diania Maliszweski

by Joseph Jeffery

by Judy Ameline, Judy Chyung, and Emily Thompson

Inspired by the creativity and inventiveness of school library professionals over the past few most difficult years, this edition of 91精选 Journal focuses on the future. From Canadian School Library Day to the wonderful collaborative work at the seventh Treasure Mountain Canada symposium, it is clear that thinking in school libraries is future focused.

In this edition we feature articles coming out of the work of TMC7, highlight 91精选 Award recipients and their contributions, and share our usual full range of inspiring and useful ideas from school library professionals across the country.

This edition of 91精选 Journal is dedicated to the memory of Caroline Freibauer, 1961 鈥� 2022.

Surrey Schools, School District 36, Surrey, British Columbia

as recipient of the Leading Learning Implementation Award 2022

The Leading Learning Implementation Award has been established to recognize, honour, and applaud school districts, provinces, and territories who have developed and/or enhanced their school library learning commons on a systemic basis, founded on the tenets, principles and continuous growth and renewal focus of the five standards of .

91精选 is pleased to announce Surrey Schools, School District 36, Surrey, BC, as recipient of the Leading Learning Implementation Award 2022.

All 125 elementary and secondary schools in Surrey Schools SD36 are staffed by teacher-librarians in library learning commons, implementing the district’s vision of programs that are aligned with Leading Learning standards.

The outstanding work in the district is driven by the vision of libraries as creative and collaborative hubs of learning that promote transliteracy, innovation, and inquiry.

Surrey Schools teacher-librarians strive to create safe places for all members of the school community to embrace and explore their passions, interests and learning needs. They receive strong support from district administrators and principals, who clearly understand the impact of the library learning commons program on student learning.

91精选 is delighted to share highlights of the outstanding, collaborative school library learning commons work in this district. The Surrey Schools webpages linked below show the significant impact that their library learning commons have on student learning.

• Locally Developed Indigenous People Collection and Classification System
• Surrey Schools One: A Surrey Teacher-Librarian Collaboration

• 鈥淎 Place Where Everyone is Someone鈥�: School Goals foundational to LLC Goals
• Building Connection and a Sense of Belonging to Achieve School Goals

• ADST/Science/Literacy Cross Curricular Learning through TL Collaboration
• Social Justice through TL Collaboration
• Locally developed Collaboration Infographic
• Locally Developed Inquiry for Equity Planning & Process Guide

• Student Voice in Collection Development
• School Wide Read 鈥� Collaboration to Ignite Readers
• Elementary and Secondary Diversity Audit
• Surrey Schools Book of the Year Programs for all ages

• Makerspace in the Secondary LLC
• Spaces invite Participatory Learning
• Whole School Participatory Learning through the LLC
• District Wide Pride Poster Contest

These highlights demonstrate the excitement, rigour, and forward development of library learning commons standards in Surrey Schools SD #36. Additionally, teacher-librarians in Surrey Schools SD #36 are lifelong learners themselves; engaged locally, provincially, and nationally in the field of school librarianship. All of this would not be possible without strong support from district administrators and principals 鈥� if Surrey Schools SD#36 Library Learning Commons want to move forward in standards of practice they are supported to do so as their impact on student learning is evident.

Our LLCs are a focal point of our schools. Students from all areas of our community use the library throughout their school day and beyond. It is a hub of activity where students are encouraged to ask questions and work collaboratively. In addition, our Teacher Librarians work with students to identify their areas of passion and then support them on their learning journey. Our Teacher Librarians are also strong supporters of staff development. Teachers from all departments work with the TL to develop projects and guide inquiry. These partnerships help all our teachers improve their practice and grow as professionals. Our Library Learning Commons are a source of pride for the Surrey School District.

James Johnston, Principal, Clayton Heights Secondary, Surrey Schools SD #36

Given that all elementary and secondary schools have library learning commons that are inherently collaborative and student-centred, Surrey鈥檚 teacher-librarians have been critical in leading, adapting and leveraging their spaces to better support reading motivation. In flexible and inviting spaces, they are fostering reading interest by engaging students in hands- on learning opportunities, offering choices, encouraging student voice, and providing process-oriented feedback. In this regard, Surrey鈥檚 teacher-librarians are supporting the district鈥檚 focus area of Literacy. They are 鈥渕aking makers and readers鈥� who cooperate with their peers, problem solve, and think creatively and critically.

Kathy Puharich, Director of Instruction, Surrey Schools SD #36

Surrey teacher-librarians embody the notion of collaborative engagement. Not only do they meet regularly in person and on TEAMs to share their professional expertise with each other, they have taken on pivotal roles in their individual schools, empowering their teachers and students to work together in the enterprise of learning. Surrey TLs are keenly interested in cultivating collections that reflect the community and provide voice for a range of communities such as Indigenous students and LGBTQ+ learners.

Gordon Powell, Retired District Principal (Surrey SD#36), Public Library Trustee (City of Surrey)

Surrey School District has been a leader in implementing changes to transform our libraries to Library Learning Commons (LLC) for the past decade. Over the years, Surrey Schools has exhibited leadership by hosting numerous groups of administrators and teacher-librarians coming from out of district, province, and country. Our schools have opened their doors, sharing our experiences and advice, allowing visitors to spend time touring our LLCs and meeting with our administrators and teacher-librarians. In addition to financial support in the LLC transformation, Surrey Schools has also provided countless hours of release time for teacher-librarians to collaborate on everything from inquiry to technology (i.e., Maker space equipment).

This district has been a huge supporter of forward thinking and 21st Century Learning. Surrey Schools understands the need for a Library Learning Commons to provide for their school communities and has spent time and money to help it come to fruition.

Sheila Hammond Principal, Surrey, SD #36

91精选’s Leading Learning Implementation Award will be presented as part of the Kick-Off Dinner, Friday October 21, in New Westminster, BC.

Leigh Borden
Rabia Khokhar
Rebeca Rubio
Jonelle St. Aubyn

as recipients of the Angela Thacker Memorial Award 2022

The Angela Thacker Memorial Award has been established in memory of Angela Thacker, teacher-librarian, library coordinator, and school library colleague, mentor, leader and advocate who served the Association for Teacher-Librarianship in Canada (ATLC) and the Canada School Library Association (91精选A) in many capacities. This award honours teacher-librarians who have made contributions to the profession through publications, productions or professional development activities that deal with topics relevant to teacher-librarianship and/or school library learning commons.

Leigh Borden is a K-4 teacher-librarian and President of Teacher Librarians of Newfoundland and Labrador. Over the past decade, she鈥檚 worked to advocate for school librarians and teacher-librarians across Newfoundland and Labrador, and has served on a variety of committees and working groups intended to grow the school library learning commons movement in the province. Leigh completed a BA (Hons) at Memorial University of Newfoundland, an MA in English literature at the University of Toronto, and a Master of Teaching at OISE/UT. When not happily working in her school library, Leigh loves to read, run, hike, and camp.

Leigh Borden鈥檚 contributions to the advancement of teacher librarians includes a lengthy list of positions and activities. Since 2008, Leigh has organized and/or facilitated a wide range of professional learning sessions for teacher librarians through Teacher Librarians of Newfoundland and Labrador (TLNL), the Department of Education, and the Newfoundland and Labrador English School District including membership on the writing team of the new curriculum support document , NL Department of Education, 2016-18. Leigh is currently Teacher Librarian at Holy Trinity Elementary School, Torbay NL.

Leigh is the epitome of what the Angela Thacker Memorial Award is about, particularly in her publications, advocacy, and professional development for Teacher Librarians鈥� In her role as she works hard with her Executive to offer TLC 鈥� Teacher Librarians Connect, a yearly provincial conference for Teacher Librarians (TLs) and people in Teacher Librarian (TL) positions. In the pandemic, Leigh has been instrumental in providing a conduit to the professional development that is available to us virtually. She facilitated access for all Teacher Librarians in the province to online sessions available during the OLA Super Conference. She added many new features to our , including an area for TLs to share documents and library programs they have developed, including and a . Further evidence of her advocacy and professional development efforts can be found on and in her activities.

Heather Godden (Former President, TLNL) and Beth Power (Communications, TLNL)

Leigh is a passionate advocate for equitable access to school libraries across Newfoundland and Labrador and beyond. In her role, Leigh has grown her Professional Learning Network; provincially, nationally and internationally. Her in the 91精选 Journal provides a glimpse of the passion she brings to the Teacher Librarian (TL) role and highlights the vital parts the TL and the LLC play in education. She is involved with The 91精选 Association and has contributed to their journals. She explores current research and resources. Her professional learning has been invaluable in supporting the recent growth in both the TL role and the transition of the School Library to an LLC throughout the province of Newfoundland and Labrador.

In March 2015, Leigh was awarded the Newfoundland Education Foundation Educator鈥檚 Innovation Award in recognition of transition from a school library to a learning commons. Leigh is a driving force behind the current success of the transition from Library to Library Learning Commons in Newfoundland and Labrador. It is through her relentless efforts and advocacy that our province is well positioned to be a leader, nationally and internationally, in this area鈥t is, indeed, our great privilege to endorse Leigh Borden as an ideal candidate for the Angela Thacker Memorial Award.

Belinda Loder (Program Specialist for Reading, Newfoundland and Labrador English School District) and Darlene Tilley (Program Specialist for Reading, Newfoundland and Labrador English School District)

Rabia Khokhar is a teacher and teacher-librarian with the Toronto District School Board and a PhD student at the Ontario Institute of Studies in Education and an equity and educational consultant at . She is passionate about ensuring schools are inclusive spaces where all students with their multiple and intersectional identities are reflected, represented, included and seen through an asset-based lens. Rabia is a strong advocate for the school library and believes it plays a central role in raising students who are critical thinkers and committed to issues around equity and justice. Rabia is passionate about books and the role libraries can play in creating positive change.

Rabia has made an impact in the school communities where she has taught. Rabia reflects on her own experiences as a racialized Muslim teacher-librarian to advocate for diversity and equitable representation in book collections. Her work focuses on carefully curating and selecting book collections and library school programming based on equity, diversity and inclusion. Rabia has made a significant difference in libraries at the local, provincial and national level. Rabia has contributed articles and worked on projects with 91精选 Journal, The Teaching Librarian, and Treasure Mountain Canada, and continues to make book recommendations to the Toronto Star. She has presented workshops at the Ontario Library Association鈥檚 Super Conference as well as presented to teacher-librarians and library professionals nationally. Through social media like her Twitter platform, Rabia continues to reach a wide audience locally and nationally. She shares her thinking, passion, learning, ideas, experiences, book recommendations and current research with teacher-librarians, teachers, library professional and community members.

Her (Rabia鈥檚) presence at our school has been incredible. Ms. Khokhar has transformed our library space, previously more of a computer lab, into a true diverse and inclusive Library Learning Commons, a safe space for all students through her lessons and carefully selected culturally relevant and responsive books. Her lessons to students, from Kindergarten to Grade 6, explore issues of truth and reconciliation, anti-oppression, anti-black racism, and equity in general with thought and deep caring. Her work with our students has moved our school along the Equity continuum in terms of diversity and inclusion.

Andreas Ghabrial, Retired Principal, Indian Road Crescent Junior Public School

Rabia was the teacher-librarian at my children鈥檚 elementary school, where she worked tirelessly to build up the school library with books that featured a broad representation of cultures and communities. Her curriculum reflected essential questions to encourage children to consider the ways representation matters. Her hard work instilled an important baseline for what a school library should focus on, and it is exciting to see her continued work on inclusion and representation through story.

Stacy Lewis, Parent

Rebeca Rubio is the Coordinator for Libraries and Information Services in SD38 Richmond, where she supports teacher-librarians in developing programs, managing spaces and developing learning commons spaces. She supports teachers and schools with resource acquisition, database navigation, digital literacy and other literacy initiatives. She also manages and maintains the District Resource Centre, acquiring and circulating valuable resources for all SD38 educators. Every year, Rebeca coordinates, plans and executes a full district conference for all 50 SD38 Teacher Librarians. She manages the District Resource Center (DRC) focusing on creating quality kits that support equity and diversity. Through her leadership the DRC has a robust Indigenous collection and she is currently working on Righting Canada鈥檚 Wrongs (focus on Japanese internment, residential schools etc.).

Rebeca has brought (DA) to her district. Last year all the secondary sites completed a robust DA, and this year she discovered that DAs have been written into the district鈥檚 Strategic Plan. Rebeca works with schools undergoing seismic upgrades, by supporting with visioning and creating flexible learning spaces in libraries and labs.

Rebeca has done presentations and published locally, provincially, nationally and internationally on many subjects related to library learning commons including involvement with the 91精选 Diversity Toolkit, travelling to South Carolina in July 2022 to present it at International Association of School Librarianship (IASL). Rebeca is a contributor to the 91精选 Journal and to TM Canada Symposia.

Her work as a teacher librarian in her district, the province and nationally on diversity, anti-racism and mental health has been incorporated in many schools in BC as well as nationally鈥ith a changing world and the recognition that diversity is an important component of our societal values, Rebecca has sought to educate teachers and teacher librarians in evaluating their collections and diversifying the content to recognize the diversity of our population and the students attending our schools鈥� I can鈥檛 think of a better recipient for this award based on all the work and advocacy she has done on our behalf since she became a teacher librarian.

Richard Beaudry, Teacher-Librarian, Coordinator of the Teacher-Librarian Diploma and Certificate Program at UBC

Rebeca works tirelessly to promote libraries and teacher librarianship in the Richmond School District. It is very hard to describe Rebeca鈥檚 role as District Coordinator for Libraries and Information Services: while working closely with senior staff on issues connected to or involving LLCs, she also directs the development of district level resource sets, the acquisition and maintenance of district wide resources (such as study sets, on-line databases, and cataloguing programs), co-ordinates with the BC Teacher Librarian Association, and provides front line TLs with support in their daily challenges. For the past several years, a consistent focus for theses conferences has been on developing our awareness of the role LLCs can play in supporting, some might argue in fact driving, Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in the school community.

Perhaps one of the most important journeys Rebeca has brought teachers on is the undertaking of a Diversity Audit鈥ebeca鈥檚 work with Diversity Audits has moved beyond the Richmond School District. In addition to being the Keynote speaker and presenting her work to the British Columbia Teacher Librarians Association annual professional development day in 2020 and leading the BCTLA鈥檚 work on the area of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, Rebeca just presented at the IASL in South Carolina (2022). Moreover, the Sooke School District has also reached out to Rebeca for support with their first steps in this direction.

Tom Morley, Teacher Librarian RC Palmer Secondary School

Jonelle St. Aubyn has been teaching for 21 years with the last 7 being in the School Library Learning Commons (LLC) as the full-time Teacher Librarian at Louise Arbour Secondary School in the Peel District School Board, Ontario, transforming the space and programming from a traditional library to an LLC, making it a focal point and educational hub of the school. Recently, she was one of the team members that revised the Teacher-Librarianship Additional Qualification course guidelines for the Ontario College of Teachers (OCT). She has presented at numerous conferences, events and workshops, including nationally at the Quebec Library Association (ABQLA) Conference, provincially at the Ontario Library Association (OLA) Super Conference and locally at various PDSB workshops and Family of Schools (FOS) events.

Jonelle is a published author, contributing numerous education packages, resources and articles to Treasure Mountain Canada (TMC), Hot Docs – Docs for Schools, and TEACH Magazine. She is currently the chair of the Peel Fiction Review Committee which reviews books from local vendors and determines their suitability for secondary schools in the PDSB. In 2020, she was a recipient of the OSSTF District 19 Inspiring Moments Campaign Award and the Teachers Life Exceptional Educator Award. In 2022, she was a recipient of an OSSTF District 19 Teacher Recognition Award. Passionate about social justice, equity and human rights, Jonelle has been curating resources for staff, students and community members to move this work forward at Louise Arbour Secondary School and beyond.

Jonelle demonstrates incredible collaboration skills and often brings together a variety of stakeholders to guide the work. For example, her transformation of the Library Learning Commons Spaces always includes gathering ideas from students, in addition to a great deal of research and collaboration with colleagues. When she embarked on the Human Library initiative, she worked diligently to secure a variety of diverse presenters who had stories to share that would engage and inspire the students of Louise Arbour Secondary School. Jonelle鈥檚 innovative experimentation and research have provided her with insights that she has been able to share with other Teacher Librarians through articles or papers that she authored for publication, as well as through presentations at professional conferences, such as the Ontario Library Association Conference, where she was a presenter in both 2020 and 2022. She has also been invited to present at the Manitoba Library Association鈥檚 SAGG Conference in 2022 and to participate as a panelist for the OLA鈥檚 2022 Freedom To Read panel with Deborah Ellis.

Sharron Kuhl, Principal, David Suzuki Secondary School, Peel District School Board

Jonelle is an exemplary teacher-librarian, and has made a positive impact on her school. She has also significantly contributed to the field of school librarianship beyond her school and her school board. She was part of the team that revised the Ontario College of Teachers guidelines for Teacher Librarianship AQ courses. She was a podcast guest for Read lnto This, was consulted for the article about Taming the Library Dragon: Mission, Ethics and Library Routines, ran a podcast about marketing the school library (as well as other podcasts for ONEd Mentors), sat on the Collection Diversity Toolkit writing committee for 91精选, and has written papers for Treasure Mountain Canada. I had the pleasure of presenting a session with her called “Agency and Equity: Students Shaping School Library Collections Pre- and Post-COVlD” at the Manitoba School Library Association’s conference in 2020.

Diana Maliszewski, Teacher-Librarian, Agnes Macphail Public School, Toronto District School Board

91精选 is delighted to honour Leigh Borden, Rabia Khokhar, Rebeca Rubio, and Jonelle St. Aubyn as the 2022 recipients of the Angela Thacker Memorial Award. The awards will be presented as part of 91精选’s Kick-Off Dinner, Friday October 21, in New Westminster, BC.

91精选 is seeking nominations for our two biennial awards, the聽Angela Thacker Memorial Award聽and the聽Leading Learning Implementation Award.

罢丑别听Angela Thacker Memorial Award聽honours teacher-librarians who have made contributions to the profession through publications, productions, research or professional development activities that deal with topics relevant to teacher-librarianship and/or school library learning commons.

罢丑别听Leading Learning Implementation Award聽has been established to recognize, honour and applaud school districts, provinces and territories who have developed and/or enhanced their school library learning commons on a systemic basis, founded on the tenets, principles and continuous growth and renewal focus of the five standards of聽Leading Learning.

The 2022 awards will be presented at the Treasure Mountain Canada (TMC7) dinner on Friday October 21 in New Westminster, BC.聽聽

Nomination Deadline: Thursday June 30, 2022

Find complete information and nomination forms here.

Pembina Trails School Division
Winnipeg, Manitoba

as recipient of the Leading Learning Implementation Award 2020.

The Leading Learning Implementation Award has been established to recognize, honour and applaud school districts, provinces and territories who have successfully developed and/or enhanced their school library learning commons on a systemic basis founded on the tenets, principles and continuous growth and renewal focus of the five standards of Leading Learning: Standards of Practice for School Library Learning Commons in Canada.

Pembina Trails School Division in Winnipeg, Manitoba, has been involved in the creation and implementation of Leading Learning since the idea for a renewed set of Canadian standards for school libraries began in Ottawa at Treasure Mountain Canada 2 in 2012. When the call came to form a Manitoba committee as part of the collaborative cross-country working group tasked with developing the new standards, Pembina Trails School Division鈥檚 employees, students and community members willingly volunteered their time to ensure that Manitoba school libraries were well represented on the national school library level.

In 2014 every school library team in Pembina Trails was asked by the Library Media Consultant to evaluate where their school library fell in each of the Leading Learning five standards and themes. These evaluations helped library staffs understand where they were at, where they wanted to go and how they were going to get there. Due to the work all schools have done with Leading Learning, every school library in Pembina Trails is now called, and functions as, a learning commons. Since 2014, each of the five standards in Leading Learning have served as the foundations from which they operate.

鈥淲ithin the first month of my new role [as Pembina Trails School Division鈥檚 Library Consultant] I presented the concept of the Learning Commons to our administrative community of superintendents, principals, vice-principals and consultants at their monthly meeting. For this presentation I extracted the key concepts, standards of practice and exemplars from the Leading Learning document to help our Pembina Trails administration to re-envision not only their school libraries into a Learning Commons but the role of their teacher-librarians. The 91精选 Leading Learning document played an imperative role in my ability to implement the necessary changes to the mindsets of our school leaders and teacher-librarians to create the participatory and creative spaces we now see in our school division Learning Commons. I found our school teams referring frequently to the live links within the document and using the planning sheets at the back, to guide our thinking and actions in transforming our school libraries to the Learning Commons model. As a division, we planned a series of workshops over the course of that year with our teacher-librarians to elevate their role and embed the ideals and standards of the document into their practice. Now, over 5 years later, I am thrilled with the changes that I have witnessed in our division鈥檚 learning commons. Pembina Trails School Division has embraced the Leading Learning document and continues to work towards the ideal 鈥淟eading鈥� example within the growth stages of the document. As a division moving forward, we recognize and welcome opportunities to work with our school communities, principals and teacher librarians for the success of all learners. I am proud to nominate our school division for this award.鈥�

Heather Eby, Vice Principal, Dalhousie School, Pembina Trails School Division, Winnipeg, MB

As a direct result of the Leading Learning document, school libraries in Pembina Trails have embraced the learning commons model. Collaborations between classroom teachers and teacher-librarians occur on a regular basis, multi-modal literacies are embraced, and learners are driven by their own questions and curiosities led by the library learning commons team. Pembina Trails library learning commons impacts and empowers learners by designing learning opportunities that allow students to become constructors of knowledge, to find their own voices, to become global collaborators seeking justice and environmental stewardship, and to creatively communicate their learning and passions with others.

Pembina Trails School Division library staff members continue to use Leading Learning as a guide for continual improvement. To help guide their practice, every year new teacher-librarians in the division receive a copy of Leading Learning. During the year, every teacher-librarian in Pembina Trails uses Leading Learning to guide their practice based on the theme that the Library Learning Commons Consultant has chosen for that year and the needs of their learning.

鈥淚n the four years that I worked at Pacific Junction School, I saw a remarkable shift from a Library to a Learning Commons.The Leading Learning: Standards of Practice for School Library Learning Commons in Canada document was an anchor for the change. Today, Pacific Junction LLC is an established vibrant, collaborative environment that emphasizes student and staff learning through the model of inquiry and exploration. The library collection has a wide and varied selection of quality reading materials, available in a variety of formats. The abundance and variety of physical and technological supplies allow for deep and rich student learning and exploration. Located at the centre of the school, the Library Learning Commons is a beautiful meeting place and the heartbeat of Pacific Junction school.鈥�

Kathy Bru, Principal, Pembina Trails School Division, Winnipeg, MB

91精选 is proud to honour Pembina Trails School Division as the first recipient of the 91精选 Leading Learning Implementation award.

on the Pembina Trails School Division website.