Call to put library data online

SCHOOLS should be forced to reveal whether they have a librarian on staff to the Gillard government's MySchool website.

SCHOOLS should be forced to reveal whether they have a librarian on staff to the Gillard government's MySchool website so parents can be better informed about the importance of the role.

A federal parliamentary inquiry has found school libraries across the country have suffered from a "vicious cycle" of lack of resources, unqualified staff and poor quality teaching in the area.

The House of Representatives standing committee on education and employment concluded this cycle reduced the demand for librarians as well as the attractiveness of the profession to prospective students.

Despite this, the committee was struck by the "breadth of anecdotal evidence" that a properly stocked library with qualified staff made a significant contribution to student success.

Chaired by MP Amanda Rishworth, the inquiry found there was a lack of data and community recognition on the contribution librarians made to schools.

She said there needed to be some statistics collated on how many librarians there were across the country.

This information could then be put on MySchool so parents knew which schools had a library.

"It could be a good indicator of the quality of the school," Ms Rishworth said. "So parents, if they knew the value of teacher librarians, they could make more of an informed choice."

The committee found librarians were still needed, despite the declining use of books. "With the explosion of iPads and research on the internet, teacher librarians have a critical role in helping students find critical information they can trust," Ms Rishworth said.

The committee also recommended that the federal government work with the states through the Council of Australian Governments to develop a national statement on the importance of librarians, which would guide future policy.

"One very meaningful way to get the momentum started may be to establish a national year of reading program," the committee concluded.