Curriculum-Engaged School Libraries and Teacher Librarians Value Curriculum-Alignment of Resources

Abstract

Australian school libraries have an expressed need to organise resources according to Australian Curriculum (AC) outcomes. The Schools Catalogue Information Service (SCIS) at Education Services Australia creates and distributes MARC records to 93% of Australian school libraries, but has not traditionally provided curriculum-alignment data.
This paper describes a SCIS survey of 586 Australian school libraries, examining the factors driving demand for curriculum alignment. Libraries with a teacher librarian and those that were already actively engaged in curriculum resourcing saw the most value in resource alignment. Curriculum-engaged libraries were more prominent in secondary schools, Catholic schools, and large schools with larger libraries and a teacher-librarian. They were also more prominent in schools where teachers actively engaged with library staff. Library engagement is discussed as a concept of potential interest for further research.