Teacher-Librarian Petition Gains Momentum as Literacy Rates Decline

A petition to mandate teacher-librarian roles in schools has gained significant traction, attracting over 13,000 signatures in less than a week. The petition's authors aim to prevent the critical roles from being phased out by educators.

Declining Literacy Rates and the Importance of Teacher-Librarians

The petition was launched in response to news that teacher-librarians at 58 schools in the Newcastle-Maitland Catholic diocese were being made redundant or redeployed. Children's writer Kate Temple, who penned the Bin Chicken series, initiated the petition, citing the vital role teacher-librarians play in creating reading cultures in schools.

"Teacher-librarians are vital to creating reading cultures in schools," she said.

"They teach really important classes beyond that as well, like digital literacy and media literacies."

Temple emphasized that teacher-librarians support a variety of children, from "ambitious readers looking for their next read on their journey", to neurodivergent children who struggle to read.

"Teacher-librarians know a great deal about their student cohort and they're able to really move that whole body of students towards a community that loves reading," she said.

"Schools that have well-staffed libraries with teacher-librarians have amazing reading cultures, and it doesn't matter what kind of school they are."

Falling Reading Performances

Recent international studies have found that Australian reading performance continues to decline among children, with fewer teenagers reading for enjoyment. The latest Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) report revealed that Australia's mean reading performance has shown a declining trend.

The PISA report found that between 2022 and 2025, there was a two-point decrease in the proportion of students who attained the National Proficient Standard (NPS), which followed a two-point increase in the proportion of low performers in reading.

The Role of Teacher-Librarians in Supporting Student Learning

School Library Association of SA president Hajnalka Molloy stated that in SA, less than 15 per cent of all schools have a dual-qualified teacher-librarian.

"We are the same price as any other teacher, but we bring those extra skills, extra knowledge of children's literature, connecting with our amazing kid-lit community here in Australia and connecting students to those authors and illustrators, as well as helping children find the book that they're going to love in the format that works for them," she said.

Molloy emphasized that teacher-librarians are critical in supporting student learning outcomes, particularly in terms of information literacy, reading culture, and student wellbeing.

The petition, which has the official support of Australia Reads, the Australian Library and Information Association, and the Australian Coalition of School Libraries, will be presented to state and federal departments of education.