Advancing the Learning Community: Exemplar H4

Standard: Advancing the Learning Community to Achieve School Goals

Theme: Leading Action for Collaborative Professional Development and Growth

Growth Phase: Leading

Growth Indicator: Teacher-librarian leads and supports professional learning communities within and across local divisions, provincially, nationally and globally in studies and initiatives to design and implement best practice in the LLC.


High school teacher-librarian, President of the Alberta School Learning Commons Council (ASLC), relates how the ASLC recently began a multi-year journey of “reclamation and advocacy”. Inspired by both the British Columbia Teacher Library Association’s annual conference  and conjoined Treasure Mountain Canada 7 symposium hosted by Canadian School Libraries, connections with other school library leaders are shared and provide hope for “the beginnings of reclamation, regrowth, and interconnectedness for library-learning commons and teacher-librarians in Alberta”. Examples from SLLC presentations led at various Alberta conferences in spring 2023 further the hope.

Semenuk, H.  (2023, May 24). Reclaiming School Libraries and Teacher-Librarians: Leveraging Canada-Wide Connections.  Canadian School Libraries Journal 7(2).  Retrieved from https://journal.canadianschoollibraries.ca/reclaiming-school-libraries-and-teacher-librarians-leveraging-canada-wide-connections/


The Coordinator for Libraries and Information Services in SD38 Richmond, BC, shares experiences from attending the July 2022 International Association of School Librarianship (IASL) conference on behalf of Canadian School Libraries (CSL), sharing the CSL Collection Diversity Toolkit

Rubio, R. (2023, March 5).  What is Our Responsibility to Them?  Canadian School Libraries Journal 7(1).  Retrieved from https://journal.canadianschoollibraries.ca/what-is-our-responsibility-to-them/


The Teacher Librarians of Newfoundland and Labrador (TLNL) network have posted five webinars relating to teacher/teacher-librarian professional development. Topics include coding, Flipgrid integration, book recommendations K-12.

Teacher Librarians of Newfoundland and Labrador (TLNL).  (2021). [Webinar].  Retrieved from https://sites.google.com/nlesd.ca/tlnl/presentations-podcasts-webinars-etc/2021-tlnl-webinar-series


Two enthusiastic educators from Australia received a fellowship grant to visit Canadian schools to learn more about and view the learning commons philosophy in action. Read about their reflections and connections made in The Toronto District School Board (TDSB) Library and the Peel District School Board Learning Resource teams, as they worked to coordinate school visits that would showcase the LLCs in a variety of schools across two school districts. 

Frogatt, C. & Tootell, K.  (2024, March 14).  Together for learning: An Australian visit to Ontario schools. Canadian School Library Journal 8(1).  https://journal.canadianschoollibraries.ca/together-for-learning-an-australian-visit-to-ontario-schools/


The graduate assistant to Dr. David Loertscher at San Jose State University writes about the February 29, 2024, San Jose State University’s School of Information’s virtual “Leap into the Future of School Libraries International Conference”. The conference provided a platform where attendees could participate in a collective dialogue and sample a variety of sessions that centered on five categories: instructional design, international, community, technology, and management. Attendees and speakers from around the world presented, including CSL Chair and Co-Chair sharing the “Foundations and Framework” approach to LLC standards. The article shares free access to the e-book to the entire conference video collection as well as session descriptions and speaker biographies.

Peterson, C.  (2024, March 14).  Leap into the future of school libraries international conference. Canadian School Library Journal 8(1).  https://journal.canadianschoollibraries.ca/leap-into-the-future-of-school-libraries-international-conference/


Canadian School Libraries

CSL Chair and District Learning Commons Teacher-Librarian for SD57 Prince George, British Columbia, Jeffery shares his experiences coming to Toronto for the Ontario Library Association Super Conference, January 24-27, 2024, where he would also be presenting the CSL document  “Foundations and Framework” with CSL Chair Anita Brooks Kirkland. Many inspiring presentations and resources are shared, leaving him inspired by the conference theme of “Get Loud”, noting that “during the most desperate of times, it was public libraries, school libraries, and academic libraries who stood up and built communities”. 

Jeffery, J.  (2024, March 14).  Get loud! A travelogue from OLA Super Conference. Canadian School Library Journal 8 (1).   https://journal.canadianschoollibraries.ca/get-loud-a-travelogue-from-ola-super-conference/