New national guidance on school libraries and reading for pleasure comes as educators prepare to examine libraries’ evolving role at next week’s National Education Summit.
School libraries will take a timely place on the agenda at next week’s National Education Summit in Melbourne, with a dedicated conference stream examining how libraries can support reading, critical thinking, digital literacy, inclusion and student engagement.
The Capacity Building School Libraries Conference, running from 3–4 September at the Melbourne Convention & Exhibition Centre, comes just days after the release of new national guidance on school libraries and reading for pleasure.
The Australian Library and Information Association (ALIA), the Australian Coalition for School Libraries (ACSL) and Australia Reads released the ALIA ACSL & Australia Reads Statement on School Libraries and Reading for Pleasure on 26 August, providing guidance for schools developing policy and practice around reading for pleasure.
The statement says reading for pleasure has benefits across health, education and employment outcomes and argues that opportunities for students to read for pleasure during the school day should sit alongside quality reading instruction.
“Providing genuine opportunities in the school day for students to read for pleasure needs to sit alongside quality instruction for the benefits to be truly realised.”
The statement also calls on school leaders to ensure students and teachers have access to an appropriately resourced school library staffed by qualified professionals, while highlighting the importance of diverse and representative collections.
The guidance comes amid evidence that many Australian teenagers are not reading regularly for pleasure.
Australian teens and reading
A 2024 Deakin University study of 13,217 Australian secondary students found that nearly three in 10 students did not read in their spare time, while only 15 per cent reported reading daily during the school term.
The research, Discovering a Good Read: Exploring Book Discovery and Reading for Pleasure Among Australian Teens, examined students’ voluntary reading habits, excluding homework and school-assigned reading.
It found that reading frequency declined as students got older, while social media was the most popular passive leisure activity among those surveyed.
The researchers also identified librarians and teachers as important influences on students’ reading choices, alongside parents and peers. Recommendations from the study included investing in school libraries and librarians, helping students find books that match their interests, making reading social and creating time for reading at school and home.
Dr Bronwyn Reddan, a research fellow on the project, said students needed opportunities to continue reading as they moved through secondary school.
“Reading should be prioritised at any age.”
The research also found that regular reading was associated with better academic achievement, wellbeing and employment outcomes, according to the researchers.
The findings add weight to the new national statement’s call for schools to consider how reading for pleasure is supported within the school day, and the role school libraries can play in providing access to books, recommendations and reading communities.
Beyond books
The timing gives added relevance to a Summit program that will examine not only how schools encourage students to read, but how libraries can contribute to wider teaching and learning priorities.
The Summit describes school libraries as evolving into vital learning environments, with the program exploring their role in supporting informed and engaged learners through reading, inquiry and collaboration.
Strong leadership is identified as central to shaping library programs, collections and spaces that respond to changing school communities.
Opening the Melbourne conference, Dr Kay Oddone, Director of Linking Learning Advisory and Adjunct Senior Lecturer at Charles Sturt University, will examine how school libraries can be “re-centred” with purpose and possibility.
Her session, Constellations of Practice: Recentering the School Library with Purpose and Possibility, will consider the role library staff play in connecting people, ideas and possibilities across schools.
Oddone will also address uneven leadership support and the pressure on library professionals to respond to increasingly complex demands.
The emphasis reflects a broader question running through the conference: how can schools make better use of the expertise already sitting within their libraries?
Reigniting reading
Reading for pleasure is a prominent theme throughout the Summit program.
Mali Jorm, Head of Libraries at Bacchus Marsh Grammar, will explore ways to use high-interest library lessons to engage secondary students in reading, research and critical literacy.
The session will draw on research in psychology, education and library science, with a focus on helping students develop higher-order skills while providing practical lessons and activities that schools can adapt to their own settings.
Virginia Hand, Teacher Librarian at Shellharbour Anglican College, will examine adolescent reading engagement through literature circles and Socratic seminars.
Her session will focus on giving students voice and choice and creating opportunities to connect texts with broader issues, with the aim of strengthening comprehension, critical thinking and intrinsic motivation.
There will also be a practical look at how physical library spaces can influence reading behaviour.
Trish Trchala, Head of Learning Resources at Xavier College, and Jemma Trchala, Library Assistant, will discuss two reading lounges developed for younger students and how changes to the library environment have supported sustained reading and reading for pleasure.
Libraries and critical thinking
The program also positions school libraries as important sites for developing students’ ability to navigate information.
On Friday, Jonathan Heard, Research Fellow at the Australian Council for Educational Research, will examine the teaching of critical thinking in an information environment shaped by AI, algorithms, fake news and misinformation.
His session will explore how students construct knowledge, evaluate ideas and make reasoned decisions, and how schools can develop and assess these capabilities more consistently.
Other sessions will examine media literacy across the curriculum, authentic texts, fact-checking, lateral reading and the use of curated resources to help students evaluate evidence, recognise bias and develop informed perspectives.
That connection between libraries, information literacy and critical thinking is increasingly significant as students encounter growing volumes of information and AI-generated content.
A strategic role for school libraries
The program also turns attention to the position of libraries within the wider school.
Joy Whiteside, Executive Officer of the School Library Association of Victoria, will examine leadership, advocacy and collegiality, including the role of libraries as partners in teaching and learning.
At Salesian College Sunbury, Lauren Kyte and Rachel Fernandez will share how the school’s library increased its visibility by connecting student cohorts, community and curriculum.
Other sessions will explore culturally diverse collections, cross-sector library partnerships and the design of library spaces to respond to changing student needs.
For school leaders, the emerging message is that the question is no longer simply whether a school has a library, but how effectively its library is positioned, resourced and connected to the school’s broader educational goals.
The new national statement provides a timely framework for that conversation, while next week’s Summit will give educators an opportunity to explore what that role can look like in practice.
The National Education Summit Melbourne will be held on 3–4 September at the Melbourne Convention & Exhibition Centre. Register online.