School libraries and evidence-based practice

One reading which I have found particularly influential and thought provoking discusses the relationship between evidence based practice and school libraries (Todd, 2007), where the transition from advocacy to action is shown as a way to prove the value and worth of teacher librarians in school contexts. This premise has a strong link to my background as a primary classroom teacher, where I am familiar with using students' assessment results and work samples as one basis from which to inform the creation of ability based groups, ongoing planning and programming for content and skills across the Key Learning Areas and judgements in reporting on student achievement.

Libraries have traditionally been established and maintained on the assumption that they offer a significant contribution to the development of a democratic, educated, knowledgeable society (Todd, 2007), and this is quite obviously irrevocably interwoven with schools, which are places of learning to cultivate informed citizens who can make effective contributions to their communities. We are increasingly required to demonstrate the value of teacher librarians as information professionals and educators uniting this common goal of libraries and schools with evidence based research, through a 'show rather than tell' approach. Along the same line, teacher librarians can operate as the axle on a wheel, creating a common place of learning for all students, in all classrooms, so the library becomes the heart of the school.
Reference:
Todd, R. J. (2007). Evidence-based practice and school libraries. In S. Hughes-Hassell & V. H. Harada
        (Eds.), School reform and the school library media specialist (pp. 57-78). Westport, Conn:
        Libraries Unlimited