Blog Post
The forgotten role of teacher librarians
What the Productivity Commission is really saying about student literacy.
The Productivity Commission’s current inquiry program on Building a Skilled and Adaptable Workforce is confirming what teachers and librarians have long warned: literacy in Australia is in crisis. Between 2003 and 2022, Australian students’ reading literacy fell by an equivalent one and half years of schooling.
Commissioner Danielle Wood recently highlighted that more than half of the most economically disadvantaged 15‑year‑olds are not proficient readers. She frames literacy as both an education issue and a constraint on participation in further study, training and work.
Our view on what’s changed in schools
For decades, teacher librarians (teachers with specialist library and information training) were a fixture in school libraries. They:
- supported reading,
- guided literature discovery, and
- taught research and information literacy.
Over the last 15-20 years, the position has dramatically thinned out. Retiring teacher librarians are rarely replaced. Instead, schools rely on library technicians or untrained staff. Some schools even hand library supervision to parent volunteers.
National media has even reported the trend and its risks to literacy.
NSW is a partial exception to this decline. Its Library Policy explicitly funds teacher librarian hours based on enrolment, recognising how central the role is to learning outcomes.
While we aren’t arguing that the decrease in teacher librarians is responsible for declining literacy in our schools, we do believe that re-prioritising them could play an important part in reversing the trend.
Why this matters for productivity
Reading proficiency in school is a strong signal for later participation in study and work. PISA 2022 shows Australia with significant equity gaps in reading performance. At the same time, Gen Z shows the lowest levels of participation in reading for pleasure (a driver of vocabulary, comprehension and writing) than any other generation at 11.2%.
Qualified teacher librarians are one of the few roles designed to move both levers (skill and motivation) at scale. National statements from ALIA/ASLA and the newer ACSL policies outline teacher librarian leadership in reading promotion, information/digital literacy and inquiry learning across the curriculum.
What needs to change
If Australia is serious about reversing literacy decline, then restoring teacher librarians must be part of the solution. Investment in this profession has a proven, direct impact on student achievement.
The removal of teacher librarians has been a policy decision born of cost-cutting and misplaced faith in “free” digital tools. The idea that Google can replace a trained literacy educator has proven false. Algorithms cannot cultivate discernment, depth or a love of reading.
Where to from here
The Commission has put literacy back on the national agenda. Restoring teacher librarians (and backing them with the right tools) is a straightforward, evidence‑grounded step to lift reading, strengthen information literacy and improve our national productivity.
