Who is the Ontario School Library Association?
The Ontario School Library Association (OSLA) represents the school library sector within the Ontario Library Association. We provide a common voice for the needs and interests of school libraries and school library professionals through advocacy, leadership and continuing education. Over 1,300 elementary and secondary school teacher-librarians, library technicians, librarians, library clerks and school board consultants are represented in the OSLA.
What is the Dear School Library Project?
The “Dear School Library” project was born out of a deep need to create a stronger sense of community within our school libraries and school library professionals in Ontario. The Ontario School Library Association wanted schools across the province to consider the reasons why their school libraries are important – highlighting all the incredible collaborative programming, events, resources, technologies, and community that our LLCs bring to school communities. We wanted to celebrate our school libraries – loudly and unabashedly. And use all the wonderful data we collect to show everyone – from our administrators, superintendents, districts to the Ministry of Education – that we won’t go down without a fight.
Dear School Library was inspired by Lindsay Zier-Vogel’s “Dear Street” (Zier-Vogel, 2023), a Blue Spruce nominated title in the Forest of Reading program (Ontario Library Association, 2024). The story tells of Alice, a girl who loves her neighbourhood. When she discovers that not everyone shares in her delight of its beautiful maple trees, colourful blooms, and parades, she writes a love letter for someone to find. As others grumble through the seasons, Alice continues to write love letters about the things they complain about, too. In the author’s note, Zier-Vogel shares that “Dear Street” was inspired by her own “Love Lettering Project” in which
participants write love letters to their communities for strangers to find. The Dear School Library Project encourages people in their local community to write love letters expressing their own sentiments about why they love their school libraries.
Why participate in the Dear School Library Project?
In schools across Ontario where they have already seen the results of the Dear School Library Project, the benefits are numerous. Student engagement in Dear School Library shines a bright light on the incredible work happening in your SLLC and brings to the forefront the myriad of ways that our spaces impact students that traditional data doesn’t easily capture.
Dear School Library told us that students value the calm, quiet and peace in our spaces:
“Thank you for providing quiet spaces to work, read, or just chill when the world is too loud.”
-Forest of Reading Festival Participant
They told us they appreciated that our spaces were inclusive:
“I love my library because it welcomes everybody.”
-Grade 5 student
And students told us about how the library was instrumental in their lives:
“You have changed my life. I remember the first time I saw you. You made me gasp in awe when I looked at you. Thank you for being a source where I could freely dream.”
-Forest of Reading Festival Participant
Participating in the Dear School Library Project gives you a chance to shine a light on the benefits of all the work *you* do in your SLLC and help your school community truly appreciate the value that your school library brings to all those in your building.
Why should I try a Dear School Library Project in my SLLC?
The advocacy that school library professionals will capture from their own Dear School Library Projects is remarkable. Imagine using student voice from your own school community:
- to explain why you need more budget for a more diverse collection.
- to help explain to administrators why staffing the SLLC through the lunch hour is critical to the mental health and wellbeing of your student community.
- to show families the pivotal role that the school library plays in the foundational development of each student on a daily basis.
You can read more about the impact of the Dear School Library Project in the Treasure Mountain Canada 8 paper “Dear School Library: Advocacy From the Heart.”