Greens

As someone who has spent a great deal of time in libraries on the way to a Doctorate I think the resource both underfunded and invaluable for future Australians. I agree entirely with your aims Jim Prentice 07 38160416 **Skype** jbprentice1 jimprentice@optusnet.com.au
 * From GREENS BUNDAMBA CANDIDATE **
 * JIM PRENTICE **

From GREENS CALOUNDRA CANDIDATE ALLAN MCKAY Thanks for your letter. Not being sure how widely your letter has been circulated, I took the liberty to forward it to our key campaign people who may have responded directly to you. But don't despair if you haven't heard from them yet - they are frantically occupied. I forwarded your letter to them for 2 reasons. Firstly to inform them of your particular educational focus on libraries, but also to inform our Education Policy, which as you would appreciate does not have the very specific detail that your letter raises. I was very interested, but not at all surprised, to see information correlating resourcing of school libraries, teacher-librarians and Naplan results. I am personally very supportive of having our school libraries adequately resourced with skilled teacher-librarians, and your focus sits very comfortably with The Greens' national effort to dramatically increase resourcing across all levels of education, particularly in those areas likely to have greatest impact on learning outcomes. Kind regards Allan McKay Greens Candidate for Caloundra caloundra@qld.greens.org.au

From GREENS BUDERIM CANDIDATE SUE ETHERIDGE Following is my response to your email of 24 February.....My answers are in red....... As the mother of a highly intelligent child who has reading difficulties, I fully support as many resources being made available as possible in schools to assist both students and teachers. We wish to know if you will support: The profession of teacher librarianship and its value in building a literate and information literate nation? Yes Thank-you and good luck Sue Etheridge Greens Candidate for Buderim
 * The establishment and maintenance of qualified staffing and support services for libraries in both primary and secondary schools? Yes
 * Sponsorship in tertiary training courses to ensure that, over a period of time, established staffing standards can be maintained? Yes
 * Collection of state data on school library staffing, funding, and scheduling, by requiring thorough and consistent collection by Education Queensland? Yes
 * A statement in your education platform advocating for well-staffed and funded 21st century school libraries for Australia’s students? Yes - I will request this........

From GREENS NICKLIN CANDIDATE JOHN LAW Hi Teresa I think everything you have mentioned should be out there and implemented, our schools are being allowed to run down by both the major parties. I come from a schooling in the 50s - 60s when schools had real library's and were kept in good repair and there was adequate staffing. Now most maintenance etc seems to be done by parental working bees etc, and it I believe only get worse. I have a debate with the other candidates in my electorate Nicklin a safe independent seat and I will certainly make every effort to bring this issue up for discussion. The Greens are a grass roots party and I feel that it is the only party still in touch with people and the only party that allows a opinion to be expressed publicly that differs from the Party Line. So I can say that I support your issues and can say if you look up the Greens Policy on education find that my Party agrees with you too. Thanks for taking the time to write. John Law Law Cleaning Services 97 Panorama Drive Nambour Qld 4560 Phone No 07 54762687 Mobile John 0412973764 Mobile John 0412973764

From GREENS ALBERT CANDIDATE PETRINA MAIZEY

March 10, 2012

**RESPONSE TO THE SCHOOL LIBRARY ASSOCIATION OF QUEENSLAND:**
 * The profession of teacher librarianship and its value in building a literate and information literate nation?

As a former high school English and French teacher, and as a Green, I highly value literacy as the fundamental key to lifelong achievement of individual potential, and indeed personal happiness. I also view literacy as crucial to a well-managed, principled society that can accommodate notions of equity, respect for human and nature rights, and far-reaching decisions for micro- and macroeconomic policy through an informed vote.

I had the enormous good fortune to be born to a family that valued literacy not only for its social usefulness but for the sheer lifelong joy that the written word can bring in its appeal to the range of human emotions I would experience at every stage of my maturation. Literacy also opens the way for the establishment of proper values and safeguards against decisions based on dangerous ignorance. I also view literacy as a staged and possibly infinite process and suspect that no matter how high a level of literacy an individual attains, there will always be a higher, deeper level beyond. My own literacy is my greatest personal inheritance from a generational point of view, and my most prized life possession. Libraries, whether public or private or school-based, whether an ancient, astoundingly comprehensive collection like the Bodleian Library, or something so unassuming as a single bookshelf in a beach caravan park have always represented hallowed and exciting spaces for me which are both deeply satisfying in their promise of opening doors to every avenue of accumulated human knowledge, and deeply frustrating in their declaration that my single lifetime will never allow me to access them all. A further frustration is the thought of all the collections of the languages of the Earth, which again, will remain inaccessible to me, since even the best translation risks missing the finest nuance of a language, which is the beautiful elusiveness of all languages including our own.

As to teacher-librarians, I can state with absolute sincerity that I have never met a librarian I didn’t like! I have enjoyed my interactions with them all from primary school right through to matriculation, and they remain in my memory along with some of the books they steered me towards, gently (and sometimes not!) away from my well-thumbed choices and with consistently rewarding results. As a teacher, I valued my teacher-librarian colleagues with their enthusiasm for their discipline, the pleasure they took in assessing a student and recommending an author, or helping them with research reading as required. In current times, I have often sought and continue to seek the help of library staff with the range of new technologies associated with managing research, as I have an unbreakable habit of retuning to study. In short, along with Terry Pratchett, I find librarians intriguing and utterly indispensable as long as humanity values knowledge and its careful storage.


 * The establishment and maintenance of qualified staffing and support services for libraries in both primary and secondary schools?

As technologies of data storage and access increase, but also as the very volume of works continues to expand, teacher librarians are becoming more valuable than ever to the education system at all levels. For the same reason, the workload for librarians and their need for ongoing professional development to keep up with rapid pace of change in their information area are also becoming onerous if quality of delivery is to be maintained. I have no hesitation in committing to additional and ongoing support to librarians in the form of professional development and registration qualification standards as well as extra staffing and resources to facilitate this important area in education.


 * Sponsorship in tertiary training courses to ensure that, over a period of time, established staffing standards can be maintained?

As noted above, I understand that librarianship in the modern context has undergone an almost total transformation in delivery services and the subsequent skills and knowledge required, despite the essentials remaining the same. Not only to address the implications of the modern phenomenon for teacher librarian and support staff needs for substantial base knowledge and ongoing updating, but also to dispel negative social attitudes to the teaching profession in general, the Greens strongly support high level entry qualifications for teachers and innovative funding solutions for ongoing professional development.

Greens further believe that teachers’ high level of subject knowledge as well as the fundamental role they play in maintaining Australia’s high standards of living, warrant recognition in higher salary rates. Greens value education as a top priority and insist on best practice in this as in all fields. As elected members we would all push very hard for increased and authentic funding of the above education outcomes as well as increased funding of tertiary places (along with ensuring the highest quality of tertiary delivery). Having had personal experience of the difficulties in affording further study at various points in my own life, and knowing the ongoing value to society of well trained teachers, I would also support sponsorships for ongoing professional development.


 * Collection of state data on school library staffing, funding, and scheduling, by requiring thorough and consistent collection by Education Queensland? I would support this.


 * A statement in your education platform advocating for well-staffed and funded 21st century school libraries for Australia’s students?

I have great faith in the comprehensiveness of our Education Policy ([]), which I believe covers all the concerns raised by your organisation at a general or implicit level. However, because of this exercise of having to revisit the policy from the specific point of view of library policy, I note that we do not have an overt statement to meet your specialist area. The Greens Party’s grassroots approach means that our policies are created by members who have direct experience in the relevant fields and/or in direct consultation with representative organisations. I am thus happy to commit to addressing this gap whether elected or not by writing a statement and addressing Party processes to bring the library issues to the fore on our policy page, and would welcome the opportunity to consult with the School Library Assoc of Qld after March 24 to ensure we can properly progress this request.

We are requesting you:


 * Question decision makers about diminishing library services in schools in your electorate

I will do so, and would appreciate any support data your Association is able to provide me for the seat of Albert.


 * Insist education decision-makers present the research evidence that underpins their decisions

I believe I am in the habit of doing this in the course of my experience as a teacher, parent and for four years, President of local high school P&C. I will continue to do so, as I try to keep up an active interest outside of election times in policy publications of government departments.

We look forward to receiving your response and seek your assurance that you will not allow the children of your constituents to be disadvantaged, and that you insist that trained teacher-librarians are working in every school library in your electorate.
 * Ensure education authorities implement best practices for library services as outlined in the research. I am happy to give this commitment which dovetails with my personal approach to implementation, as it does with the Greens Party’s consistent call for best practice in all policy decisions.

I highly esteem libraries as a resource, and librarians as mentors, colleagues and guides in my personal, ongoing engagement with knowledge. I support any legislative or funding actions that can ensure the finest delivery of library services to all levels of education. I have the most profound faith in education as the cure for all social ills as well as the path to individual life enjoyment. As a teacher and a mother and, I believe, a compassionate human being who still maintains high hopes and desires for us all as a species, I persevere in my private life as I would strive if elected, to bring the joy of a complete education to every Queensland child.

Kind regards

Petrina Maizey Albert Greens Candidate 0412 771 935