Ms Kathleen Moran:

We thank the committee for inviting us to this discussion. As outlined in our original submission, we believe that school libraries run by qualified school librarians have an integral role to play in providing mental health supports to students. School libraries can foster creativity, flexibility and resilience and can be safeguarded as the communal sanctuary in a school where students from all year groups can meet in a social context for a wide range of co-curricular and extracurricular activities, providing students with access to a valuable, creative, interior world.

Having access to these resources can be a major support in reducing stress and anxiety levels. School libraries can provide books and resources to support young people’s mental and emotional wellbeing. The Read Your Mind initiative brings together an invaluable collection of 113 books on a range of mental health-related topics, all of which are evaluated and recommended by Jigsaw clinicians. Topics covered include anger, anxiety, autism, bullying, social media and much more.

The junior certificate school programme, JCSP, library project has made the full collection available in all 30 JCSP library project schools with access being open to the whole school community. The collection is also more widely available in e-book format via our digital library service.

In 2018, the programme for international student assessment, PISA, report reported that just 9% of 15-year-olds were able to tell the difference between fact and opinion. This is a major concern, as misinformation and disinformation can affect young people’s mental health by creating anxiety, fear, depression or stress. School librarians are qualified to teach students research and information literacy skills, which are essential skills for all students. A significant part of a school librarian’s role is to promote reading for pleasure and literacy engagement. According to the National Literacy Trust, young people who are most engaged in literacy have better mental health wellbeing than their peers. Reading for pleasure can help students relax, sleep better, reduce anxiety and improve empathy.

The role of the school librarian is far deeper than managing a space, teaching the latest technologies and checking out books. The 2019 My World survey found that the presence of one good adult in the lives of 12 to 18-year-olds was the most powerful predictor of good mental health. School librarians are trusted and represent safety for students who are struggling, for LGBTQI+ students, for students with troubled backgrounds or for those having a hard time at school. School libraries offer extra supports to foster and develop student wellbeing by liaising with stakeholders such as Narrative 4 Ireland empathy education, the Amber Flag initiative, BeLonG To youth services and Places of Sanctuary Ireland etc. All JCSP librarians are already trained as Narrative 4 facilitators.

School libraries are not just places of safety, they are aspiration and inspiration spaces too. Every time a trusted adult hands a book to a young person, what they are actually saying is, “Look at the world and all the things you might do in it.” Our librarians encourage students to think, talk, read and write about the things that matter to them and let them know that their dreams should not be limited by their limited experiences. We aim to provide our students with experiences that help them to turn their dreams into aspirations and ultimately to reality.

In addition to supporting student achievement, school libraries provide respite and refuge from the many challenges that many students face in their daily lives, both within and outside of school. To support health and wellbeing, young people require access to a flexible space for reflection and conversation where the stock reflects the health and wellbeing needs of the whole school community and where learning and creativity are encouraged in a nurturing environment.

We recommend the immediate setting up of a school library advisory group with a view to developing a school library strategy for Ireland. This group should be cross-sectoral with representatives from the worlds of library, education, creative arts, literature, social justice, youth mental health etc. This has already been recommended by this committee but has yet to be acted on.

The Government needs to fulfil its 2005 commitment to further expand the JCSP library project. Expansion has been on hold since 2008. In its reports on leaving certificate reform and supports for displaced students, this committee has recommended the expansion of the JCSP digital library service to all schools. Not only has this not happened, but it is likely that the current level of service will be significantly reduced next year due to the retraction of the promised increase in funding for 2022.

The planned review of the JCSP programme has been in place for almost ten years now and has been repeatedly used as the reason, including at the recent meeting of this committee with the Minister for Education, for not considering recommended developments of the JCSP library project services, either physical or digital. We believe that development proposals, both ours and those of the committee, should be reviewed on their merits and not continue to be ignored on this technicality as has been the case for many years now.

I will finish with some words from our students. These are responses to a recent survey of our first-year students. "I like our school library because I can go there after school or during English class and just sit, read and relax and it takes my mind off things and makes me feel less stressed." Another said,"I saw they had an LGBTQ+ book earlier and I felt included". Another comment was, "I like reading because it brings me to a world of imagination". This last note is from a librarian who found a note on his desk from a leaving certificate student before she left the school:

Thank you. Thank you for encouraging young people to read and explore their creative minds. Your library has always been a safe space not only for me but for my friends and for many other students. Thank you.

I thank the committee for listening and will be happy to answer any questions it may have.