CLA: September 19, 2007
This morning, Premier Dalton McGuinty announced his party's plans to invest $120 million over four years into school libraries – $20 million towards books and $10 million on staff each year. This is the first time any government has earmarked funds for staffing. The Ontario School Library Association has expressed its pleasure at the proposal and at the acknowledgment the Premier makes in his statements about the import of school libraries in the success of Ontario students.
The announcement estimates that 1.7 million new books will be added to libraries each year, 430 per school. The announcement indicates that Indigo booksellers have agreed to offer books at cost as part of the overall implementation. Details on how collection purchasing and new staff deployment will be handled must await the outcome of the October 10 election. OSLA has offered its help in dealing with issues surrounding such a rollout. "It is the largest investment in school libraries in a generation," said Mr. McGuinty.
