The second name change occurred in May 1993.  By this time the emphasis in school libraries had changed.  Librarians were seen less as service providers and collection developers.  They had become curriculum and information specialists who worked with teachers and taught information skills.  The name of the association became the P.E.I. Teacher-Librarians' Association to better reflect the role of the librarian in the school library.
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Advancing the Standards

The early concerns of the Association were not so different from some of the concerns expressed by teacher-librarians today.  Issues brought to the meetings twenty-five years ago included the selection of quality resources, to have professional staffing in school libraries, and to have good programs for students.  The Association worked to promote these issues from the beginning.

Provision of quality resources and staffing in school libraries and the funding to provide them was one of the first concerns to be raised at meetings of the Association.  Almost immediately the executive engaged the assistance of the provincial librarian responsible for school libraries to help them in the development of recommendations to be made to the Teachers ' Federation  and from there to be forwarded to government requesting monies to be provided through the Foundation Program.  As it turned out, the regional school units had the authority to give priority to what the schools stressed as the most important use of the money provided and the the lobbying effort was turned towards having schools recognize that Program funding should be put into school libraries.  It was noted at one of the general meetings that there would be good libraries if there were good librarians.  The membership passed a resolution which recognized that school librarians had been designated as support staff under the new Foundation Program and that such support staff was limited by the number of pupils in the school.  They asked therefore that all schools should employ a full-time resource centre librarian for the first three hundred students, and one additional full-time resource centre librarian for each additional five hundred students or major portion thereof.  This was the start of what was to be a continuous effort by the Association to improve school library service for students on Prince Edward island.

Progress in the area of professional staffing was being made, but then in 1980-81 there was a 46% drop in the number of full time librarians in school libraries on P.E.I.  The Association spoke out against this.  In May of 1981 they presented a brief to the Ministerial Advisory Committee on Curriculum expressing their concern with the declining number of full time librarians and the declining library budgets, urging the committee to seriously consider the role of school libraries in their deliberations.   When the report came out it contained no mention of school libraries.   This was a major disappointment.  However, two years later the Association again presented a brief outlining the importance of and the need for libraries and librarians in the Island's schools.  The results were different this time.  When the School System Review Commission presented the results of its study, known as the Paquette report, it gave a favourable response to the need for library services in schools, including the recommendation for immediate action in the development of a policy, guidelines, procedures and standards for school libraries.   In the 1987-88 school year we began to see the first of the outside the ratio positions given to school libraries. By 1990 thirteen new positions had been added and have been maintained.  Also developed were the School Library Policy Statement which was released in 1989 and, three years later, the School Library Resource Centre Guidelines. 

The Association had a concern for the development of excellent library instructional programs and turned its attention in this direction.  They supported the work of the revived Library Curriculum Committee and its new mandate to develop a library skills continuum.  Members of the Association gave considerable personal time and effort to working towards this goal.  The result was the completion of the Information Skills Continuum in 1988.  This has meant improved library programs in our schools.

To further support the development of instructional programs and co-operative program planning and teaching, speakers were sought to address this area.  The Association invited Ted Anderson from the Middlesex (Ontario) County Board of Education to speak at the annual meeting in May 1991.  Mr. Anderson spoke on the role of the principal in creating effective school library programs.  He emphasized the importance of resource based learning and co-operative planning with teachers.  In 1993 the Association cooperated with the provincial Library Curriculum Committee to bring Jane Thornley to P.E.I. to do a one day workshop on cooperative planning and teaching for high school teacher-librarians and their principals.  These speakers presented new insights for teacher-librarians and for their principals.

Further efforts to advance the standards of school libraries included the presentation of briefs before the P.E.I. Task Force on Education in 1991 and before the Committees studying the senior high schools and the junior high schools in the province.  Each of these efforts saw positive results with the importance of the role of school library program being emphasized in all committee reports. Then, in 1994, the Department of Education established four Standing Committees on Curriculum, one at each level from primary to senior high school.  The Association had some concern that teacher-librarians were not represented on these committees.  It was felt that teacher-librarians were at the centre of curriculum expertise in the schools.  A meeting with the Director of English  Programs and Services resulted with a teacher-librarian being included in the makeup of each of the committees.  At the same meeting the need for additional professional development was discussed, resulting in a commitment for at least an annual meeting of departmental staff and teacher-librarians with the department providing substitutes for this full day workshop.  This was an important commitment as it allowed teacher-librarians to keep informed of new programs and resources.

It has to be recognized that the Association's efforts are not solely responsible for the progress made in school libraries but they have played an important role.  The Association has always tried to work cooperatively with the School Library Consultant and Departmental committees to bring about positive change. It was believed that a non-adversarial but  consistent and continuous presence would advance the standards for school libraries.

From the beginning the Association worked towards improving the qualifications of its membership.  They provided ongoing professional development in the form of workshops and speakers at the general meetings.   They worked closely with the staff from Provincial Libraries.  Within the first year the Association had established an Education Committee to look at the upgrading of school library staff who did not have a degree in library science.  A questionnaire aimed at the membership showed the need for summer school courses and for the availability of winter credits as well.  The committee investigated the possibilities for in-service and certification. In 1977 the Committee was given two broad objectives: to seek establishment of a School Librarian Specialist Certification procedure exclusive of the B.L.S. M.L.S. route and to establish some sort of a library education program which would lead up to the specialist certificate.  They made presentations to the P.E.I. Certification Committee, the Teachers' Federation and the Faculty of Education at the University of P.E.I.  All expressed interest and encouragement.  A provincial Library Curriculum Committee was formed by the Department of Education and it continued to work towards this end. This committee had the full support and cooperation of the Association.   Summer courses were offered by the University of P.E.I. during the summers of 1988 and 1989.  In April 1990 a Diploma in School Librarianship was established and the first eleven teacher-librarians received their diplomas in 1992.  The work began almost immediately to have the program offered again and in 1996 the university began re-offering the library diploma program courses.
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Establishing Channels of Communication

From year one the Association proceeded on the premise that there was a need for school librarians to talk to and support one another, both within the province and across the country.  In the early years the Association paid for a membership in the Canadian Library Association and the Canadian School Library Association for its president.  They subsidized the president's attendance at the annual C.L.A. conference and approached the Federation and the Department of Education for additional funding. They recognized the importance of maintaining these contacts and having their president as informed as possible regarding school library issues.  As the cost of membership in the C.L.A. rose it became impossible for the Association to pay for the President's personal membership.  They did however continue to subsidize his attendance at the conference whenever the president was able to attend and they worked at developing an exchange of publications to maintain the informational links.  In the last three years there has also been an exchange of information with the newly formed Association of Teacher-Librarians of Canada although the P.E.I.T.L.A. does not maintain a membership in their association or attend their conferences. 

Within the province the general meetings and the professional development sessions provided teacher-librarians with a means of staying in touch.  Meetings have often been arranged so that members could share lunch or an evening meal together and allowing time for more informal links to develop.   In addition to direct contact the Association produced a newsletter. For a number of years the School Library Consultant produced the School Library Newsletter.  When she was no longer able to continue with publication, the Association took over and rotated the publication of a newsletter among its membership in different administrative units.  In 1990 there was a push for something more substantial and the first issue of The P.E.I. School Library Advocate was published. It incorporated the local news aspect of the newsletter but also gave the membership an additional means for professional development with the publication of important articles from other school library journals as well as original articles.  It included regular columns from the president, the provincial consultants and the director of Provincial Libraries.  Thus it carried out the Association's objective of establishing channels of communication among school librarians and with the Department of Education.

The Association also felt the need to open and maintain communication with school principals and other educational administrators.  Principals were encouraged to become members of the association and the school librarians were encouraged to maintain open lines of communication with the principals of their schools.  To express their appreciation to administrators who were supportive of school library programs the Association developed the Distinguished Service Award for Administrators and in 1991 presented the first award to Don Scott, Director of Provincial Libraries .  Subsequent recipients have included school library consultants, school board administrators and a high school principal.

The Future