What role full-time secondary school librarians play in closing the attainment gap.

Research commissioned by the Scottish Library and Information Council in 2013 aimed to both identify and critically evaluate the effect of school libraries. It used both UK and international evidence from 2001 onwards, linking school libraries to educational achievement, attainment and learning in secondary education. The findings revealed a considerable body of international evidence showing that school libraries impact on: higher test or exam scores equating to academic attainment; successful curriculum or learning outcomes, including information literacy; and positive attitudes towards learning. A qualified, full-time librarian, who is proactive and has managerial status was one of a number of elements identified by the report as contributing to the impact on learning. The full report can be found on the Scottish Library and Information Council's website at: https://scottishlibraries.org/research-skills/impact-of-school-libraries/ (Williams, D., Wavell, C. & Morrison, K. (2013). Impact of School Libraries on Learning: Critical review of published evidence to inform the work of the Scottish education community. Aberdeen: Robert Gordon University Institute for Management, Governance & Society)
Research more recently commissioned by the National Literacy Trust also shows that students from lower socio-economic backgrounds are more likely than their peers to use their school library for both learning and leisure and are shown to benefit more from strong library programmes. The report is available on the National Literacy Trust's website at: https://literacytrust.org.uk/research-services/research-reports/school-libraries-literature-review-current-provision-and-evidence-impact-2017/ (Teravainen, A. & Clark, C. (2017). School Libraries: A literature review of current provision and evidence of impact. London: National Literacy Trust)