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ola_tl_12.2 The Teaching Librarian volume 12, no. 2 25 and students has resulted in the growth of the collection. Research by Ken Haycock, demonstrates that larger collections lead to higher achievement for students and higher spending on resources lead to increased reading scores. At Saint Brigid, we have been able to support Haycock's findings - improved EQAO scores in 2003/2004 have been one indication of our success. A wise principal once told me that there are two people who can facilitate change within a school - the principal and the teacher- librarian. And as Keith Curry Lance says, "students succeed when the library media specialist [teacher-librarian] is a consultant to, a colleague with, and a teacher of other teachers." As St. Brigid's teacher-librarian for the past five years, I've seen first-hand how collaboration between a teacher-librarian and classroom teachers, supported by the leadership of capable principals, can produce positive results for everyone involved. Yes, improved EQAO test scores are evidence of our success. More importantly, the students at Saint Brigid now come to the library searching for authors or specific series and can be heard discussing literature with their friends and recommending books to their classmates. During my time at Saint Brigid, it has been my pleasure to be a member of an excellent staff led by two very empowering principals. Working as a team, we were instrumental in providing our students with literacy practices and opportunities that improved their reading skills. ❚ enhancing literacy was the goal of our collaboration and so, once again, the students were the beneficiaries. As other teachers witnessed these evolving partnerships, new recruits joined the cause. The new principal had the foresight to make me a member of both the junior and the intermediate teams, which gave me greater scope for collaborative efforts. Collectively, we planned the language programmes for all the grades, implementing book talks - natural outcomes of FVR - as well as other literary adventures such as book writing for specific audiences and literature circles. Again, the students blossomed and their literacy skills soared. The school library collection had to be updated to keep abreast of the children's ever- expanding desire to obtain new and varied reading material. As FVR took hold in the Junior and Intermediate classrooms, the teachers were able to inform me of the titles, authors and interests that were being discussed and reviewed in their classrooms. This information was invaluable when I purchased new materials for the collection. At different times, various staff members accompanied me on buying trips. In addition to resources for students, these teachers also suggested professional development titles. We've worked together and this combination of my professional judgment and input from staff Story of Literacy @ Saint Brigid LITER A C Y A N D R EA D IN G @ y ou r lib ra ry ® Powering Achievement: School Library Media Programs Make a Difference; The Evidence, second edition. Keith Curry- Lance and David V. Loertscher. Hi Willow Research and Publishing, 2002. 0-931510-84-8. $35.64 The Power of Reading: Insights from the Research, second edition. Stephen D. Krashen. Libraries Unlimited, 2004. 1-59159-169-9. $33.00 Available from the OLAStore.