As of Monday this week the House Standing Committee on Education and Training was disbanded.  Subsequently, the Inquiry into School Libraries and Teacher Librarians in Australian Schools is in “limbo.”  The last public hearing was in Perth (13 July) and all transcripts are available at http://www.aph.gov.au/house/committee/edt/schoollibraries/hearings.htm But, the final report is now “on hold” until after the election.

So, what is likely to happen?  After the outcome of the election -

• option 1: the Inquiry will be re-instated;
• option 2: the Inquiry will be re-instated, but with different terms of reference;
• option 3 – the Inquiry will not continue.

All options are dependent on the political party elected to govern and the Minister of Education of the governing party.

Where to from here?  Effectively, we have between now and 21 August to keep the “spirit of the Inquiry” alive in the minds of MPs so option 1 can be a reality.

I’ve posted some suggestions at ASLA Online so everyone can be an advocate for school libraries, especially for the next 5 weeks.  Check out my post – Federal Election 2010 School Library Advocacy.