Many of you may already have heard of the Canadian study mentioned in this article: Better grades? Thank a librarian. The study shows that better school libraries are linked to student achievement. And how do they decide what a better library is? Whether it has a certified teacher-librarian! Hurrah! They demonstrated that having a certified teacher-librarian is the critical component that makes a library more effective. Bad news for those American schools that are getting rid of their school librarians and replacing them with volunteers, or even worse replacing their libraries with computer labs.