The Movement to Save School Library Programs

A movement is afoot to save school library programs threatened by closure. Money is tight and state and locally supported school funding is dropping. School districts are looking for places to reduce costs and many believe school libraries and librarians are expendable.

As a former teacher-librarian I can tell you the idea to dispose of school libraries and librarians isn't new. In the 1990s, when I was a high school librarian, some of us were assigned to cover both middle and high schools. Money for books and resources were cut back. Today that district has no librarians, only aides, in its high schools or middle schools.

Last year I volunteered in an elementary school library in this same district. It was a contract negotiation year and in the end elementary librarians were given only a two-year contract and are no longer working with 5th grade classrooms.

I'm not sure administrators, other teachers, or parents understand what a teacher-librarian does. They know he/she doesn't work in a traditional classroom and doesn't grade papers. They think anyone can check out books or read a story, but there is so much more to it than that. To start with libraries are no longer just about books, they are information centers.

Teacher-librarians have two degrees because they need to know how to manage a library and how to teach children. These skills are necessary and substituting an aide with no knowledge in either field is a downgrade in quality education. Teacher-librarians do many things, but here are three of the most important.

• They teach students information skills using a variety of resources, including online. Everyone assumes kids can just jump on the internet, find a site, and be done. The real issue is locating quality information. They need to learn skills that will help them assess if information is accurate.
• Teacher-librarians do a lot of reader's advisory, meaning they help connect students with great books they will love. To do this they are constantly reading children's books and reading magazines that critique new children's books.
• Teacher-librarians collaborate with classroom teachers to help students find resources and teach lessons that enrich and expand on what is happening in the classroom.

Mike Eisenberg is the Dean of the Information School at the University of Washington. In 2007 he gave a speech on the importance of teacher-librarians after cuts were made in school programs. Parents started a petition to save school libraries and their librarians and some gains were made. But the issue persists and we need everyone to make a strong statement on this issue.

So, if you think school libraries and the teacher-librarian-information specialists who serve in them are important, help send that message. Go to this site and sign the petition to the Obama Administration to ensure that every child in America has access to an effective school library education. Then let your school district and state legislature know you value this resource.

I did because teacher-librarians fill a unique position. Ask any child.

 

Comments

[zSpin2001]

06:03 PM on 01/24/2012

A movement is going on in Jackson, Michigan: http://parksidemediacenterproject.com/

[alschuster]

10:59 AM on 01/24/2012

Sorry, Samobar, but the missions of school library media specialists and public librarians are very different.Please see the attached link for clarification:
http://www.cgrove417.org/cghs/kasl/publiclib_schoollib.pdf

[ecaffare]

09:25 AM on 01/24/2012

Many children do not have access to the public/community libraries. Children must depend on an adult to take them to the library. All children, including homeschoolers, have access to a public school library. Compare the circulation records of a community library for its children population to that of the public school library. That will speak for itself.

[alschuster]

11:34 AM on 01/24/2012

Home schooled students should also have acccessto their public school library.

[sabelmouse]

12:47 PM on 01/24/2012

as ecaffare said. children might need to be taken. homeschoolers are very likely to take their children to the library .

[cynthia allen schenk]

08:36 AM on 01/24/2012

I don't agree. I don't see any value in school libraries until the University level. I feel tax payer money should go toward community libraries and children should be encouraged to visit their local libraries. One small community can have several schools all with independent libraires?? Its not cost effective and those resources belong to the tax payers..Not the teachers unions. What about Home Schoolers who pay for these resources but cannot use them..
The resources should be made available to everyone through the community libraries.

[Skye134]

09:28 AM on 01/24/2012

Wow, you certainly didn't read this article; otherwise, you would not have made such an uninformed remark. School librarians are teachers first as well as a librarian. They teach research and information skills, support the curriculum of the school, are technology teachers, etc., etc., etc. If nobody supported education until the university level there would be no need for universities. News flash: they are also cutting public library funds. I bet you are all in favor of building new prisons to hold all those children who are not getting an education.

[cynthia allen schenk]

10:16 AM on 01/24/2012

So the teacher commenting here is suggesting that the trained Librarians at the public libraries cannot teach reserch skills?? The truth is that many larger Libraries have reserch librarians that are far beeter educated to help children and the public with reserch. I am sorry but if this teacher wants to be a librarian then she should do so. There is no need for all of these little libraries within the grade school/high school environment. Perhaps if the teachers would first focus on actually teaching we could get our public schools moving in the right direction instead of being 36th -45th in the World as far as Education scores.We are in our local library 2-3 times per week we never ever see any teachers from the grade or High Schools. I would like to see all of the collective monies put into the public libraries. Everyone deserves to use those resources including private school and home school children

[MrsMicawber]

11:43 AM on 01/24/2012

"Reserch"? "Beeter educated?" I hope you're not home schooling!

[cynthia allen schenk]

04:06 PM on 01/24/2012

Yes I have Home Schooled for years. How mature to comment on typo's. But what is really telling and true to this story is how you a teacher are commenting on Huffpost during teaching hours. Are you the Librarian in the school that you claim children cannot do without?
I have witnessed teachers emailing and buying on the Internet from their classroom instead of teaching. Several of you here during otherwise classroom time. While children are forced to self educate themselves with work books..Oh yes, we know all about it.

[mlaiuppa]

12:41 AM on 01/24/2012

I'm a teacher librarian. Today I gave a class in the Big 6 research process and notetaking to a fifth grade class. I told them it was very important that they keep the papers I give them and remember what I'm teaching them because I am the last teacher librarian they may ever have. The three middle schools in that area have no librarians. The high school does but she is over 65 and I'm sure will be retired by the time these fifth graders get to high school. I expect when she retires, the high school will not replace her.

Budget cuts.

Information literacy is the most important skill these students could learn and the one teacher who has the expertise to instruct them is being eliminated to balance the budget.

Oh, and I'll be excessed from my school this year. Budget cuts.

[sibyl9]

05:25 PM on 01/23/2012

How do you cut libraries before sports?

[mlaiuppa]

12:43 AM on 01/24/2012

Call your local school district, attend a board meeting, contact the local schools.

They do it all the time.

Be careful, though. They'll say they have a librarian but it may be a classified aide and not a true teacher.

Librarians are the first to get the axe. Football coaches the last.

[mbailey205]

12:36 PM on 01/23/2012

When we will realize that we are only shooting ourselves in the foot the more we cut education--especially libraries and qualified staff? Great article Pamela--thanks for giving this the attention it deserves. You bring up a good point about librarians teaching children how to discern information on the Internet. I have worked with many young and older adults who never learned this skill, who think Wikipedia is an acceptable source for a research paper. We may need qualified school librarians now more than ever!

[mlaiuppa]

12:43 AM on 01/24/2012

Please sign the petition, pass the link on to all of your social sites and get everyone you know to sign as well.