It’s a story that has largely slipped under the radar. School libraries are being
Cut…
Spokane Eliminates School Librarians, Continuing Trend of Disappearing School Libraries
and Cut…
Librarians cut from San Jose's Alum Rock School District
and Cut...
Where have Iowa's teacher-librarians gone? State has 40 percent fewer librarians than 20 years ago
and Cut some more…
In L.A. Unified elementary schools, library books could be off-limits to many students
and more...and more... Not only are school library budgets being cut, but qualified school librarians are themselves becoming increasingly rare, and those that are still around are finding themselves spread among multiple buildings or even districts, or made irrelevant altogether as districts replace them with uncertified paraeducators or even shuttering their libraries altogether, relying on teachers’ classroom libraries to be sufficient instead.
I’m a school librarian, and I am the only certified one in my district. I cover three buildings. I’m fortunate in my situation that I have good reliable paraeducators working in each library. Some of my colleagues are not so fortunate.
So what? Isn’t everything on computer these days anyway?
Believe it or not, I actually had this question asked of me when I was getting my degree. The answer is a resounding NO. While students may get a lot of their information on the internet these days, when it comes to reading for pleasure, they want physical books. Studies are showing that e-books have leveled off in popularity, and many people want that book in their hands, not a tablet or e-reader. And even in nonfiction, there are students that NEED physical books for various reasons (one student I know, for example, has trouble with comprehension when reading on a screen, but does much better when he can focus on a physical page in front of him).
Wait. Degree? You need a degree to be a librarian? Don’t you guys just shelve books?
[Shrill screaming and sounds of head banging repeatedly on desk]
….Ahem. Well, yes, that’s a common misconception. Librarians just sit at a desk all day and read books and occasionally bestir themselves to push a cart full of books around and shelve a few of them. Oh, and the shushing. Everyone knows that most of a librarian’s job is to shush people, right? Usually while looking sternly over their glasses?
Yes, a degree is generally a necessity for full librarianship. In the case of my state, to be a teacher librarian (which is what school librarians are), you need to have a teaching degree and valid teaching license, and then top that off with enough library studies courses to get the necessary endorsements added to your license. Of course, by the time you’ve got enough courses under your belt to get, for example, a K-8 or 5-12 school library endorsement, it’s only 6 more credits to complete the full Masters degree, so you might as well just finish the program and get that K-12 endorsement.
But I hope that gives folks some idea of the level of training and knowledge that’s needed. As for why it’s needed, well, in a school environment here is just a sampling of things that teacher librarians do (by no means comprehensive):
- Collection Management (What books do we need? Can we afford that database? What about weeding older titles? Is this book appropriate? Does that book fit in the curriculum? To genrefy or not to genrefy? OMG my budget is WHAT??? And so on.)
- Collaboration (You’ve got a unit coming up that includes a research project? No problem! When is a good time for me to pop by your classroom and showcase the databases we have access to and do a lesson on best research practices?)
- Reader Advisory (Sorry, all the Diary of a Wimpy Kid books are checked out. Have you ever read any of Patterson’s Middle School or I-funny books?)
- Book fairs / author visits / literacy events (pretty self-explanatory, I hope.)
- Tech (school libraries are often referred to as “media centers”. Librarians are often on the forefront in introducing new tech to schools)
That’s just a very abbreviated and far-from-complete list, but you get the idea.
In fact, there is substantial research out there that indicates, even when controlling for other factors, having a certified teacher librarian on staff improves student performance in school. Not only that, but students from those schools that continue on to college perform better and have lower drop-out rates.
Anyway, I think I’ve made my point and have rambled long enough. I just wanted to bring this often-under-the-radar side effect of school budget cuts.