Librarian on Hold

School started without me this year. Two years ago, our school district had eight certified librarians on eight campuses and well-funded libraries. Massive budget cuts closed one campus last year and cut the librarians down to four, based on longevity, to manage seven school libraries. I was number four. I went from managing one school library for three grades and 600 students to managing two school libraries for four grades on each campus and 1,800 students. This year the District cut the librarians down to two, who manage seven libraries between them now.

It felt odd-- seeing the Facebook posts of co-workers getting their classrooms set up and ready to greet the students. But I felt relief not having to manage two libraries anymore. I felt sad about the fact that schools are dropping librarians like hot potatoes in their scramble to balance their budgets. I feel for the remaining two librarians and the monumental task ahead of them. I wonder if this is their last year, or will the school district finally recognize their value and defend and keep them? It doesn't look promising. The District recently planned a training for a new reading incentive program, and no one thought to invite the librarians.

A school librarian is a

• Teacher of Information Literacy. 
• Media Center Specialist. 
• Proficient in Web and print resources and related technology.
• Student's segue to life-long-learner. 
• Promoter of reading and knowledge.
• Light in the darkness.

A school librarian position is also

• Under-rated.
• Misunderstood.
• Un-mandated. 
• Expendable. 
• On the endangered species list. 

Would you replace a certified, trained classroom teacher with an untrained paraprofessional and expect them to do as good a job as the degreed teacher? Of course not. And yet librarians are being replaced at an alarming rate because someone decided somewhere along the line that the position of a certified librarian was a luxury, not a necessity; that anyone could check out books and shush students.

Did you know that more education and training is required of a school librarian than a classroom teacher? A school librarian today has to have a bachelor's degree, a teaching certificate, a minimum of two years teaching experience, and a master's degree in Library & Information Studies.

Did you know that having a certified librarian and well-equipped library has a measurable impact on student achievement when it comes to test scores? http://www.lrs.org/impact.php

Did you know that school librarians collaborate with teachers, providing resources, lessons, and reinforcement of the teachers' efforts in the classroom?

Did you know that a school librarian spends countless hours of research developing a quality, current collection that supports the school's curriculum, as well as provides a wide variety of materials that appeal to specific age groups' interests in fiction and nonfiction?

Did you know that a school librarian is at the forefront of teaching students information literacy skills, which includes evaluating sources of information and recognizing the difference between fact and opinion, biased and objective reporting, and giving credit for using others' work? These are critical skills in preparing kids for life.

An un-informed, un-educated people are prey to those who would seek to control them through mis-information. School librarians teach students how to find and recognize reliable, trust-worthy sources of information, which are becoming harder and harder to find.

So needed in this time of political rhetoric.

So needed in this Age of Information.