The Demise of School Libraries

 

    School libraries are facing some of their most challenging times, as staffing shortages, lack of funding, and aging collections add to the ever-present issues that school librarians were already facing. Unlike a Public Library, which is often the center of a community, school libraries have to fight to continually justify their existence, both to administration and teaching staff they support. They are also often the target of parent ire when collection items are in question. All this struggle, while trying to remain technologically relevant, and help their young patrons become the best information users they can be.

    During Covid times, and the associated budget cuts, many school librarians were reaching into their own pockets to fund collection and programming needs, as the money was either not there, or the administrative procedure had become far too cumbersome to deal with. It was reported in the study "The Personal Cost of Small Budgets & Underfunded Libraries: Out-of-Pocket Spending by School Librarians during COVID-19", that librarians were spending their own money on "books, library decorations, prizes for students, arts and crafts, office supplies, cleaning supplies, and technology, apps or learning resources". This is obviously not a sustainable system, so what can school librarians do?

    School Librarians must work hard to advocate for the library and demonstrate the benefits to students. Lack of these services would hit marginalized children the hardest, as those in the low-income, disabled, and minority populations experience the greatest inequity when access to library materials and technology are lost. They must partner with teachers to become an invaluable support to the curriculum and show that they are a place where lifelong skills can be learned. Through staff and administrative partnership, programs can be enhanced, technology necessary for skill building can be improved, and collections can be modernized. 

    The following resources can help you become your library's best advocate and put a plan in place to solve many of the problems causing the demise of school libraries today.

How to Effectively Advocate for your School Library • The Trapped Librarian

Saving School Libraries: How Technology and Innovation Help Them Stay Relevant - The Edvocate (theedadvocate.org)

https://login.ezproxy.palomar.edu/login?auth=shibboleth&url=https://search-ebscohost-com.ezproxy.palomar.edu/login.aspx?direct=true&db=eric&AN=EJ1367654&site=ehost-live&scope=site

This video, produced for bringing attention to the plight of Oregon school libraries, is quite powerful. 

Works Cited:

Kammer, Jenna, et al. “The Personal Cost of Small Budgets & Underfunded Libraries: Out-of-Pocket Spending             by School Librarians during COVID-19.” School Library Research, vol. 25, Jan. 2022. EBSCOhost,                    search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=eric&AN=EJ1362293&site=ehost-live&scope=site.