Issue link: http://digital.copcomm.com/i/11437
School librarian positions severely slashed LEFT: Library media teacher Cathy Collins at Montgomery High School in Santa Rosa helps student Meg Healy find books on college scholarships. helping students locate and eval- uate print and online information sources, collaborating with teach- ers on lesson plans and research projects, and much more. “School librarians are respon- How can I access a database for a research paper? Where can I find animals on the endangered species list? What’s a good science fiction novel for English class? These are the kinds of questions students ask library media teachers — or school librarians —every day. But with cutbacks, school librari- ans themselves are becoming an endangered species, much to the detriment of students throughout the U.S. and California. California ranks 51st in the na- tion — behind Puerto Rico — with one librarian to 5,124 students, far below the national average of one library media teacher to 870 stu- dents, according to the California Department of Education. Only about 24 percent of schools in the state have a credentialed library media teacher on campus part time or more, with most of them working in high schools. But that figure will drop, as school districts increasingly shelve school librarian positions to balance the budget. Research has shown that in the absence of poverty, the quality of the school library is the best pre- 22 California Educator | MAY 2010 dictor of reading scores. Douglas Achterman of the University of North Texas confirmed that school libraries positively impact student achievement in a 2008 dissertation titled Haves, Halves and Have-Nots: School L ibraries a nd S tudent Achievement in California. Working behind the scenes Librarians may be known for shushing patrons, but they are getting increasingly vocal about the importance of quality school libraries staffed by qualified pro- fessionals. (A credentialed teach- er librarian has both a California teaching credential and a Cali- fornia teacher librarian services credential.) Cathy Collins, a library media teacher at Montgomery High School in Santa Rosa, believes school libraries are “the great equalizer” for students who lack books and computers at home. Because librarians work “behind the scenes,” the public may not understand the important role they play in education, says Col- lins. This includes helping devel- op an appreciation for literature, sible for teaching information lit- eracy and technology skills that assist our students in becoming globally competitive in the job market,” says Collins, a member of the Santa Rosa Teachers Asso- ciation. “By devaluing informa- tion and technology skills librar- ians teach, we directly impact our students’ future marketability in the workplace. For this reason, it is heartbreaking to see positions being cut left and right.” Her district is considering eliminating seven school librari- an positions, but so far has only eliminated one full-time and one part-time. Collins decided to teach overseas next year because she feared being jobless. Many school districts through- out the state expect classified em- ployees or “clerks” to take on re- sponsibilities once held by library media teachers, which is a mis- take, says Collins. “The roles of clerks and librar- ians are both important — and sometimes overlap — but we need to have both in order to have a strong library program in any school operating to full potential,” she says. “There are some schools where classified staff only work part time or a few hours a week in libraries. It seems an incredible waste of resources to me to spend millions of dollars on our school library facilities and materials, but neglect the most important components of school libraries — certified librarians and classified staff.” Students appreciate having someone like Collins helping them in the library. “Without her, it would be a lot more difficult to know what to look for,” says Julia Gass, a senior. “A librarian can make recommen- dations to help you find what you need; otherwise the information might be here, but you wouldn’t know how to find it.” Seven and a half teacher librarian positions in Riverside Unified School District were eliminated to balance the budget this year. Among those re- ceiving a p ink slip was Della Skannal of Sierra Middle School. Skannal, a member of the Riv- erside City Teachers Association, fears the loss of school librarians will leave members of the “Google Generation” without the skills they need for information literacy and academic success. A March 21 editorial in the Los Angeles Times describes the phenome- non: “ Today’s s tudents sif t through an infinite number of options: books, Internet sources, academic databases. Much of the time they opt for Google, which is like being tossed into the ocean without a paddle.” “Most students feel the first place they should look for some- thing is Google,” says Skannal. “But Google is simply a search engine, and we need to make sure the websites they are explor- Photo by Scott Buschman