The Audacious Librarian Directory
It's Sunday morning and I'm scrolling through my messages I missed the previous day...a day that was a busy one. I ran across a post that forced me reflect back to a time when I first felt disrespected as a certified school librarian. The memory was so jarring, I thought that maybe it may be good to write about it and finally release my internal frustration.My friend Susan Polos tagged me on Facebook post about a recent EdWeek article called, Why School Librarians Are the Literacy Leaders We Need The author Ariel Sacks discussed how school librarians can make an
indelible impact on student achievement. Through her personal experience, she also discusses the classroom library vs. central school library debate. Manageability, equity, consistency and space are just a couple of points also raised by Sacks where she is spot on. Many people commented on the post but one person still didn't understand the resistance to having both libraries exist in the school setting given that research has proven access to literacy is a must. Below is the response to those who don't understand why classroom libraries can serve as a threat to school libraries and school librarians.
Using Chicago as a example, classroom libraries were first introduced to Chicago Public Schools through the Chicago Reading Initiative. Created in 2001, it was the district's attempt to improve reading scores at Chicago's lowest performing elementary schools. Tim Shanahan, University of Chicago professor, led the program during it's early years of existence. School librarians throughout the district were instructed to provide training to teachers on how to develop their classroom libraries. We were given a powerpoint and instructed to complete full training by a date set on the district calendar. We then had to oversee the organizing and checkout system along with collection of books at the end of the year. Throughout this process, Librarians received ‘ZERO' funds for the central library collection. Librarians in Chicago were enraged that they were expected to provide leadership around an initiative that they were excluded from professionally and financially. They were further insulted by Shanahan as we had to provide 'Library Science 101 Training,' to teachers in our buildings. (If you are a librarian reading this you know how this practice forced on librarians by their principals angers us to the core!)
As the classroom library program grew each year, principals were expected to 'fund' their school's classroom libraries to replace lost books and add more to the collections. Librarians were again requested to provide leadership on the selection of books that students would read and were aligned to the curriculum. To the librarians dismay, principals diverted those funds earmarked for the library to classroom libraries. Why? Vibrant classroom libraries now appeared on the principal's 'walk-thru' where district leadership visited the school with a checklist of expectations, list of things that needed to be improved and praise for observable practices/things that took place in the school. The teachers at my school complained because this was yet another responsibility they were expected to oversee. They further argued that they were not Librarians and that they should be concentrating on teaching and not developing a genre rich classroom library.
What Shanahan did was create a resentful culture in Chicago Public Schools: Angry Librarians who saw their yearly library budgets disappear and angry teachers who were forced to serve as ‘Librarians’ after receiving 'Library Science Training 101.' You can read the summation of the program as outlined by education reporter, Maureen Kelleher - Citywide Reading Initiative: Bold Start, Weak Finish. Reading Specialists were then added and celebrated as the 'Literacy Specialist' in the building. I've always laughed at this labeling because the reading specialists I've worked with throughout my career either openly asked for my support in the selection of books kids would read or quietly studied my practice and applied/used it when presenting to the staff and principal. Sadly, this was the beginning of Chicago’s plan to slowly phase Librarians out of the schools. I am of the belief that one program should NEVER cancel out another in a school just to exist. We are seeing this in Chicago’s poorest neighborhoods to affluent schools in the district. Now many people may talk about Chicago Public Schools negatively, but the district is an an influencer for urban districts across the country. Having been employed in two districts since leaving CPS, their programming, curriculum and practice is often seen in districts that have similar demographics and challenges. I wish my younger, novice, school librarian self would have asked the following questions:
- To be ‘innovative’ in the re-design of the school library program/position, does that mean to district leadership will cut programs to save money?
- Do we save money at the expense of providing an equitable education for all children?
- Describe the scholarly research that was used by district leadership in making the decision to create classroom libraries?
- Does that research include the impact of school libraries and certified school librarians on student achievement?
- If school librarians are included in the training of teachers, why didn't they receive funding for their collections and some type of recognition for 'job well done?'
Chicago (and many other school districts across the country) is now
experiencing a steep decline in reading scores and they are scratching their heads wondering how has this happened when we have classroom libraries. When you take a child’s ability to have free choice in the selection of a book, kids get turned off from reading. When you remove the school's literacy specialist - the school librarian out of the library, children lack that expert that can connect them to the books they are interested in. When you have just a classroom library and no school library/librarian, the collection is often leveled and limits personal choice which is the essential key for children when selecting a book. School Libraries, Certified School Librarians and well stocked libraries are the key to academic success. If this viewpoint is shocking/surprising to you, I recommend that you read Dr. Keith Curry Lance SECOND study on the Impact of School Libraries and Librarians - https://eric.ed.gov/?id=ED445698 and view Dr. Stephen Krashen’s video on the Importance of a well stocked library for Free Voluntary Reading - https://youtu.be/JAui0OGfHQY Here's to the trip down painful memory lane: I feel better. Shoot me a email if you are interesting in reading about more studies on this subject - kcboyd1@gmail.com
As the classroom library program grew each year, principals were expected to 'fund' their school's classroom libraries to replace lost books and add more to the collections. Librarians were again requested to provide leadership on the selection of books that students would read and were aligned to the curriculum. To the librarians dismay, principals diverted those funds earmarked for the library to classroom libraries. Why? Vibrant classroom libraries now appeared on the principal's 'walk-thru' where district leadership visited the school with a checklist of expectations, list of things that needed to be improved and praise for observable practices/things that took place in the school. The teachers at my school complained because this was yet another responsibility they were expected to oversee. They further argued that they were not Librarians and that they should be concentrating on teaching and not developing a genre rich classroom library. 
