stumblEDucation

Az. Republic: Shrinking budgets mean fewer school librarians

Doesn’t bode well for the wanna-be school librarians of the world. (Like my friend Melissa, who is an elem. librarian in NY this year and so far not next. She is a victim of this same problem.)

Like most other states, Arizona has no dedicated funding for libraries and no law requiring school libraries to exist. The fate of the libraries and librarians is up to district officials.

“Almost any district at any time facing a funding crisis can say, ‘Here’s an easy fix,’ ” said Sara Kelly Johns, president of the American Association of School Librarians. “They’re looking at what programs are mandated instead of what programs are effective,” Johns said.

Research shows that strong library programs improve student test scores. That has caused some states to maintain or even strengthen K-12 libraries. But Johns said more and more school libraries, especially in elementary and middle schools, are taking a hit, many in Western states.