GUEST OPINION: Don't leave students without librarians

<p>Many schools have a room that they call a school library, but it may very well have no budget, no online databases, no teacher librarian and no new and engaging books. Its doors may even be closed.</p><p>All across the state, teacher librarians — credentialed teachers with a second credential — are being removed from libraries and sent back to classrooms or into retirement. In a recent Press Democrat article (“SR school libraries face ax,” Oct. 27), Santa Rosa school board member Tad Wakefield said he was “very comfortable” in returning the last seven Santa Rosa teacher librarians back to the classroom because he thinks that “kids use technology on their own” and that libraries are used only for “hanging out.” </p><p>Contrary to Wakefield’s sentiment, a strong school library — one staffed by the team of teacher librarian and support clerk — is a dynamic learning center where students learn new research skills, practice skills they learn in class, research information they need for assignments and find good books to read. It is a misconception that all the answers students need can be found on the Internet. The Internet is a big, unorganized, unsupervised place, and students need guidance now more than ever. With instruction from a teacher librarian, students learn how to navigate this vast world of information while practicing safety, applying ethical standards and learning responsible research practices.</p><p>Libraries are a wise investment. School librarians are very efficient at distributing small amounts of resources to large numbers of clients, instructing students in school as well as working with their classroom colleagues to design effective lessons using 21st century skills. These skills as identified by the Partnership for 21st Century Skills as those needed “to ensure every child’s success as citizens and workers in the 21st century.” <NO1>The p<NO><NO1>artnership encourages the infusion of 21st century skills into education by providing tools and resources to help facilitate and drive change. Teacher librarians are the perfect agents for this change.<NO></p><p>In their teacher librarian, teachers quickly discover an expert partner to help them wade through the vast information explosion, surf the Internet and locate resources for their entire class or for that one special needs child. Schools with a teacher librarian on board have an on-site professional to turn to whose job it is to broker information in all of its traditional and emerging formats.</p><p>In a school library, with a teacher librarian in place, each and every child’s need for information and inspiration is met. Slow readers have books to choose that pique their interests and allow them to practice skills they need to become better readers. At-risk students find information that helps them make appropriate choices. GATE students finally find a place that serves their myriad needs and interests, and bilingual children have a place to practice their new language.</p><p>Research supports the fact that providing access to up-to-date, relevant, enticing books, appropriate professional staffing and collaborative planning and teaching increases student achievement and literacy development. The research of Doug Achterman, a library media specialist in the South Bay, unequivocally states: “California public schools with strong school library programs outperform those without such programs on the state’s STAR tests.”</p><p>With so many Santa Rosa public schools in need of assistance, it pays to look at successful research that can help our children succeed. I urge parents to attend the budget meetings, write letters and call to insist that this school board take a serious look at the library cuts suggested. All of our children deserve no less than the best education possible, and having access to an open library and the services of a teacher librarian is a vital part of that education. </p><p><i>Connie Williams is president of the California School Library Association. She is a teacher librarian and a resident of Petaluma.</i></p>