Demise of the School Library

The incorporation of technology into the services and operation of libraries has expanded

the capabilities of these wondrous places to provide its visitors with a wealth of knowledge

and resources. Processes which previously took hours, such as research using the card

catalog, can now be done in a third of the time as library catalogs are made available online.

Unfortunately, the progress of technology is a double-edged sword. As information becomes

more available online, people have begun to view libraries as obsolete and have forsaken the

quiet space in the library for the immediacy of their personal computers and smartphones.

The same holds true for school libraries. Difficult decisions over funding have led

administrators to begin to view the school library as more of a luxury than a necessity. As

funding in schools and districts suffers from the effects of diminished economies and

political turmoil, so too do the services and resources in school libraries (Anderson, p.16).

*Weiss, Dale- TEACHING BUDGET CUTS TO THIRD GRADERS

One of the first parts of the library budget that a school district cuts, when faced with
challenges, is the staff. Librarians and media assistants, which handle the day to day

processes of the library such as teaching, circulation, processing, and cataloging, are

extremely important to the operation of school libraries, especially in smaller districts or

schools where most of the technical processes are done in house. The loss of staff can greatly

affect all of the connected schools and libraries and leave students without access to

materials or the library itself as one individual is assigned to cover multiple locations or

larger workloads (Anderson, p.17).  

References:

Anderson, Mary Alice. “What Happens When Media Positions Are Cut?” Library Media Connection, vol. 29, no. 6, May 2011, pp. 16–18. EBSCOhost, search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=a9h&AN=60938159&site=ehost-live&scope=site.

News, WHYY. “Delaware's Endangered Education Species -- the School Librarian.” YouTube, WHYY News, 30 June 2017, www.youtube.com/watch?v=4kJ2Lidg-Wo.

Weiss, Dale. “TEACHING BUDGET CUTS TO THIRD GRADERS.” Rethinking Schools, 2017, www.rethinkingschools.org/articles/teaching-budget-cuts-to-third-graders.