The Demise of the School Library

by Marion Peña

    I know what you must be thinking after reading my title to this blog post "The Demise of the School Library." What do I mean by that? Are school libraries doomed? Well, in this blog post I will be discussing how there are many schools across the country that have been cutting their library services for years and how the loss of school libraries and qualified Librarians threaten their existence and a student's right to receive information. In my opinion this is a big mistake and I will explain why.

    I have always believed, like hopefully many of you, that Librarians and libraries provide vital support to students and teachers in our public schools. But for years school districts have let go of qualified Librarians and they have closed school libraries. Some believe that these library closures are due to the growing budget cuts libraries face these days and that going "digital" is better and that schools must "evolve". There is, however, no proof and very little research to support this claim. Some reports actually claim that students who have less "screen time" do better in school.

    Instead we need to focus on what the ramifications are for our students should school libraries continue to close. Students who do not have a school library don't have the necessary skills they need when they move on to college to be able to distinguish the good resources and information. Not having a school library especially affects the younger students who are in their formative years of learning to read. By closing school libraries these young students will not learn to value books and reading. Just the pure fact of being exposed to a space with books promotes learning and an opportunity to increase reading habits.

    Let's not also forget that school libraries often play an important role, not only in the learning and reading process, but libraries also provide a safe space for students who need that quiet time in the day. A place to retreat to with a book during their lunch or recess. Librarians are often on the front lines for children who need this extra support or safe space during their day. Librarians are at times that trusted adult and they have the opportunity to then encourage the lifelong love of learning. So, by closing school libraries you are not only taking away the opportunity for a student to grow in their reading skills and learning skills, you are also possibly taking away that one place that the student enjoys visiting on a daily basis when they need some time to themselves.

    As you can see,  closing our school libraries is a high price to pay for most students and has a bigger impact than most realize. Let's support our school librarians and help school districts who are considering closing these libraries understand the extreme disservice they impose on it's students. School libraries are the "heart" of every school. And nothing functions without a "heart."

Watch these videos that further emphasize my points in this blog post. I hope you enjoy!

Source cited:

"How students are hurt by replacing school librarians and libraries with computers" by Nancy Baily, April 8, 2017