Some of my most vivid and joyful memories from childhood are those of time spent in libraries. School and public libraries supplied me with what seemed like an endless supply of books that I would not have had otherwise in my low-income household. These institutions also provided me access to computers and the internet and made me aware of all that technology has to offer. Of the two, it was the school library that was more influential to me for two reasons: one, as elementary students, we were all required to visit it with our class once a week; two, because it was located on campus and opened before, during, and after school Monday through Friday, I could and did visit it more frequently. Now, my position as a Library/Media Assistant has given me a new perspective on school libraries that, time and time again, leads me to question what more I can do to get students, educators, and parents to be more enthusiastic about them.

School Libraries Today

The reality today is that some school libraries are struggling. Budget cuts have reduced library resources, services, and staff. In this century, the public school teacher librarian profession has experienced a 19% loss (Lance, 2018). Teacher librarians have increasingly found their positions eliminated or modified, with one of the reasons given by some school administrators being their perception of the role as obsolete (Lance et al., 2023). Without adequate knowledge and comprehension of the purpose and value of teacher librarians, school district officials could continue making decisions that are detrimental to school libraries and students. Research has shown “a positive correlation between the literacy achievement of students who attend schools with full-time, professional school librarians and well-stocked libraries compared to students whose schools do not have access to such resources” (Heubeck, 2023). Despite the evidence of the benefits of providing ample funds and support to school libraries, there are about 25,000 public schools that do not have a library or have a library but no librarian (ALA, n.d.).

Some school libraries are faring better than others. School districts that invest in their libraries are reaping the benefits of student learning and academic success. One case is the school district of Lumberton, Texas, which supported their libraries with new technologies that enabled libraries to improve their services and better engage and educate students, becoming more relevant and useful in their eyes and those of their teachers (Burroughs, 2022). It is necessary changes such as that that occurred in Lumberton, that will ensure the effectiveness of school libraries in the long term.

The Future of School Libraries

As described in Michael E. Casey and Laura C. Savastinuk’s Library 2.0: A Guide to Participatory Library Service (2007), libraries must keep evolving to maintain or expand their user base. The ideal way to do this is through recurring user evaluations of its resources and services that can then be used to guide them in implementing changes. School libraries must make efforts to listen to their users and to take proper action to keep from being viewed as obsolete. With the help of student and teacher input, school librarians and paraprofessionals can present a stronger case to district decision-makers on the need to invest rather than divest in these worthwhile institutions.