Employing School Librarians: What Decision-Makers Tell Us

Abstract

Although research has shown that having a school librarian benefits students, librarian positions are being cut in schools across the U.S. SLIDE — The School Librarian Investigation: Decline or Evolution? — examined federal data on school library staffing and interviewed 49 district leaders about their decisions to eliminate or add librarian positions. Keith Curry Lance, Debra E. Kachel, and Caitlin Gerrity report that of 54 total decisions leaders made related to changes in librarian staffing, 28 resulted in librarian increases and 26 resulted in librarian decreases. Decisions to add or eliminate positions were generally related to changes in district priorities. Although leaders expressed that they value librarians’ role in providing information literacy instruction and support and had positive experiences with librarians, some had to allocate resources to other positions. Others had trouble finding librarians with the necessary qualifications. When making staffing decisions, leaders need to consider what benefits librarians offer and how to meet student and staff needs for information and media literacy.