As a mother I think about the benefit of school libraries often and I envision them as kind of being the heart of a school as it is a place where students can get away from everything to study or relax. I especially think it is important the older they get since their studies comprise of assignments that require the use of books that they may not want to purchase or that maybe your family can't afford to purchase. Children also benefit from what a librarian can give them which is a source that can direct and help them when they are researching for a project or just looking for a book to read. Sadly, from what my colleagues and friends who work in the school system say and from what I have read in articles like the one above the reality is that because of budget cuts or lack of funding schools are either cutting library programs entirely from their schools or drastically cutting their staff to being only one or maybe two library technicians and librarians working to keep the program going.
Now you may wonder if there was funding to help stop the demise of school libraries how is the library department a benefit or help to the children and teens attending the school? Firstly, the librarian's job is to understand literature and to understand technology so combine those two together and the librarian can not only help the teachers in the classroom plan curriculums but they can help them research and find the best products and curriculums out there. (Freeman 2) Librarians also know how to cite resources that middle and high school students will use for projects or assignments and they have the skills to teach them how to use these skills which is something they will need all the way into college and beyond. (Freeman 2) The librarian at my daugther's school checked books out and in but she also was constantly updating our books and textbooks to fit the current school standards, she planned weekly storytimes for the children and during those times she showed them that reading can be fun and can open a whole new world for them, but I think the greatest benefit she had was being to help guide me in finding just the right books for my daugther's reading level and interest. In the end the mindset and idea of what the school library and the librarian do or can do for the school needs to change as their jobs are no longer the same as they used to be they can be an assest to any school because they have more to offer then just checking out and checking in books for the children to read.
Watch this video "School Libraries Matter" to understand why school libraries need to be saved.
References
Capstone
Publisher. (2014, October 22). School libraries matter: The changing
role of the school librarian. Retrieved from
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6eilZJp3_h8
Freeman, J.
(2014). Beyond the stacks: how librarians support students and
schools. American Educator, 38(4), 32+. Retrieved from
http://ic.galegroup.com/ic/ovic/AcademicJournalsDetailsPage/AcademicJournalsDetailsWindow?failOverType=&query=&prodId=OVIC&windowstate=normal&contentModules=&display-query=&mode=view&displayGroupName=Journals&limiter=&currPage=&disableHighlighting=false&displayGroups=&sortBy=&search_within_results=&p=OVIC&action=e&catId=&activityType=&scanId=&documentId=GALE%7CA395165976&source=Bookmark&u=cclc_palomar&jsid=a2d78d7df09c626f4c7d7cf469eb7988
Santos, F.
(2011, June 24). In lean times, schools squeeze out librarians. New
York Times. Retrieved from
http://www.nytimes.com.prozy.palomar.edu/2011/06/25/nyregion/schools-eliminating-librarians-as-budgets-shrink.html?_r=0
