For NYC School Libraries, One Program That Won't Go Away

Staff -- School Library Journal, 11/1/1998

An nonprofit educational group in New York City is launching a program next month that it hopes will build on the gains made by Library Power, the national school-library improvement program that stopped awarding new grants last year.

The Astor Center for School Libraries will try to keep the spotlight on New York's media centers, which, despite recent improvements, continue to suffer from underfunding and a lack of official recognition, advocates say. Among other things, the Astor Center will emphasize training--not only for librarians but for administrators and teachers, too, said Sheila Salmon, vice-president of New Visions for Public Schools, which is running the program. It's important to teach non-librarians about school libraries, because to turn around a school library requires the support of key school personnel, Salmon said.

The Astor Center was paid for by a $5-million grant from the Vincent Astor Foundation, which closed its doors last year and gave away its remaining funds. The money came as an endowment, meaning that it sits in trust and that New Visions can spend the interest--now about $200,000 to $250,000 a year.

What's extraordinary about the gift, Salmon said, is that the funds will be there on a permanent basis. "There is at last an ongoing, sustained effort and the possibility of really focusing on what school libraries can do for education,"she said.