KY Program to Turn Teachers into Librarians

Walter Minkel -- School Library Journal, 11/1/2001

The University of Kentucky (UK) library school and the Jefferson County (KY) Public Schools hope to turn six classroom teachers into elementary school librarians. The project is similar to many around the country in areas where new library media specialists are needed. But it will differ from others in that the six participants will share three jobs as elementary media specialists while completing the program, with each of them working half time. Kentucky suffers from a significant shortage of school librarians.

Jackie White, an assistant professor in the UK School of Library and Information Science who will supervise the project, says it's being financed with $329,427 in federal funding from the Institute of Museum and Library Services. The six participants' tuition and expenses will be subsidized with grant and school district funds. Teachers enrolling in the program will take most of their classes in Jefferson County and will be mentored by retired media specialists.

Kentucky requires a media specialist and a media center in its K–12 schools, including its elementary schools. With 87 elementary schools, Jefferson County was finding that at times, "we had as many as 15 percent of our elementary librarian jobs unfilled, and we always have some openings."

Large school districts in states with a dearth of library media specialists are increasingly turning to grant programs and cooperative projects with area universities to transform teachers into librarians. Similar projects have been used successfully in Chicago, Detroit, and Maryland.