TX School District Gives Boost to Libraries

Even though the Texas Education Agency (TEA) sets rigorous school library standards—up to two certified librarians and two part-time aides are required in large K–12 schools—deficiencies in media centers are common, says Foster, who oversaw the report. Half of Ysleta's 60 schools, for example, don't meet library staffing guidelines, and seven elementary schools and four high schools fall short of TEA's recommendation that each school library stock 9,000 books and other materials.

Libraries in the El Paso school district also lack sufficient Spanish-language collections to serve a large population of non-native English speakers, the study says. The average age of library books in the district is 18 years old, and middle school libraries lack high-interest, low-reading-level materials. "I've talked to counterparts in other districts, "Foster says. "We're all in the same shape."

Part of the problem is the result of site-based management, which gives administrators the authority to allocate their schools' budgets. And with the current emphasis on test scores, schools often cut corners on funding for libraries and the fine arts, district officials told the El Paso Times.

The study, however, identifies collaboration between librarians and classroom teachers as crucial to student achievement. "If we want librarians to collaborate [with teachers] on a daily basis, we have to get them some help," says Foster, who calls the study positive. "It's opened everybody's eyes to where we are, where we should be, and where we need to go."