DE School Libraries Enjoy Extra Cash
New law earmarks $1 million to purchase materials for every Delaware K–12 school media center
By Walter Minkel -- School Library Journal, 6/1/2004
The funds—which total $5,155 per school—are part of a $9 million education bill signed by Gov. Ruth Ann Minner on April 15. The remaining $8 million will be given to principals to purchase computer hardware, software, and textbooks. Rather than wait until July, Minner decided to release the funds immediately, allowing school librarians to start ordering materials in May.
The measure was cosponsored by Sen. Nancy Cook and Rep. Joseph DiPinto, cochairs of the state legislature's Joint Finance Committee, who are well known as school library supporters. "[The bill] will make a tremendous difference for our school libraries, which are a valuable resource for our students," Cook says.
Sharon Brubaker, a media specialist at Henry M. Brader Elementary School in Newark, says, "Now I can fill in the holes in the collection."
Peggy Dillner, a former school librarian and member of the Governor's Task Force on School Libraries, says librarians have already started placing orders on materials that support state standards.
Dillner says the task force has hired Ross Todd, a professor at Rutgers University's School of Communication, Information and Library Studies, to create a state survey that measures media specialists' performance. Todd will then identify exemplary library media centers, which will in turn enter a program to mentor other school libraries.
