Des Moines Parents Sub for Librarians

Parent volunteers are learning there's more to a librarian's job than meets the eye

By Lauren Barack -- School Library Journal, 5/1/2005

Unwilling to see their children's libraries close, parents in Des Moines, IA, rallied volunteers to staff the school media centers—with themselves.

"I really cannot thank the parents enough who have stepped up," says Linda Lane, deputy superintendent of Des Moines public schools.

Because of draconian budget cuts for the 2004–2005 school year, public schools across Des Moines were forced to cut librarian positions, among other staff jobs, throughout the district. But libraries in the district's middle schools suffered the worst. Of the 10 middle schools, nine had full-time librarians during the 2003–2004 school year. According to Dale Vande Harr, coordinator of libraries and information services for Des Moines public schools, only one of these schools now has a full-time librarian. Two schools are grateful for their half-time library staff. "It's a very serious situation," he says.

It's so serious that checkout rates have plummeted by 31 percent in the middle schools, Vande Harr says. During the first six months of the 2003–2004 school year, students checked out a total of 32,057 books. They took out only 21,913 books during the same period this year. "I don't know what people thought would happen by taking out our librarians," Vande Harr says. "But this happened."

While Lane is grateful to the parents who volunteered their time, she's aggravated, too. She knows that a volunteer doesn't have a media specialist's training. "Schools shouldn't be made dependent on our parents for jobs that should be there," she says. One proposed solution reflects the fact that each school is assigned staffing points based on enrollment. "Schools can trade in points," Lane explains, "and give up other positions for librarians."

Parent pressure could make that happen. The loss of librarians gave parents who thought library work meant little more than stamping due dates on checkout slips a rude awakening. "Parents are seeing all the things that a librarian can and does do," says Sarah Bolten, president of Hanawalt Elementary School's PTA. "Our volunteers can't take the place of a library professional."

Although her two children are still too young for middle school, Bolten is worried about what the cuts will mean for her kids' future education. "I think we're going to have to make changes to find room in the budget," she says. "Maybe tweak bus schedules, or privatize areas that don't need to be overseen by the district. But this shouldn't have to be a choice."