School Library Funding Continues to Lag, Study Says

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Debra Lau Whelan -- School Library Journal, 4/14/2008 2:00:00 PM

Despite the growing recognition that school libraries help boost student achievement, media centers and the librarians who staff them still don’t receive sufficient funding, says a new study by the American Library Association.

In fact, for the first time ever, money for school libraries is decreasing, according to the 2008 "State of America's Libraries" report. Nationally, library expenditures per pupil decreased to $13.67 in 2003-04 from $19.14 in 1999-2000—a drop of almost 30 percent. But since then, the drop has declined even more, to $11.24 in 2007, according to the survey, released each year as part of National Library Week, which takes place this year from April 13 to 19.

The good news is that Americans do acknowledge that media centers help provide the kind of education that’s essential to success in a global society. Studies in 19 states have shown that a strong school library media program helps students learn more and score higher on standardized tests than peers in schools without such programs. And it’s clear that students also recognize this: They make 1.5 billion visits to school library media centers each year, according to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES).

Libraries and their supporters rallied behind the Strengthening Kids’ Interest in Learning and Libraries (SKILLs) Act, introduced in both houses of Congress as a part of the reauthorization of No Child Left Behind. The SKILLs Act calls for a state-certified school library media specialist in all media centers nationwide.

The report also finds that teens are regular users of public libraries. Almost all of the nation’s public libraries now offer programs tailored to the needs and interests of young adults, and more than half employ at least one full-time staff equivalent in this area, a sharp increase in the past decade.

Computer and online games are now integral to many public libraries, and some use gaming to attract new patrons. “Libraries’ response to gaming is just another indication that the profession is alert to the needs and desires of its patrons and is aware of the ways in which this interest interconnects with more traditional services, now and in the future,” says ALA President Loriene Roy.