A Shotgun Wedding: In Nashville, it's consolidation without collaboration
By Brian Kenney, Editor-in-Chief -- School Library Journal, 12/1/2008
Last month Nashville Mayor Karl Dean shot off a letter to Chris Henson, acting director of the city’s schools, stating that the Nashville Public Library was about to begin the process of consolidating Nashville’s 20-branch public library system with its 132 school libraries, starting with the high school libraries. Donna Nicely, the public library director, was “prepared to go ahead with this endeavor,” and, according to the mayor, had already put together a timeline set to begin in January 2009.
Too bad the mayor forgot to include the other key players. David Fox, chairman of Nashville’s board of education, quickly responded, noting that there had been no meaningful conversations on the plan—which needed the board’s approval to move forward—and suggested that the mayor present his ideas to the school board and administration. Susan Whitworth, the district’s coordinator of school libraries, reportedly knew nothing about the plan, which would place all school libraries under the management of the public library.
This is an example of a leadership style that we’ve become all too familiar with in America: act first, think (and plan) later. At this rate, by next September we can expect to see a photograph of a beaming Mayor Dean, Nicely at his side, standing in a school library under a banner that reads “Mission Accomplished.”
No doubt there’s lots of Nashville-specific political intrigue here. But urban mayors are often looking for ways to take over school districts, and Dean may well have found a point of entry. In these worsening economic times, I bet we’ll hear more about impending school and public library mergers.
Can this type of partnership work? Perhaps. Although I tend to agree with Nashville school librarian and SLJ blogger Diane Chen, who wrote that “school and public libraries are meant to collaborate with each other, not dominate each other.” But for a union to work, a whole lot of serious attention needs to be given to both the process and the end product.
Having a public library director drive the process without any meaningful input from school librarians is lousy management and sure to encourage bad faith. Let’s face it: you can be the best public library administrator in the world and still have absolutely no understanding of school libraries. How about appointing Nicely and Whitworth cochairs of a committee charged with exploring the feasibility of consolidation?
As for the end product, it needs to be clear up front that school libraries have a unique mission—something public librarians often don’t understand. Student achievement is the top priority of the school library, which needs to be led by a certified media specialist, and school library collections exist first and foremost to support the curriculum.
In the past, school districts and public libraries have created successful joint-use facilities—and while these aren’t the same thing as what’s being proposed in Nashville—they’re a good starting point for public/school collaboration. For a sense of what a good school/public library partnership involves, take a look at the joint-use standards (http://tinyurl.com/yprklw) developed by the New Jersey School Library Association.
Are there benefits to such a consolidation? Yes. For starters, materials acquisition, contracts for databases, and a shared online system could benefit from economies of scale. After-school programs could be improved. The city would have one library collection available through many more outlets. Children would grow up learning about one consistent library system.
Dean claims that he’s pushing the new plan because he wants the best school libraries in America. If he does, then he should slide over and let school librarians create them.
