California DOE Calls for Public Comment on First School Library Standards

California is developing statewide school library standards for the first time—and a draft document is available for public comment until December 18.

Barbara Jeffus

Last week, Jack O’Connell, the state’s superintendent of public instruction, released an initial draft of the Model School Library Standards for the state’s public schools, which outlines detailed library standards for grades K–12 and has a strong emphasis on 21st century skills, explains Barbara Jeffus, a school library consultant for California’s department of education who helped draft the document. The state does not mandate certified teacher-librarians for any grade.

Although California published a document in 1968 called School Libraries in California, it only focused on school library conditions. So far, the state had never developed standards, until the process began last year, when the California School Library Association (CSLA) sent a letter to O’Connell about the need for such a document—and he agreed, asking the state board of education for approval to develop it. 

“Students need to know how to access, evaluate, and use information effectively so they can become information literate,” O’Connell said in a statement, explaining that the standards are designed to help students prepare for success in this competitive global economy. “We want to ensure that these standards help students to learn and work with 21st century skills, so they may apply responsible research practices, act with respect for others when using digital devices, and continue to grow as life-long learners.”

This isn’t the first time CSLA has tried to nudge the state to develop school library standards. A few years ago, the association sponsored a bill in the state legislature asking for funding to support a comprehensive project to put standards in place, but Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger vetoed the bill during the 2005–2006 legislative year.

Undeterred, the school library community uncovered some obscure 30-year-old language in the state’s Education Code (Section 18101) that charged the state board of education (SBE) with developing such standards. “SBE shall adopt standards, rules and regulations for school library services,” it read.

California’s already beleaguered school library program has taken another blow from recent cuts in education, with proposals of massive layoffs of certified media specialists across the state. Most recently, Santa Rosa City School is considering eliminating seven credentialed teacher-librarians from district libraries and replacing them with on-site clerical staff overseen by a centralized district manager.

The proposed standards say that more than 60 studies throughout the country show that students who attend schools with good libraries learn more, get better grades, and score higher on standardized tests than their peers in schools without libraries. One study quoted includes Douglas Achterman’s 2008 doctoral dissertation on student achievement in California, Haves, Halves and Have-nots: School Libraries and Student Achievement, which finds a direct correlation between a greater number of library services and student standardized test scores.

“Standards provide a source of authority beyond the individual teacher-librarian to implement information literacy and 21st century learning goals across the curriculum in a comprehensive way,” says Achterman, a librarian at the San Benito High School in Hollister, CA. “While many of the proposed library standards are embedded more or less successfully into content area standards, in many districts there is little or no school-wide focus on what students should be able to do in terms of locating, accessing, and using information efficiently and ethically. The school library standards will bring these goals into sharp focus and provide an authoritative reference point for the entire school community.”

CSLA president Connie Williams says the proposed standards will reinforce the central role of a school library program and the importance of professional and clerical library staffing in carrying out the educational goals of a school community.

Although the proposed school library standards can’t be enforced, Jeffus says librarians shouldn’t be discouraged because none of the standards in the four content areas are mandatory, either—but educators are guided by them all the time, for example, to buy textbooks and test students.

Jeffus also emphasizes that just because California’s standards for school libraries are on track, they could easily be derailed if, for instance, a board member doesn’t vote in favor of them or an organization says it’s completely against them. That’s why Jeffus is urging teachers, librarians, parents, and organizations to reply before the December 18 public comment deadline “to tell us what isn't there, what works, if things should be moved.”

“It’s not a done deal until it’s approved—and then we’ll celebrate."

The standards and a response form are available at librarystandards@cde.ca.gov.