National Hearing Held on School Libraries

"I haven't been able to buy books for my high school library for three years," lamented Carolyn Kindle, a librarian in the Cincinnati School District. The statement, made at a national hearing held by the U. S. National Commission on Libraries and Information Science (NCLIS) at the Cincinnati Public Library, characterized the sad plight of many school librarians. Entitled "School Librarians: Knowledge Navigators Through Troubled Times," the April 29 hearing examined the severe problems now facing media specialists nationwide.

Twenty-two witnesses testified about the extreme shortage of trained school librarians, the inadequate funding levels for materials, the tendency of some administrators to replace books and trained staff with technology, and the often disheartening effects of site-based management.

Martha Gould, NCLIS chairperson, proclaimed that school libraries were the heart and soul of the educational system. Gould's contention was reinforced as witnesses offered corroborating evidence both from empirical studies and first-hand experience.

M. Ellen Jay, a library media specialist at Damascus Elementary School in Silver Springs, MD, provided one of the day's few light moments. Alluding to the popular Harry Potter series, Jay quipped that school librarians might get more respect if they were called "resourceresses," rather than library media specialists.

The one concrete recommendation that came from the hearing was a call to establish a national summit on school libraries that would include governors, school district administrators, library school faculty, and literacy organizations. Even though education is a top priority for President Bush, this hearing could be the last for NCLIS. The federal budget has not earmarked any future funding for the commission.