New JerseyLibrarians Protest Devastating Cuts

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By Lauren Barack -- School Library Journal, 05/20/2010

New Jersey’s librarians, fresh from their protest earlier this month, are planning to demonstrate with thousands of community members and educators in Trenton on May 22. Their cause? To ally with other state groups hoping to stem some cuts they believe are devastating the state’s schools and children.

The South Plainfield High School library.

“I’ve been working as a school librarian for over 25 years, and I’ve never seen anything quite this devastating,” says Pat Massey, president of the New Jersey Association of School Librarians (NJASL) and a school librarian with South Plainfield High School in South Plainfield, NJ. “Libraries have certainly been hit very hard, and not only schools though cuts to education funding. The governor has proposed budget cuts to library programs as well.”

Reductions to libraries encompass a 74 percent cut, which includes the elimination of interlibrary loans, along with funding for online databases used by public and school libraries. What else is on the table? The proposed merger of the New Jersey State Library with the New Jersey State Museum.

“School libraries will see at least 100 jobs lost,” says Cheryl O’Connor, executive director of Infolink, a regional cooperative of libraries and agencies in Eastern New Jersey. “Think of the prep for students as they move on and go to college without any bibliographic knowledge.”

Concerning to NJASL’s Massey is that politicians may not understand the kind of instruction that now takes place in school libraries. While they may remember their school librarian from 20, 30, or even 40 years ago, these may have been educators whose primary responsibilities differ dramatically from the positions media specialists hold today.

“They may have some perception of someone stamping library cards or shelving books, and if that’s their perception, then sure you could replace that with a volunteer,” says Massey. “But they may not be aware of the teaching that is taking place.”

With New Jersey’s new budget due by June 30, librarians hope their protests and sustained advocacy will help stakeholders understand how critical all libraries are to communities, schools, and students—and amend some budget cuts that are currently being proposed.

“Our concern is we’ve gotten to this point and we don’t just drop it,” says O’Connor. “We need to keep going until the end of next month.”