Why have school libraries?

[Anonymous]

(I'm asking a genuine question, not trolling.)

Why do we have school libraries, particularly in elementary schools? They're expensive to maintain and people get upset about the selections. Then the teacher ALSO has a class library and that's the one that seems to be used most of the time. Why not just help teachers fund their class libraries instead? I was told that there isn't time for a language elective because the electives are already fully scheduled for the week. So why not eliminate library and add in Spanish/Chinese/French/whatever?

We have wonderful public county libraries that kids can go to any time they want outside of school. They're easily accessible by bus routes and they have much better programming. They even allow kids to study in them after hours, whereas the school library kicks you out when school closes.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:(I'm asking a genuine question, not trolling.)

Why do we have school libraries, particularly in elementary schools? They're expensive to maintain and people get upset about the selections. Then the teacher ALSO has a class library and that's the one that seems to be used most of the time. Why not just help teachers fund their class libraries instead? I was told that there isn't time for a language elective because the electives are already fully scheduled for the week. So why not eliminate library and add in Spanish/Chinese/French/whatever?

We have wonderful public county libraries that kids can go to any time they want outside of school. They're easily accessible by bus routes and they have much better programming. They even allow kids to study in them after hours, whereas the school library kicks you out when school closes.

You’re assuming families utilize their local public library. For many young children, their only exposure to a library is at school.
My DD is in 2nd grade and, while her classroom teachers thus far have had excellent “class” libraries, she’s brought home much more varied material from the school library. More non-fiction, items that are at a slightly higher reading level than what is in her classroom (she’s reading a bit above grade level and I appreciate that she has access to more challenging material), etc.

[Anonymous]

A couple other purposes:

- the librarian helps teachers pick good books to teach content and loans books to teachers to read in class.
- librarians reach research skills and helps reach how a library works
- kids are exposed to a wide range of books. This builds content knowledge which is tied with better reading skills
- libraries have books of all reading levels, where classroom libraries are limited to the main grade level of the class. So my kindergartener can get a chapter book on his favorite subject we can work on at home
- it's hard to find time to go to the library, but if books show up, we end up reading them and my kids get far more reading in

As far as costs, they are far less than you'd expect. Many libraries keep books in circulation for many years.

[Anonymous]

My mom was a school librarian for 30+ years.

1. Librarians typically teach a curriculum similar to the music, PE, and art teachers. How to locate books in a library, how to use reference books. As kids get older they learn about evaluating and citing sources for research. As things moved online, my mom’s curriculum shifted from how to use online databases to how to determine if a source is trustworthy and online privacy and safety.

2. Many kids don’t have access to local libraries because their parents do not speak English or do not know how to use the library. I am constantly amazed at the rich white peoples in my neighborhood who don’t know how to use the library and just buy books on Amazon. Kids will use the local libraries in Jr high and HS if they learn how in elementary.

3. No teacher needs to be saddled with checking out books and getting them back. Do you know how many other things teachers have to do besides teach? You know that the books in each classroom come out of a teacher’s personal money right? My BuyNothing group is full of teachers asking for books for their classrooms.
4. The more parents who complain about books in libraries, the fewer reading nooks you will see in elementary classrooms. No teacher is going to risk their job and teaching license over the chance that some right wing nut job is going to lose their mind because a picture book has 2 dads holding hands in the background of a scene of people.

[Anonymous]

You are assuming everyone has a level of privilege that allows them to go to a public library as they please. Some families do not have vehicles or live in walking distance of a public library. Some kids do not have parents home in the evenings/weekends to take them because their parents/parent is working. They are in the care of a sibling or other family member. Some parents do not value reading and others cannot read themselves.

Our school libraries are invaluable. They are more than a room with books that can be found elsewhere.

[Anonymous]

My kids get to go to the library much more often since it’s built into the school curriculum. While we do use our public library to some extent they go to the school library 2x a week which is much more often than we would go to the public one.

Also, they learn about books and the librarians at school read to the kids, teach them lessons etc. It is a wonderful and, imo necessary, part of the school curriculum

Families are busy with lots of activities, especially with working parents and multiple kids. Having a library on site at school is a huge asset just from a convenience perspective

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You are assuming everyone has a level of privilege that allows them to go to a public library as they please. Some families do not have vehicles or live in walking distance of a public library. Some kids do not have parents home in the evenings/weekends to take them because their parents/parent is working. They are in the care of a sibling or other family member. Some parents do not value reading and others cannot read themselves.

Our school libraries are invaluable. They are more than a room with books that can be found elsewhere.

+1. This seems glaringly obvious

[Anonymous]

I seriously cannot even fathom this question.

My kids use their classroom libraries, the school library, and the public library (weekly) and I still can’t keep them in books. And they are more likely to accept recommendations from their wonderful school librarian than they are from me!

[Anonymous]

Are they more valuable than a second language?

[Anonymous]

It just makes me sad you would even ask this.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Are they more valuable than a second language?

That’s not why we don’t have FLES in elementary. And yes, they are more valuable, if we have to choose.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Are they more valuable than a second language?

More valuable than 45 minutes a week of learning to "Me llamo Larla" and sing a song in Spanish? Almost certainly.

[Anonymous]

My kids enjoy trying different libraries, so we've been to about half of all libraries in MoCo, if not more. The demographics of the libraries skew white and Asian (at least in the kids section), no matter where we go. The demographics of schoolchildren in MoCo is considerably different.

So having libraries at schools gives all kids the opportunity to visit one.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Are they more valuable than a second language?

Yes. Absolutely.
Ever hear "Reading is fundamental?" Ever hear "a second language is fundamental?"
Libraries facilitate literacy. Literacy in the earliest grades is crucial for academic success moving forward.
Libraries expose you to a broader world than studying one foreign language.
Everyone needs to be able to read. Speaking multiple languages offers advantages; but it's not a critical life skill.
Libraries facilitate research required for other academic pursuits and assignments.

[Anonymous]

This is a great question that I, as a school librarian, love to answer!

First of all, there is a research base to support the correlation between school libraries staffed by licensed librarians and improved student performance on assessments. Read more here: https://kappanonline.org/lance-kachel-school-librarians-matter-years-research/

Keep in mind that despite their presence in the press, book challenges are overall very rare. In my decades-long career I’ve not had a single parent concern raised. And “expensive to maintain” is not accurate: my current budget is about $6k, and if you divided that by the classrooms in my school, each teacher would get $250 each. That’s only enough to buy about a dozen hardcover books for each classroom annually. I buy from an approved vendor that is often able to provide a discount, and because they are processed for a library (the fancy covers), they are durable and my books serve the entire student population for many years.

Half of my job is serving students, but half of it is serving teachers. Not only do I annually research and purchase books to meet state standards, I also select many of the books teachers use for instruction. Teachers will ask me to gather what I have on X topic and then they base their instruction on what I give them. They have little time and often little familiarity with what is available and the rely on my suggestions.

My district deems my instruction more valuable than a foreign language (I am in ES). I assume that is because I am teaching both library and literacy skills. Students learn how to use a library independently so that in MS and HS they can do so for academic reasons. Kids need to learn how to identify good search terms and strategies and how to choose and navigate the many databases available to them. Classroom teachers often don’t know this stuff, so librarians are teaching them, too. They also learn research and literacy skills that supplement classroom learning. I know that with the amount of focus on testing and standards, my students seem to value the library as a place to celebrate the freedom to read whatever brings you joy, which promotes a valuable lifelong habit of reading.

As other posters have, I want to remind you that public libraries are not accessible to all. I work in a very high poverty school where some families are often unfamiliar with the advent of public libraries or their usefulness, and many of the adults are not literate in their home language. Many families have just one car used by the adult at work, so most errands are done by walking. My students have to cross a six-lane highway to get to our awesome public library and many are not permitted to do that until they are older. And don’t forget, a school library can be visited daily, and not at parents’ convenience on weekends or in the evenings.