Teachers' union chief pushes for funding for school libraries

Cheered on by librarians and library advocates, teachers' union President Jerry Jordan yesterday called on parents, public officials, education advocates and especially the School District of Philadelphia to reverse the 20-year decline of school libraries.

His request was clear: Make money for libraries and certified librarians a mandated part of school budgets instead of leaving the decision up to principals.

"There are many ways to spend limited education dollars, but a library is one of the best investments," he said inside the upgraded library of University City High, a newly transformed "Promise Academy."

Beginning in the late 1990s, at a time of huge budget deficits, the school district began eliminating librarian positions and failed to replace those who retired or found other jobs, district officials said.

In 1987, every school had a library staffed with a certified librarian and trained library assistant, Jordan said. Four years later, only 176 certified librarians and 114 assistants were employed by the district.

Today, just 72 librarians and 26 assistants remain, he said.

Of the district's 258 schools, only 120 have libraries, and only half of the high schools have libraries.

On the other hand, Jordan said, each of the 26 state correctional institutions is required to have a fully stocked library staffed with a librarian with a master's degree.

"If we mandated that every school provided children with fully stocked, technology-rich libraries, there wouldn't be as many inmates in need of prison libraries," he said.

Studies have shown that students with access to libraries typically show significant improvement in reading, spelling, math and problem-solving. Jordan noted that Pennsylvania System of School Assessment scores in reading are 10 to 15 points higher in schools with libraries staffed by certified school librarians.

This is not a new fight for the union, which has unsuccessfully tried "half a dozen times" to include the measure in its contract with the district, Jordan said.

Dolores Solomon, president of the district's Home and School Association, said parents could make the difference.

"Parents always play a very important part in any issue pertaining to the children," she said.

By involving parents, "this will spark the light to bring awareness to the situation," she said. "Our children are in need of libraries in each and every school, not just some schools."

The district's director of integration instruction, Lois McGee, who works with library-content specialists, said the district pushes for libraries.

"We've been advocating for strong libraries programs in all our schools since Dr. Ackerman came in," she said, referring to Superintendent Arlene Ackerman, who joined the district in 2008. McGee described libraries as "that link that would close the opportunity and achievement gap."

She added that content specialists have been added as extra support in the libraries of the district's six Promise Academies, schools receiving closer attention from the district.

Each of the central-office-run schools also received $10,000 to $15,000 in new books from the district and underwent renovations, said Julie Davis, a librarian at University City High.