Under
what scenario have school librarians now become disposable? Used to be—and
still ought to be—the school library was the heart of the school, often
literally positioned at the architectural center of the school building. Just
as our nation's public libraries have been a democratizing essential of civic
life by giving free access to knowledge regardless of socioeconomic status, so, too, our
public school libraries have been vital in extending equal access to learning
to students from all backgrounds.
So, is the
attack on school librarians part of the corporatizing of public schools? If
public schools can be further undermined by eliminating some professional
educators—which is what librarians are—then will it be even easier to condemn
the public schools and widen the gap between monied education "haves"
and the impoverished education "have-nots"? Pretty slick. Mischaracterize librarians as
mere shushers and book-shelvers, and it's easy to advocate replacing them with
lower-cost nonprofessionals.
Why
bother? Why not just get rid of libraries altogether? Oh, wait! That's already
happening. After all, everything in books can now be found on the Internet.
Schools are beginning to transition away from bricks and mortar—or volumes and
shelves, in this case—to virtual libraries. Is that why some policy makers
and short-sighted school people think we don't need librarians, simply because
the form of library resources is in transition?
Let's
think about that. I'm sure there was hand-wringing when papyrus and parchment
replaced all those tidy clay tablets, and then the scroll lovers probably wept
when codex came into vogue. Well, now codex may be giving some ground to
digital. None of those transitions eliminated the need for librarians. In fact,
precisely the opposite is a more logical conclusion. In the uncertain territory
of Digital Age libraries, "collections" stretch the very
definition of that word, and professional librarians are more necessary than ever.
School
librarians today are called on to undertake all of the traditional professional
responsibilities attached to that career and to add a few new ones, such as
vetting digital resources. They are certainly not merely shelvers and shushers.
They are digital curators, a role that is vitally important if students and
teachers are to take full advantage of the vast educational resources now
available in true Digital Age schooling.
As Joyce Kasman Valenza notes in School Library Monthly, "Librarians are uniquely qualified to curate. School librarians are perhaps most ripe for this function, because they understand the curriculum and the specific needs and interests of their own communities of teachers, administrators, learners, and parents." Seems as though that's an excellent reason to keep and to nurture school
librarians, not get rid of them.
Critics
act as though librarians are artifacts of the past. Nothing could be further
from the truth. School librarians are architects of the future.
