Mapping Effect ofState Budget Cuts on School Librarians
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By Rocco Staino -- School Library Journal, 04/21/2010
Parents in Saugerties, NY, tried to save their school librarian’s job by reaching out to their community for funds, while students at Templeton Elementary School in Bloomington, IN, wrote and dramatized the effects of state budget cuts in “The Case of the Missing Librarian,” a play about kids who literally lost their voices when their media specialist was eliminated.
Shonda Brisco, assistant professor at Oklahoma State College, is showcasing the effect of statewide cuts in a different way—she’s presenting them through Google Maps, using a map of the United States to illustrate the devastation taking place.
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After reading several postings on the school librarian listserv LM_NET about the elimination of media specialists in districts across the nation, Brisco decided to present the bloodletting in a way that maximizes visual impact.
Many librarians across the country have added to the map, using blue pushpins to document school librarian layoffs and red pushpins to signify a reduction in services. Others who are reluctant to participate send private emails to Brisco, who then makes updates to the map herself.
Since its launch March 26th, the interactive map, “A Nation without School Libraries” has had more than 250 submissions from 30 states and more than 125,000 viewers.
In the few weeks since its creation, the map has served as an important tool for the American Association of School Librarians (AASL), which is conducting a survey of state affiliate school library associations to gauge the national scope of the layoffs and reduced services.
Information released by AASL, citing the National Center for Educational Statistics (NCES) School and Staffing Reports, shows a significant decrease in full-time school librarians in 24 states from 2003 to 2007, with Oregon leading the pack with a 17.57 percent reduction. Brisco’s map may help visualize where future decreases could appear. However, the map’s creator expresses caution: “I'm not sure that you can really understand what is taking place behind the scenes from just the map itself because there are some states, such as Oklahoma, where legislation is pending to eliminate school librarians completely,” Brisco told School Library Journal. “If those decisions are made within the next few weeks, the map could change dramatically.”
Next up? Brisco plans to compare some of the information collected—such as any changes in academic achievement among students that attend schools in districts that have cut their libraries and media specialist with those that have not made any cuts.
A concerned Brisco says,“I'm sure that there will be an academic loss in some areas that are usually taught by the school librarian but I'm concerned that these districts—which may not recognize or understand how school librarians impact student achievement—won't understand what caused their students' academic loss.”
