Photo by Ben Ostrowsky

Draconian cuts to Miami public libraries—nearly 45 percent of its branches shuttered and more than 250 staff positions lost—stand to impact the community, including  Miami’s school children.

“The worst case scenario is 22 libraries would have to be closed,” says Lisa Martinez, senior advisor in Miami-Dade’s Office of the Mayor, who oversees its library department. “The Mayor has charged us to bring that number down.”

At issue is a budget cut proposed by Miami-Dade Mayor Carlos Gimenez, and approved by county commissioners, set to go through October 1. Lawmakers are trying to reduce the branches that may have to close before that deadline, and Martinez believes she is close to bringing the number of branches cut to 16. Still, they pose a monumental loss of service to Miami’s K–12 students, as some of the public libraries slotted to shut down are close to Miami-Dade County public schools.

West Kendall Regional, a 39,000 square-foot space and one of the original 22 slated for closure, is a 10-minute walk from Felix Varela Senior High School, and on the same block as Hammocks Middle School.

In the coming weeks, Martinez is analyzing schedules, community needs, and  the geographic locations of the branches to try to stretch library resources, and attempt to save some of the branches that are in danger.  She’s also looking at partnerships to offset costs, possibly reduce hours, and also considering ways the library funds services.

“If we have a library that has a staffing level of five, and one is responsible for maintaining the computers, how do we make sure that we deliver services, not just offer computers in the library,” she says.

School libraries may also be considered for some partnership, says Albert Pimienta, instructional supervisor of library media services for Miami-Dade County Public Schools, who says public school personnel are expecting to meet with the mayor’s office and the public library “on what the impact may be,” he says.

School libraries do work with the public libraries in Miami-Dade by cross-promoting events and encouraging students to get public library cards among other activities, he says. But school libraries are not meant to support public needs, adds Pimienta. While 343 of its schools have libraries, not all are staffed with certified media specialists. Some have clerical staff who handle circulation duties, but sometimes for just a few hours a day.

“I don’t think our intent is to serve the public at large,” he says. “I would be hard pressed to see how we could serve the public if it came to that.”

Laura Spears, a doctoral student at Florida State University, spent 30 years in South Florida, and taught online at Florida State University’s School of Library & Information Studies. She believes that the way public libraries are funded needs to change dramatically to ensure access for everyone.

“The bottom line is library funding really needs to be shaken up, but it has to be important to the decision makers,” she says. “It’s not clear to me that somebody like Miami-Dade’s mayor feels like it’s important.”

Photo credit: iStockphoto

I’m usually a glass-half-full kind of person, but sometimes you can’t help reflecting on the emptiness—on what’s missing. When our schools cut librarians to save dollars, a critical contributor to student learning exits the building. And kids lose out.

This is the undeniable impact illustrated by a Pennsylvania study presented in our feature story, “Librarian Required,” by Debra E. Kachel and Keith Curry Lance (p. 28). The study joins a growing body of research that proves the efficacy of librarians in our schools. But this one goes further, showing how some 200,000 students are being denied in a state with deep cuts to school libraries. All this in light of the Common Core State Standards and the call for 21st-century skills. Given the responsibility for student achievement, anyone with control of the purse strings should seriously consider the lessons of the Pennsylvania study.

“Consistently, reading and writing scores are better for students who have a full-time, certified librarian than those who don’t,” note Kachel and Lance. On the flip side, “Below Basic” scores on reading and writing are higher in schools that do not have librarians. The inclusion of writing is an important element of this kind of research, which has often focused on reading scores
(see “Something to Shout About,” SLJ, September 2011, pp. 28–33).

This writing aspect is especially vital given the Common Core and its emphasis on students’ ability to produce meaningful materials in the learning process. “Advanced” writing scores are three times as likely in schools with a full-time librarian. And, it gets better with better budgets. “Students with access to well-resourced libraries are two to five times more likely to score ‘Advanced’ in writing than students without such libraries,” write Kachel and Lance. From the glass-half-full perspective, that’s inspiring. But then I think of the kids in schools without librarians.

The findings of this study alone should take the decision to cut a librarian off the table. Pennsylvania should serve as an example for all.

Of course, principals and superintendents make hard decisions based on much more than research—the decision to trim a library position is no doubt a complex one. This is why, inside the profession, we have to be ever more creative in surfacing this kind of data as we illustrate librarians’ value in terms of student achievement to principals, superintendents, and parents.

We have the research, now we have to get it into the right hands. Kachel and Lance call for each of us to take these findings to key stakeholders. As part of the profession, I’m committed to sharing the message in our publication and in my discussions with educators and partners. As a parent, I’m going to take these findings to the principal of my son’s school, which currently has no librarian despite strong library leadership in the district.

What will you do?

Too often, advocacy can take a defensive position. I’m not talking about defending what has been, but showing what librarians bring toward a successful future. The survey makes clear: one key staffer can make a huge difference in the overall learning in our schools. And that staffer is a librarian.

Rebecca T. Miller
Editor-in-Chief
rmiller@mediasourceinc.com

A group is organizing a “People’s Library” in the Central District—and it needs children and YA titles.

The goal? To provide the public with kid’s activities, reading materials, and Internet access from Monday, August 27 through Sunday, September 2, when all 26 branches will be shut. Libraries will remain closed on September 3 for Labor Day.

The group, led by a local activist named Rebecca Yates Coley, has set up a Facebook page and blog calling for financial donations, as well as books, magazines—and just any reading material.

An August 22 blog post read, “Now accepting financial donations” with a link to a page to help reach a goal of $500 to help cover the costs of wireless hotspots, storage needs, transportation, and arts and crafts materials.

But as of August 23, there were no donations.

To set up a functional and welcoming library space, organizers are also asking for other much-needed supplies on its wish list, such as milk crates, pop-up tents or tarps, tables and chairs, wagons or dollies, and small generators to run laptops. They’re also seeking loaner laptops and hot spots for the week.

There are a total of seven donation sites set up throughout the city—and local book stores, such as the Pegasus Book Store in West Seattle,  have made large contributions.

In fact, people have been so generous that organizers are now faced with a storage problem. So they’re asking those in the construction, storage, or trucking business to help out.

“Come to the Library on Monday, Aug 27! Browse our collection. Lead arts and crafts activities or games with the kids” reads a recent blog post. “Bring your neighbors.”

Unlike Seattle Public, this library won’t have late fees—and people can even keep the books if they like.