Save Nebraska School Libraries
The Nebraska Department of Education has written a draft of the proposed new regulations regarding the approval, accreditation, and accountability for schools, but despite all the input received from schools, teachers, and librarians, the department has nearly eliminated all requirements for a trained librarian in schools. Students and schools need you to voice your opinion before June 1, 2021 to save school libraries.
The problem
Under the proposed rule change each school “system” would only be required to have 1 half-time certified librarian and the library rooms themselves would only need to be staffed by “an adult”—with no requirements of any kind for required education and training. Entire school district- even those like LPS and their 42,000+ students- would only have to have 1 half-time certified librarian. Drastic librarian cuts have occurred in many other states and they are very hard to reverse. US public schools have lost 20% of their librarians since 20o0.
Librarians Today
It’s important to note that librarians today are not your grandma’s librarian- probably not even what YOUR librarian was like. Librarians teach many skills beyond how to find a good book to read. Librarians specialize in teaching information literacy, evaluating sources (looking at you, fake news!), research skills, and technology. They are an integral part of preparing students for the future or work, learning and online information.
School librarians are required to have advanced training beyond a teaching degree. In Nebraska, a “library media endorsement” is required. This endorsement takes nearly as many credits as a master’s degree. In fact, many librarians take just a couple more classes in order to have a full master’s in education.
Read more: https://seeingrednebraska.com/draft/save-nebraska-school-libraries/