LISNews: Librarian News

I read this column in Newsday the other day about a superindendent who cared more about his students than upsetting tenured teachers who thought they could not work and still keep their job. Check out this quote:

\"One librarian was notified, for example, that her library was officially closed, until she catalogued and placed on shelves all the hundreds of new books that she had allowed to remain in boxes over the past three years.\"

One From Florida, where they say As the number of middle school students in South Florida has boomed, school libraries have struggled to keep pace with children\'s need for reading materials.

Now middle schools are being told by a regional accrediting organization to increase their number of books by as much as 50 percent -- at a cost of hundreds of thousands of dollars during lean budget times.

While some of the money would be used for popular novels, schools would also buy multicultural texts, books that support the high-stakes FCAT exam and resources that supplement textbook materials.

\"If we\'re not careful, we\'ll have a whole generation of people who want the quick snapshot of what happened and won\'t take the time to see the whole picture,\"

Xuening writes \"This year, the West Chester Area School District was fortunate.
The district only waited 60 days for its new high school librarian to show up for work. And it received two applications for the yearlong librarian’s position at Pierce Middle School. Librarian’s \"are the hen’s teeth. You can’t find librarians,\" said Susan Tiernan, the language arts supervisor for the 15-school district. \"You’re lucky if you get a couple of applicants.\"

Here\'s The Full Story \"

Kathleen de la Pena McCook sent over a Sad Story Florida's school libraries. They say the academic backbone of Florida's schools is becoming little more than a warehouse for old, useless books.
An Orlando Sentinel investigation of school libraries across the state found a system educators call a national embarrassment. Outdated books occupy shelves. Untrained clerks oversee dozens of media centers. Libraries close frequently for testing and picture days.