PSLA Urban School Librarians Forum:

Key Issues and Recommendations

 

 

Report to the Pennsylvania School Librarians Association Board of Directors

Submitted by Dr. Sandra Hughes-Hassell

June 2000

 

 

 

INTRODUCTION

 

Research has shown that quality school library programs enhance the school setting, optimize instruction and improve student achievement.  Yet for many of Pennsylvania?s urban school districts, school libraries have not been a priority.  According to the librarians who work in these districts, students who attend urban schools receive inadequate library services. 

 

The Board of Directors of the Pennsylvania School Librarians Association (PSLA), concerned about the state of school libraries in large city schools, invited school librarians and administrators from the Allentown, Erie, Harrisburg, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, and Scranton school districts to come together at the Association?s Annual Conference (May 4-6 2000) for an Urban School Librarians Forum.  The purpose of the Forum was to identify the key issues facing school libraries in Pennsylvania?s largest city schools and to discuss ways the PSLA Board of Directors could address these issues. 

 

This report expresses the collective opinions and experiences of the librarians who attended the forum.  It identifies the key issues school librarians working in urban areas face and recommends ways the PSLA Board of Directors can address these issues.  The recommendations, while focused on improving library services to urban students, if addressed, would improve the quality of school library services to all students in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.

 

ABOUT THE FORUM

 

Twenty librarians and administrators attended the forum which was facilitated by Dr. Sandra Hughes-Hassell, Drexel University.  Observers from PSLA[1] and the Commonwealth Library[2] were also present at the forum. 

 

A focus group protocol guided the forum (Appendix 1).  This protocol created a structure that made it safe for participants to discuss sensitive issues and challenging questions.  It also ensured equity and parity in terms of how each person?s issues were attended to.

 

Three inquiries guided the discussion:

1. As you introduce yourself, talk about an issue in your district that you believe a state professional organization could help you with.
2. After identifying the issues that face school librarians in urban settings, state how PSLA could address these issues in their established means of communications, such as Learning & Media, the PSLA website, the annual Conference, and the Legislation Committee or other committees.
3. How could you help the PSLA Board of Directors expand the influence of the Association and the profession in your area?

 

The participant?s responses to each question were recorded on chart paper and the session was audio taped.  The responses were transcribed (see Appendix 2) and analyzed to identify key issues.  The recommendations suggested in this report address these key issues.

 

KEY ISSUES

 

1. Lack of Funding

 

School librarians from Pennsylvania?s largest cities report that school districts in urban areas spend less money on library programs than other systems in the Commonwealth. 

 

1. Lack of funding has resulted in understaffing.  Professional librarians in many urban areas have been replaced by paraprofessionals.  Despite the fact that most schools in urban areas are large (average 600 students), few libraries in urban areas have support staff.  In Philadelphia, for example, only 8% of the school libraries have full-time support staff.

 

Librarians who work with middle and high school students believe the lack of professional librarians at the elementary level is having an adverse impact on students? information literacy skills.  A middle school librarian from Erie reported that students enter her middle school without basic location skills.

 

2. Inadequate funding has adversely affected the book, periodical, and multimedia collections in urban libraries.  The average age of resources in urban school libraries is 25-30 years old.  Many of the resources contain out-of-date information, as well as racial and gender stereotypes.  In addition, the reading levels of many of the print resources are inappropriate for the students currently enrolled in the schools.

 

3. The libraries lack adequate computer technology.  Many of the schools still operate with dial-up access to the Internet.   In many cases, the only electronic resources available to students are those provided by the Commonwealth Library?s Power Library project.  Librarians reported, however, that many schools (especially elementary schools) in urban areas are not members of ACCESS PA.  This means students in urban areas are less likely to benefit from the Commonwealth?s initiative.

 

4. Lack of funding has lead to a reduction in the amount and quality of professional development offered to school librarians and teachers in urban areas.  Librarians feel a particular need for professional development on the use of technology to support teaching and learning, multicultural resources, collaborative planning, information literacy standards, and grant writing.

 

2. Site-based decision-making

 

Site-based decision-making seems to have had a negative impact on school libraries in urban areas.  Librarians report a reduction in both professional positions and funding for library resources because of site-based decision-making.  In Philadelphia, for example, as of June 1999, 62% or 110 elementary schools were without full-time librarians; 55 of those 110 were closed between 1-5 days per week.  The per pupil recommended expenditure for library resources was $5.47, almost 1/5 the national average, and many schools spent less.

 

Librarians who work in urban areas believe the Commonwealth should reinstitute mandates for school librarians K-12 and provide funding on a matching basis for library resources. They believe this would address the inequity in school library funding across the state.

 

3. Uninformed Administrators and School Board Members

 

Librarians who work in urban areas believe if administrators and school board members understood and valued the role of school libraries in the educational process, support for school library programs would increase.  They also feel a need to educate union leaders.  Currently, in many school districts in the Commonwealth, librarians are contractually required to provide preparation time for teachers, thus limiting the ability of school libraries to implement flexible scheduling and open access.

 

4. Socio-Economic Level of Students

 

The majority of students attending public schools in Pennsylvania?s largest cities live at or below the poverty level (see Table 1).  In addition, student mobility is high?one elementary librarian from Pittsburgh reported a 30% transience rate.  The incidence of student homelessness and incarceration is also higher in urban areas.  

 

 

 

 

Table 1: Percent Low-Income, 1998-1999

 

School District	Percent at or below poverty level
Pittsburgh	64%
Harrisburg	76.2%
Philadelphia	86.9%
Allentown	60.6%
Scranton	92.7%
Erie	65.6%

 

From: School Profiles, 1998-1999, Pennsylvania Department of Education

 

5. Ethnic & Racial Diversity of Students

 

In Allentown, Pittsburgh, Philadelphia, and Harrisburg, the majority of students are African-American and Latino (see Table 2). The diversity of the student body has increased the need for:

1. Multicultural resources.
2. Bilingual resources, especially resources in Spanish.
3. Bilingual and ethnically diverse librarians.

 

 

Table 2: Public School Enrollments by Race, 1998-1999

 

AI: American India/Alaskan Native

AP: Asian/Pacific Islander

BL: Black (Non-Hispanic)

HI: Hispanic

WH: White (Non-Hispanic)

 

Race	Pittsburgh	Harrisburg	Philadelphia	Allentown	Scranton	Erie
AI	22	0	360	24	1	21
AP	497	243	9,768	388	145	150
BL	22,319	6,857	133,919	2,161	589	3,926
HI	164	947	25,238	6,470	307	910
WH	16,600	743	38,180	6,943	7,708	7,309
Total	39,603	8,790	207,465	15,986	8,750	12,316
% Minority	58%	93%	82%	56%	12%	41%

 

From Public Schools Summary of Enrollments 1998-99, Compiled by Richard A. Husk, Educational Statistics Associate, PDE, June 1999

 

6. Student Reading Levels

 

Approximately 24%-76% of the students attending urban schools are reading below grade level.[3]  Librarians reported students in middle school reading at a first or second grade reading level.  In addition, a large number of students in urban schools are labeled special needs?learning disabled, emotionally disturbed, mentally retarded, etc.

 

7. Lack of Librarians to Fill Vacancies

 

Administrators from Erie, Harrisburg, and Philadelphia reported that often they are unable to recruit certified school librarians to fill vacancies in urban schools.  Several factors seem to contribute to recruitment problems: 1) the shortage of school librarians nationwide, 2) low salaries, 3) working conditions?the high number of preparation periods librarians are required to cover, the lack of support staff, and inadequate funding for library resources, and 4) residency requirements.

 

 

KEY RECOMMENDATIONS TO THE PSLA BOARD OF DIRECTORS

 

1. Charge the Conference Planning Committee with:

 

1. Making the urban forum a regular part of the annual conference.

 

Librarians who participated in the forum appreciated the opportunity to meet with other librarians who work in similar settings and face the same issues on a daily basis.  Many of them expressed an interest in meeting on an annual basis at the PSLA Conference to network and discuss ways to improve library services to urban students.

 

2. Including more multicultural programs at the annual conference. 

 

Research has shown that for minority children, positive images in books and other resources can enhance self-awareness and self-esteem, thus contributing to higher achievement in school and a greater appreciation for reading.  For students attending schools with little racial or ethnic diversity, multicultural resources also serve an important purpose.  We live in a diverse society and few can avoid coming into contact with those from a different background and culture.  Whether the result is cooperation or conflict or mutual understanding or mutual distrust depends upon each groups? level of awareness of the other.  For relationships to work, students must be introduced to the diversity, complexity, and depth of all ethnic and racial groups.

 

3. Including workshops on grant writing at the annual conference.

 

2. Charge the Media Selection and Review Committee with including more multicultural titles on the PSLA Young Readers Choice Award List & Top Forty List. 

 

3. Include a webpage for multicultural resources on the PSLA website. Recruit school librarians from urban areas to provide annotated lists of resources and links to websites that address multicultural topics. 

 

4. Charge the Publications Committee with including articles in Learning and Media that address issues faced by librarians working in urban school districts. Recruit librarians from urban areas to write the articles. 

 

5. Institute an annual Administrator Award.  This award, which would be given at the PSLA awards banquet, would recognize a school administrator from an urban, rural, and suburban area who has shown exemplary support for school libraries.

 

(New York State Library Association gives an administrator award. See: http://www.acsu.buffalo.edu/~slms/adminaward.html)

 

6. Charge the Professional Development committee with:

 

1. Planning professional development for administrators, school board members, and union leaders about the value and role of school librarians.  The committee should consider partnering with other professional associations, such as the Pennsylvania chapter of ASCD, and teacher unions to host a conference for administrators.

 

2. Exploring ways to deliver professional development via distance education (teleconferencing, online courses, etc.)

 

7. Charge the Library Promotion committee with:

 

1. Preparing and distributing a pamphlet for administrators and school board members about the value and role of school librarians.  See ALA?s pamphlet?The Principal?s Manual for Your School Library Media Program.

 

2. Preparing and distributing a pamphlet for pre-service teachers that explains the role of the school librarian and focuses on how school librarians can help them. 

 

3. Preparing a pamphlet for high school students about librarianship as a career. This pamphlet could be distributed to guidance counselors across the Commonwealth and posted on the PSLA website.

 

8. Hire a lobbyist to lobby for equity in funding for school libraries in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.

 

9. Establish an affiliate network within the state.  Representatives from the affiliates would attend the Summer PSLA leadership meeting and work with the PSLA Board of Directors to strengthen PSLA?s reach throughout the state.  This might also increase PSLA?s membership, especially in urban areas.

 

Appendix 1

 

Focus Group Protocol

 

(Adapted from Coalition of Essential Schools National Re: Learning Faculty Program)

 

A focus group is a structured process for helping a group of people think expansively about a particular, concrete issue or problem. 

 

Time:   1 hour 10 minutes

 

Roles:  Participants (who are bringing issues to the table)

Facilitator (who moderates the focus group, assuring that all participants have time to speak and be heard)

 

Steps:

 

1. The facilitator gives a quick introduction to the issue to be discussed. She highlights the major aspects of the issue to be considered and frames several questions for the group to consider. (5 minutes)

 

2. The facilitator poses question #1.

 

Question 1: As you introduce

yourself, talk about an issue

in your school district that

you believe a state

professional organization

could help you with.

 

3. The participants reflect on the question and provide the facilitator with their thoughts on question #1.  The discussion proceeds in round-robin format with each participant sharing his/her thoughts.  There is no discussion by the larger group of each participant?s responses.

 

4. The facilitator poses question #2.

 

Question 2: Now that we?ve identified some of the issues that face school librarians in urban settings, state how PSLA could address these issues in their established means of communications, such as Learning & Media, the PSLA website, the annual Conference, the Legislation Committee and other committees.

 

5. The participants reflect on the question and provide the facilitator with their thoughts on question #2.  The discussion proceeds in round-robin format with each participant sharing his/her thoughts.  There is no discussion by the larger group of each participant?s responses.

 

6. The facilitator poses question #3.

 

Question 3: How could you help the PSLA Board of Directors expand the influence of the Association and the profession in your area?

 

7. The participants reflect on the question and provide the facilitator with their thoughts on question #2.  The discussion proceeds in round-robin format with each participant sharing his/her thoughts.  There is no discussion by the larger group of each participant?s responses.

 

8. The facilitator leads a brief conversation about the group?s observations and explains the next steps in the process.

 

Appendix 2

 

Question #1:  As you introduce yourself, talk about an issue in your school district that you believe a state professional organization could help you with.

 

§         Need for bilingual librarians

§         Education of administrators to understand and value the role of school librarians in the educational process (building level & district level?in most districts individual in charge of libraries is not a school library media specialist)

§         Need for increased funding for school libraries in urban areas

§         Lack of school librarians to fill vacancies in urban areas (recruitment)

§         Mobility of students

§         Implementation of flexible scheduling (educating union, administrators, teachers, etc.)

§         Need of increased staffing in school libraries (full-time librarians & support staff)

§         Site-based decision making

§         Meeting needs of diverse populations (race, culture, special education, learning disabled, low reading levels, homelessness, institutionalized students)

§         Need for collection to meet needs of diverse student populations

§         State mandate for librarian in every school

§         Need for professional development (for librarians, administrators, teachers, parents)

§         Lack of space (libraries used for a number of things)

§         Lack of technical support for technology

§         Advocacy

§         Book program for older students (like RIF)

§         Bureaucracy

§         Coordination of library services in districts

§         Equity

§         Education of school boards

§         Reorganization of school districts

§         Technology

§         Training for paraprofessionals

§         Reading promotion

§         Outreach to families

 

Question #2:  Now that we?ve identified some of the issues that face school librarians in urban settings, state how PSLA could address these issues in their established means of communications, such as Learning & Media, the PSLA website, the annual Conference, the Legislation Committee and other committees.

 

§         Recruitment of bilingual and minority librarians (aim at high school students & undergraduates in schools of education)

§         Publication for urban administrators

§         Invite urban administrators & school board members to attend annual conference

§         Lobbyist to help school librarians

§         More multicultural programs at conference

§         Professional development via teleconferencing/online

§         Meetings for urban librarians (at conference, virtual via website)

§         Urban administrator award

§         Professional development for administrators on budgeting (partner with other principal organizations)

§         Grant writing

§         Legislative committee: lobby for mandatory librarians, equity funding

§         Advocacy with other education organizations

§         Recruit urban librarians to join PSLA

§         Create pamphlets about school librarianship to distribute to high school guidance counselors

§         Conference for administrators/board members

§         Programs for librarians in other sections of state

§         Collaborative workshops for librarians and administrators (information literacy standards, collaborative planning, funding, merging library agenda with school agenda)

§         List of speakers for in-service days

§         Connections with schools of education?especially programs that offer principal certificates

§         Sessions at conference about issues faced by young adults

 

Question #3: How could you help the PSLA Board of Directors expand the influence of the Association and the profession in your area?

 

(We did not have an opportunity to discuss this question at the conference due to lack of time.  A few librarians did send responses.)

 

§         Invite other librarians to attend the conference

§         Work with PSLA to establish an affiliate network.  Librarians who belong to local associations would also be members of PSLA.