Libraries and Student Success: Better Students, Better Community

The foundation of a well-informed community that makes sound decisions is a solid education. While some may argue about what education should look like for students, there is one place in public schools that all students can go to increase their knowledge and information literacy: the school library. This facility is often overlooked, despite the amount of students that use it, and this is easily determined by the amount of times school libraries have their budgets decreased whenever there are cuts. However, this post discusses the importance of fighting for school libraries and why they are important for student success.

School libraries are inherently about giving children access to literature, but they're also spaces where children learn critical lessons about how to locate items in a library, make choices about what they find interesting, and oftentimes how to use computers and find information on the web. Jim Neal, a university librarian emeritus from Columbia University, put it perfectly:

"We all want students who know how to look for information, evaluate sources, organize research results, present ideas and conclusions, and document their work. These are lifelong skills. They strengthen communities and promote civic engagement. They enrich lives. They transform learning" (4).

Studies conducted to determine the perception of school libraries and their efficacy in aiding student success have revealed that school libraries are often the hub of any given school and integral in providing students with the tools they need. In one study commissioned by the South Carolina Association of School Librarians, administrators and school teachers were questions about their view of school libraries. The conclusion to the study read as follows:

"Whether librarians were recognized for teaching an information literacy lesson to students, providing professional development sessions to teachers, or coteaching the curriculum, many of the teachers and administrators viewed school librarians as 'everybody's teacher'" (Gavigan 11)

Whether you are of the opinion that school libraries only provide a space for children to select and read books or understand that they are spaces where children can enhance their education, it's difficult to argue that they do not contribute to student success. Teachers themselves, those who grade students' homework and collaborate with school librarians, say that school libraries are important to the success of their students. The funding for school libraries should be increased to ensure that we set up our students, and the future of our world, for success.

Works Cited

Gavigan, Karen and Keith Curry Lance. "Everybody's Teacher." Teacher Librarian, vol. 43, no. 1,

Oct. 2015, pp. 8-11. EBSCOhost, login.ezproxy.palomar.edu/login?

url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=lxh&AN=110469421&site=ehost-

live&scope=site.

Neal, Jim. "Fight for School Libraries: Student Success Depends on Them." American Libraries, vol. 

49, no. 3/4, Mar/Apr2018, p. 4. EBSCOhost, login.ezproxy.palomar.edu/login?

url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=lxh&AN=128247716&site=ehost-

live&scope=site.