Masachusetts School Library Media Association
FACT SHEET:
Massachusetts School Library Media Centers
THE PROBLEM:
Massachusetts education policy makers are not supporting the power of school library media centers to help students achieve. There is great inequity in access to quality literature, information and library professionals in schools throughout the state.
  • Of the fifty (50) U.S. states, Massachusetts ranks:
      • 38th in providing its public school students with state-certified library media specialists,
      • 41st in teachers who agree that school library materials are adequate to support educational objectives,
      • 49th in providing its public schools with school libraries and
      • 50th in mean circulation per pupil per school of all library materials.
  • The 1999 Simmons Study of MA School Library Media Centers found that:
      • 37% of Massachusetts elementary schools did not have full-time library professionals on staff,
      • 8% of public schools did not have a library media center,
      • an average of $12.00 per child is spent for school library books – less than half the average cost of one hardcover children’s book.
  • The MA Department of Education has no administrator designated to provide leadership and set standards for school library media programs statewide.
  • Neither MA education reform legislation nor the MA Board of Education provides specific funding, leadership or plans for improving public school library media services.
  • The progressive decay of library media programs in many MA school districts has compromised the success of education reform.
THE SOLUTION:
Provide the school library resources necessary to help children maximize their academic achievement.  Evidence from the Simmons Study indicates that “equal educational opportunity comes more within reach for all children in the presence of a school library program that supports, extends and enriches the educational process”.  Educational research has firmly established that higher student academic achievement is associated with:
  • State, local and national leadership in support of school library media programs,
  • an elementary school library media center whose collection is aligned with the MA Curriculum Frameworks. This is especially true in schools that have a high percentage (15% or more) of free school lunches.
  • a school library media center which is equipped with a quality collection of books and other educational media professionally selected to support and enrich the school’s curriculum,
  • a school library media program which is adequately staffed, according to national guidelines, and has library professional(s) who are an integral part of the school’s planning and teaching team,
  • MA schools whose libraries have more open hours for student access, automated collections, information literacy programs, book counts which meet or exceed state standards, and increased student use.
WHAT LEGISLATORS CAN DO:
Support the power of school libraries to help all students succeed!  Massachusetts legislators have proven their commitment to providing children with a quality, equitable education through education reform. Integral to the success of education reform is the provision of information-rich school environments. School libraries are the information and literacy centers of their learning communities. Legislative leadership in support of school libraries will help education reform succeed and Massachusetts public school students achieve.
MSLMA Contact:
Judi Paradis, jparadis@mslma.org..........Doris Smith, dsmith@mslma.org

MSLMA Legislative Liaison:
Christopher Gregory, Gregory & Associates, 77 North Washington St., Boston, MA 02114
    Phone: 617-367-6449    Fax: 617-367-6299    chris.gregory@neec.org

References:

LIBRARY POWER:
Strategies for Enriching Teaching and Learning in America’s Public Schools http://www.lrs.org/html/about/school_studies.html

MCAS and School Libraries: Making the Connection. A Symposium Sponsored by the Graduate School of Library and Information Science, Simmons College, Thursday, October 26, 2000 http://web.simmons.edu/~baughman/mcas-school-libraries/

National Center for Education Statistics:
School Library Media Centers: 1993-94, Libraries/Media Centers in Schools: Are There Sufficient Resources? (Issue Brief) and Schools and Staffing Survey: 1999-2000 may be found by searching at: http://nces.ed.gov

School Library Media Impact Studies.
Colorado Dept. of Education, LRS (Library Research Service)
http://www.lrs.org/html/about/school_studies.html

Library Legislative Efforts Around the Country, Around the World
http://www.sldirectory.com/libsf/stlibs.html#top

Texas School Libraries
http://www.tea.state.tx.us/technology/libraries/whatlibsup.html