How do school libraries work towards EQUITY OF ACCESS?

​This ties closely to the Book Desert ideas above but is even broader. Students need access to books, of course. They also need access to the internet as well as to devices that search the internet and encourage use of appropriate digital resources to the task at hand. Students are also learning how to produce their own information, products that demonstrate their new understandings of the world which need an audience. Libraries help students find appropriate resources and use tools (apps, websites, etc.), and they can provide students devices to complete school assignments. Students without devices at home, or internet access, may be at a disadvantage in building life skills without library access; libraries are a great place and librarians are the right staff to support them in their efforts beyond class time.

​Articles for further insights:
Ramos, Cynthia.  “School Libraries for EQUITY: Do What’s Right for ALL Our Students.” (TASLTalks blog, June 1, 2016) Ramos is a former HISD Librarian of the Year (2017) and parent. Even though this article is dated 2016, it remains relevant to the HISD community.

Lance, Keith Curry et al. The School Librarian Equity Gap: Inequities Associated with Race and Ethnicity Compounded by Poverty, Locale, and Enrollment. (Peabody Journal of Education, 2023, v.98, 1, p. 85-99) This 2023 article reiterates all that is mentioned above, with the data to support it.

Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners. The Massachusetts School Library Study: Equity and Access for Students in the Commonwealth: Report of Findings and Recommendations of the Special Commission on School Library Services in Massachusetts. by Carol A. Gordon and Robin Cicchetti, Mar. 2018. Massachusetts Libraries Board of Library Commissioners.

Facebook is a frustrating source - I cannot find the original source of this quote. Posting it anyway.