SNL IN HISD
  • Site Overview
    • SNL Speaks Out (BLOG)
    • Table of Contents
    • Houston ISD School Board >
      • 22 Strategic Plan Letters to Administration
      • Libs Surrounding Districts
      • Poverty Map
      • Cost of Staffing HISD Library
      • District I
      • District II
      • District III
      • District IV
      • District V
      • District VI
      • District VII
      • District VIII
      • District IX
      • 17 Children are At Risk/Literacy Deserts
    • What Strong School Librarians Do >
      • 2019 Strong HISD Libraries
      • Impact on Students of School Libraries
      • How They Do It >
        • Certified School Librarians
        • Teaching Expertise Matters
        • Research into School Library Impact
        • Book Deserts
        • Equity of Access Intro
        • Honoring Diversity
        • Intellectual Freedom
        • Critical Thinking
        • Windows Mirrors Sliding Glass Doors
        • Future Ready
        • Closed Library
  • Allies and Supporters
    • 2020 Racial Justice Resources >
      • BLM & Teaching Tolerance
      • A Primer-Racial Justice >
        • Anti-Racism Resources
        • Allyship
        • Black History
        • Voting & Civil Discourse
      • Parenting Resources
      • Diversity in Education >
        • LatinX Resources
        • Gender Issues
        • Indigenous Peoples
      • Young Children - Books & Media
      • Elementary Books & Resources >
        • General ELEM Fiction & Nonfiction
        • ELEM Podcasts Videos & PD
      • Middle School Books & Resources >
        • MS NONFICTION
        • MS MEDIA Resources
      • High School Books & Media >
        • HS NONFICTION
        • HS MEDIA Resources
        • UPPER HS Books
      • Curriculum Supporting Racial Justice >
        • Curriculum by Age Level
    • General Resources for Allies
    • Advocacy Tools for Allies >
      • Information for Parents and Students >
        • Parent Info - Pre 2017
      • Information for Teachers >
        • Teacher Info - Pre 2017
      • Information for Principals and Administrators >
        • Admin Info - Pre 2017
      • Information for Policymakers >
        • Policy Info - Pre2017
    • OpEds and Legislative News - Other Places
    • Equity, Literacy & Critical Thinking >
      • Equity of Access in Detail >
        • Equity - Pre 2017
      • Diverse Choices
      • Reading Matters = Literacy >
        • Reading Matters - Pre 2017
        • Bonus Reading Info
      • Readiness K-20
      • Information Literacy
      • Critical Thinking >
        • Critical Thinking Pre 2017
    • Digital Literacy >
      • Digital Literacy Pre 2017
  • Resources for Librarians
    • 2022 Right to Read
    • Librarian Advocacy in Action >
      • Telling your Story - Basic Advocacy
      • Ecosystem
      • Legislators are Just People
      • Measuring Library Impact
      • Infographics
    • Librarians as Leaders >
      • Librarians Leaders Pre 2017
      • Equity Led by Librarians
      • Libns for Readiness K-20
      • Nurturing Environment
      • Strengthening Your Skills - Personal PD
      • LIB Assn Tools >
        • School Library Standards
        • Future Ready Libraries
      • Curriculum
      • The Research - School Libraries >
        • Research Pre2017
      • S.L.I.D.E. Kachel/Lance
      • Genl Articles LIB Pre2017
    • Literacies >
      • Reading Matters >
        • Reading-Librarians Pre2017
      • Digital Literacy >
        • Digital Lit for Librarians Pre 2017
  • Contacts
  • Intellectual Freedom


​SNL Houston   

Speaks  

Out  

Picture

HISD’s Goal: The Global Graduate

2/21/2022

0 Comments

 
Picture
https://www.houstonisd.org/globalgraduate

HISD espouses this obvious and admirable goal: all HISD graduates will be ready for the world they are entering as adults. Sadly, the last time any data was updated on this program is 2014:
Picture
And in those 7 years, HISD has struggled on many fronts. I will focus on libraries. There are 280 schools in the district but only 57 certified librarians in 2021-22; this year, there are 93 schools with no library, whether it is defined as vacant or closed. How can students progress to college without awareness of library skills and resources throughout their K-12 career? At the high school level, out of 40 high schools, only 15 have functioning libraries and of those only 7 have certified librarians. How can HISD expect to send college-ready graduates out the door when they have no clue how to take advantage of the services of their college library? 

And now the good news: Superintendent House has just announced in his Strategic Plan an intention to restore library services to all HISD campuses. This will support HISD Global Graduates in their quest for strong life and academic schools based on clear awareness of the services and tools libraries provide. 

College level Literacy in 2022 includes critical thinking, understanding of how to vet sources for validity, skills to decode images and infographics as well as text, and much more that is not necessarily covered in classroom curricula. School librarians are teachers with additional training to support students in learning to be skilled users of information. In order to use information to build new ideas, students must first identify the information they need; locate that information; read, analyze and understand it; and finally build new ideas of their own based on what they have learned. College and university students who have no previous experience with libraries or research methods struggle very much, and sometimes drop out of higher education as a result. Houston Community College librarians can also speak to this. The Assn for College and Research Libraries commissioned Rhonda Huisman to do research into this topic in 2015 (see link below). “If we continue to allow these roles [librarians] to disappear from the K–12 landscape, what academic librarians and faculty will be compensating for or remediating will impede the engagement, retention, and success of those college ready, college bound students.” 
​

HISD has been failing its graduates when its schools do not provide strong library services throughout the K-12 years. Knowing there is now a plan to restore library services across the district is very important. That said, starting with high school libraries makes sense as they will be the first out the door. Even students who will not attend college need information skills to find jobs, to use complex catalogs included in those jobs (think looking up auto parts to match year, make, model), to continue to learn for better jobs, and to participate in their communities as adult leaders. Building new library programs in the 25 high schools that currently have none will take time and attention, not to mention a culture shift. Calling a campus College Guidance area the library is not the same as working with all students to be sure they do graduate with the life skill of information usage in all its aspects. Parents who expect their students to be successful after graduation expect that HISD will step up to offer them the right tools to accomplish that, which includes strong library services geared to preparing students for academic work at the college level.

Reference
Huisman, R. (2015). Library As Place in Urban High Schools: Connecting College Readiness to Librarian Intervention and Community Partnerships.
0 Comments

HISD Hiring Plan for New Library Services Manager

2/16/2022

0 Comments

 
by Debbie Hall
Library Services are administered at the district level under the auspices of various larger departments. In some districts, the library manager reports to the director of technology, school support services, or curriculum for example. It is sometimes difficult for the managing department to be responsive to the needs of libraries because they are not well-versed in the unique needs and functionality of school libraries. Here is what I recently shared with members of the HISD leadership team about problems I have observed with how Library Services is being managed. This is especially critical due to the recent resignation of the HISD Library Services Manager.

LETTER

As a retired HISD library administrator, I watch with interest and concern for events that potentially impact library services to students. Recently, the manager of HISD Library Services resigned. The job was posted on January 20th. When I saw the job application online, which gave almost no mention of school library administration, I became concerned. The present job description for the Library Manager is entirely about the duties of a curriculum manager and barely mentioned libraries.
 
It is my observation that the decline of library services to students in HISD has escalated under the supervision of the Department of Curriculum. Under the Curriculum Department's control, the manager of Library Services has changed four times in ten years. All the clerical and secretarial personnel have been eliminated and the remaining professional staff has been called upon to perform copyright checks for curriculum projects in addition to their library services duties. Library Services has been used to the advantage of the mission of the curriculum department with little or no support of their own departmental mission. Prior to 2011, HISD had placed Library Services under School Support Services which allowed the department to work collaboratively with many other HISD departments. Library Services personnel routinely provided services to school libraries like cataloging, processing donated materials, inventory, and other help as needed. I urge you to reconsider where Library Services belongs on the organizational chart. It needs to report to a department that believes libraries are essential to public education. 
 
The manager of Library Services is an important school leader who can make a significant difference in the ability of libraries to provide for the needs of all students. The person holding this position needs to have experience in managing libraries and a thorough understanding of the mission of the district’s library program. It is for this reason that the selection committee should include people who are familiar with the skills and experience needed to run a department in a large school district. Considering the current state of HISD’s libraries (so many vacancies and closed libraries), the next library leader should be one who has the vision to restore libraries across the district by implementing a boldly designed plan over time with the support of HISD’s leadership. For this reason, the selection process should include (as it has in the past) library leaders from outside the district as well as HISD librarians. HISD leaders should also take part in the selection process, but a committee without library expertise will not be likely to ask the questions needed to determine a candidate’s suitability. I am concerned that the district will move too quickly on the selection of the next library administrator.  Applications are collected until a specified date and then the interviews begin. The current ending date for applying is March 28th. It would be standard procedure to make an announcement that would go out to the Texas Library Association and the American Library Association to attract the best candidates. This has not been done. I just saw the announcement online and posted it on the Texas Library Association Jobline a few days ago.
 
If the HISD wants to see students served by libraries, it starts here with this job. Get the best candidate and don’t rush the process.
0 Comments

School Libraries and Site Based Management: Let’s Move Forward

11/11/2021

0 Comments

 
By Dorcas Hand 
On its face, Site Based Management seems like a good thing. It puts the decisions about how a campus budget is spent entirely in the principal’s hands: who to hire, what positions to fill, what extras to offer, etc. HISD is the only district in Texas to still use this method; it was a trend for a while, but other districts realized they needed to exercise some central control while still giving schools some local control over decisions and budgeting. They, for example, require a nurse, counselor and/or librarian on each campus – and they adjust campus funding so that these roles are centrally funded leaving the campus to decide the rest.
Several things have affected the HISD culture around libraries, but I want to focus on two.
  • State funding cuts: When the state cut their portion of school budgets dramatically in 2010 and subsequent years, the site managers (read HISD principals) were left to sort out how to balance their own budgets. With little time and inadequate advice, libraries took a huge hit, and the trend has continued.
  • District culture: Since before the era of Terry Grier (2009-2016) , the district has not actively supported school libraries – and it has gotten worse over time. When principals get advice from the HISD Office of Budgeting and Financial Planning, those advisors know nothing about education or the benefits of libraries to academic success. They see an extra line item that could be cut. And those principals – many of them inexperienced - have had minimal interaction with strong school librarians either in their certification process or in their own K-12 years decades ago. They don’t know how exciting libraries are in 2021; they only know the stereotypical shushed rooms we see in films. 
Fast forward to 2021, with only 55 certified librarians in 280 schools. Turning that around has been and remains challenging. It is not a change that the School Board can decree, although the School Board can contribute to a change in district culture that honors school libraries for their support of literacy skills, critical thinking applications, and enticement to love learning in school and beyond. 

The decision lies with HISD administration and will require careful thought and a slow timeline that includes educating all HISD principals to the benefits of having a school librarian and a fully funded library on every campus as well as an in-house Alternative Certification Program to train librarians for the positions that job insecurity over the last 15+ years has vacated. 

The ESSER money being spent this year and next to update the book collections of all campuses not meeting the state definition of “Proficient.” [Wait, you say? There are Texas Standards and Guidelines for School Libraries? Why yes, there are. These include recommended quantities of books per student among other definitions - see p.43.] Having books on the campuses that are current, include popular titles, and are ready to inspire even reluctant readers at all grade levels to read for pleasure as well as for information. And that is only one aspect of the impact school libraries can and do have on the students who use them. Students who graduate from schools served by school libraries with certified staff are more successful in college. [Farmer, Lesley J. and Skyler Phamle, “Transitioning to college: Impact of high school librarians”] 

Our job as advocates of school libraries is to speak up often to campus administrators and district staff, including our Superintendent, and to our SB members, asking why students in the most challenged areas of the district have the least access to library resources and staff to help them grow as learners. While SNL does this often, we need parents and community members to speak up, too. It is your children that are in school now and will soon be heading to jobs, trades, the military or college. Every one of those students deserves a fully stocked and fully funded school library staffed by a certified librarian.
​

Takeaways from this post:
  • Site Based Management has many good components..
  • Some roles (librarians, nurses, counselors) need to be required of all campuses, even under Site Based Management.
  • The decision to restore libraries to all HISD schools belongs to Superintendent House and his team of experts, but the School Board can play a strong role in stressing that all HISD students require a fully funded, fully stocked library staffed by a certified professional to achieve their best academic growth.
0 Comments

Students Reach Greater Heights with School Librarians

11/5/2021

0 Comments

 
by Dorcas Hand
Picture
This two-page document is available at https://www.ala.org/advocacy/sites/ala.org.advocacy/files/content/stateandlocal/School%20Librarians%20v2.pdf . You can also CLICK ON THE IMAGE to to get there. The second page includes linked sources that support the five statements.
The Committee on Library Advocacy of the American Library Association published this infographic recently to illustrate the benefits to every K-12 student of open access to a fully funded and fully staffed school library. Students Need Libraries in HISD offers the image to support all the advocates across HISD who are speaking up for equity of access to school libraries for all HISD students. Sadly, it is those neighborhoods with the most challenges that are least likely to have a fully funded school library staffed by a certified school librarian. We are working together to convince Superintendent House, his staff and all the campus administrators across the district to step up for school libraries on behalf of our students and in support of stronger literacy achievement.
​

The image above is the front page. The back page includes supporting documentation for each point, as illustrated by these examples.
  1. ...Better Prepared for College, Career and Life
    “How College Graduates Solve Information Problems Once They Join the Workplace” offers the insight that “employers who need college hires to use a combination of online and traditional methods to conduct comprehensive research.”
  2. … Safe Space
    “Libraries as [Supportive Spaces for Wellbeing] Spaces in Contemporary Schools”
  3. … Discover and Use the Best Educational Technology
    “The School Librarian: Your Ultimate Digital Resource”
  4. … Find Resources Appropriate to their Needs”
    “Develop Inclusive Learners and Citizens”
  5. … Achieve More in Schools with Libraries and Librarians
    “Haves, Halves, and Have-Nots: School Libraries and Student Achievement in California”
Because the links to these articles and more are included on the infographic’s page 2, I have not repeated them here.
​

Parents, parent organizations, teachers, and community advocates need to speak out often about the fact that HISD has only about 55 certified librarians for 280 schools. Another 75 or so have certified teachers staffing the library. That leaves approximately 140 schools with either non-certified staff (50) or a closed library. We can do better. 

Please share this information with your campus community to be sure they speak up frequently. Start with the campus principal who currently makes that decision - but don’t forget the district, because both the Superintendent’s office and the School Board need to know what benefits students miss out on when not served by a library adequately staffed and stocked with up-to-date, compelling materials.


0 Comments

Comparing Campus Libraries to Classroom Libraries

9/3/2021

0 Comments

 
​by Dorcas Hand
Administrators at all levels need to understand why librarians matter, and why they should be staffed by a certified school librarian and funded adequately to keep a current, well-rounded collection of interest to all students on the campus without regard to age, reading level or intellectual ability. Teachers and clerks need to be trained to run a library. This is a time-consuming process to bring a non-librarian to a very basic level of service; without certification, they will never have all the requisite skills.
Picture
CAMPUS LIBRARIES
Fully Staffed and Funded (Certified Librarian)
  • Certified librarians develop a broad, well rounded and current collection for all campus levels and abilities selected by a knowledgeable expert.
  • Organizes the resources for easy access by all users.
  •  work with classroom teachers to provide rotating classroom collections in support of current projects, reading levels and/or enthusiasms, or other teacher requests.
  • Teach students to look beyond what they have in their classroom and/or home for stronger resources.​
  • Offer knowledgeable professional access to resources from other libraries (other schools in the district, local public library system, local university libraries)- even for students not college bound.
  • Provide strong readers’ advisory services available to all students and teachers.


​
RECOMMENDED RESOURCE
Hand, Dorcas et al.
A Visual Guideline to Staffing Choices in School Libraries. 2019.
Picture
Understaffed - Certified Teacher 
  • Certified Reading/Language Arts teachers are able to provide skilled readers advisory but not necessarily broader collection development to support all disciplines.
  • ​Certified Technologists are likely to be largely unaware of readers advisory content or skills; more focused on tech tools but possibly not even strong search skills and critical thinking Certified science, social studies, etc teachers less aware of classic novels and/or picture books for general readers advisory.
  • These teachers will require administrative guidance in collection development and organization .
Understaffed – Non-Professional Staff
Understaffed Libraries are a common reason for teachers or districts to begin in some desperation  classroom libraries. But with limited resources (money, space, time), these small collections often overlap and are only shareable to other classes accidentally. Non-professionals have
  • No training in readers advisory or collection development.
  • No awareness of Library organizational practices and methodology
  • Limited ability to add appropriate new materials.
  • No certification means no awareness of curriculum or of normal student developmental levels, much less appropriate books to recommend.
  • No authority to supervise students without a teacher or administrator present.
  • They require frequent campus administrative supervision and guidance to provide even minimally the potential benefits of library access.
CLASSROOM LIBRARIES
Any classroom library can be a limiting expectation: students come to expect everything provided for them rather than learning the opportunity to search a wider collection in the campus or public library. The scope of a classroom library is limited to recreational reading, support for an academic subject, or targeted reading support.
District Mandated
  • Funding generally supports a specific program like Scholastic Guided Reading.
  • The same books are put in every classroom at a given level across the district.
  • There is minimal oversight that books are used appropriately OR there may be too much focus on loss-avoidance so the books not used at all.
  • Books are generally organized by reading level.
  • Example: "Five Major Functions of the Classroom Library" Scholastic.com 
Teacher Originated
  • A teacher collects over time personal favorites for the age-group.
  • Books are chosen to support local curriculum and age/grade.
  • Books focus on current teaching assignment; the collection is often left with the grade if assignment changes by level of discipline (science, social studies, …); may or may not be used by the new teacher in that room.
  • Not often organized in any way. Sometimes sorted in bins by series or level.
  • There is no catalog list for sharing across the campus when needed.
  • Example: Scholastic Classroom Book Orders with free books for the teacher based on sales [Only viable where students have money to order.]
Wolpert-Gawron, Heather. "The Importance of a Classroom Library." Edutopia, George Lucas Educational Foundation, 16 Apr. 2009.
ARTICLES about School Libraries with Certified School Librarians
  • Falkenberg, Nanette, et al., compilers. Report on the Baltimore Library Project: Years 1-3. Baltimore MD, Jan. 2017. HJWeinberg Foundation. 
  • Short Analysis: Kachel, Debra E., and Keith Curry Lance. "Latest Study: A full-time school librarian makes a critical difference in boosting student achievement." School Library Journal, 11 Mar. 2013 (based on preliminary results).
0 Comments

What is Better about a Certified School Librarian? With Pictures!

8/16/2021

0 Comments

 
by Dorcas Hand
Certified School Librarians in Texas are certified teachers with at least two years full-time classroom teaching experience PLUS coursework in library science PLUS a Masters Degree.
https://www.ischool.utexas.edu/programs/school-librarian-certificate/requirements-notices 

​In Houston ISD, personnel with all this additional training are paid the same as any classroom teacher making the expertise held by the campus librarian a bargain!​
Picture
​Many community members (you who are reading this) have no idea that HISD currently (late July 2021) has only 55 certified librarians ready to start 2021 in its 280+ schools. Recognizing that hiring is still in process for the coming year, I include this overview of library staffing for the last school year. HISD Library Services is working hard to convince principals and district administrators of the impact strong school libraries with certified staff could have on student achievement, but the numbers are not improving YET. ​
Picture
The Table of Contents offers you an overview of the full document. Green means the staff-person is skilled in this area. Yellow means use caution: the staff-person is not likely skilled but may have some knowledge in this area. Red means the staff-person has no training at all except in the clerical aspects of the job. A school that chooses to staff the library with a non-professional, clerical assistant is denying their students the breadth of what ​strong library services should offer students and teachers; having no library at all is only slightly worse for students. A school that chooses to staff the library with a certified teacher offers students some elements of strong library service, but much is missing. Only trained and certified school librarians know the full array of expectations and can be held to accomplish them every day, all year long with every student and teacher. This page offers you an overview of that breadth of skills.
Really, it is a bargain anyway to have one person who 
  • Teaches and supports all students in need of resources at their ability and interest levels
  • Supports literacy skills and enthusiasm across the school, in classrooms and beyond
  • Writes curriculum in collaboration with classroom teachers to increase the impact of standard content units across the school
  • Organizes information resources in many formats for easiest access by students and teachers
  • Is skilled with technology applications and digital content resources, matching the right tools to the content, student age and ability spectrum
  • Teaches information literacy and critical thinking skills to the campus community
​Manages all these jobs at once, working with every teacher and student in the school, as well as the administrative team.
Picture
​In 2019, I compiled an illustration booklet to show what a school gets by staffing the library with a certified school librarian, a certified teacher of any subject, or a non-professional.

Click here to view the full VISUAL GUIDELINE TO STAFFING CHOICES IN SCHOOL LIBRARIES.
Picture
HISD has just hired a new Superintendent. We at Students Need Libraries in HISD welcome Millard House. He comes from Clarksville-Montgomery County School Systems in Tennessee, where every school has a certified librarian. Consequently, we have high expectations that he will work to offer students across HISD the EQUITY of a school library that is fully funded, holds a diverse collection of materials appropriate to the student population, and is staffed full-time by a certified librarian. HISD Library Services stands at the ready to support him in making this change.

​YOU who read this blog post hold the responsibility as members of the Houston ISD community to speak out for equity for all our students. HISD Literacy rates are much lower than they should be, and inconsistent across the district in part because students have not had reliable access to school libraries that support the students’ own reading interests with awareness of their skill levels and abilities. Together, we can change what has been into what can be.
0 Comments

Mr. House: Welcome to HISD

8/16/2021

0 Comments

 
Mr. House,

Welcome to HISD.  We represent a grassroots group of community members, parents, and other advocates who want to see a dynamic library in every school. We have a website (Students Need Libraries in HISD) that provides information about HISD libraries in particular and school libraries in general.  As a new Superintendent, here’s what you need to about HISD libraries:
(1)   Numbers: As of mid-July, there are only 55 certified librarians in a school district of over 280 schools. Too many schools have no library at all, but most schools have clerks or teachers assigned to manage the library. Although these individuals have been trained to circulate books, most of those assigned to the library cannot provide the instructional services (book selection, teaching research skills, etc.) required. The perception among those who might apply is that a library position in HISD is insecure. We have lost many good librarians to other school districts as a result. Five out of the ten librarians who were selected as Librarian of the Year in the past decade have left the district to work as a librarian in outlying districts. Here is the link to library staffing data in recent years: http://www.studentsneedlibrariesinhisd.org/library-staffing-overview.html

​(2) Site-based Management: Principals have the final determination as to whether the library is open or closed and whether to hire a librarian, a teacher or a clerk to staff the library. In general, many principals are not aware of the benefits of a strong library program and do not realize the librarian’s impact on student achievement for all students. When principals attend the district’s budgeting sessions, they are likely to be told they cannot afford a librarian.

(3) Board Policy: Reading the board policies, the district clearly has a commitment to providing library services to all students. The problem is that these policies are not being enforced or considered when staffing libraries or making decisions that affect students’ access to libraries.

(4)  Department of Library Services: This department is the district’s expert on staff in the management of existing libraries and the design of new libraries. For many years, HISD Library Services was part of the School Support team which was a good fit for this department as libraries provide ongoing academic support to both students and teachers. For the past ten years, Library Services has been under the Curriculum department which has not been a good fit. Currently, the department is under the purview of Elementary Curriculum, ignoring the fact that libraries serve schools PreK-12.  Under Curriculum department management, there have been numerous cutbacks in staffing and budget.
​

(5) Equity: Ultimately, the strongest argument for the restoration of the library program in HISD is equity. There are some communities in HISD which have never failed to staff their libraries. There are too many communities - whole feeder patterns - where the books on the library shelves have disappeared or the collections have been allowed to stagnate locked in time. A return to centralized budgeting for all libraries would benefit student success.

Conclusion
: School libraries and certified librarians offer a strong toolkit to support improved literacy scores across the district. Investment in libraries is a long-term effort with benefits for all HISD students in test scores and graduation rates. The ESSER funds already requested by Library Services offer a huge opportunity to rebuild the campus library collections and develop plans to support increased staffing over a few years.

We look forward to seeing what your new leadership will bring to HISD. We know that your libraries in Clarksville-Montgomery were all fully staffed with certified librarians. We urge you to take this opportunity to recommit to the idea that all HISD schools have access to library programs as well. You have our support in this effort. 

Sincerely,

Dorcas Hand
Debbie Hall
Library Advocate/ volunteer
Houston, Texas
http://www.studentsneedlibrariesinhisd.org/
Eliminating school libraries and librarians deprive students of diverse and equitable opportunities to learn the essential college and career skills necessary to be successful.
0 Comments

Comparing Campus Libraries to Classroom Libraries

8/1/2021

0 Comments

 
by Dorcas Hand
Administrators at all levels need to understand why librarians matter, and why school libraries should be staffed by certified school librarians and funded adequately to keep a current, well-rounded collection of interest to all students on the campus without regard to age, reading level or intellectual ability. Teachers and clerks need to be trained to run a library. It is a time-consuming process to bring a non-librarian to a very basic level of service.
Picture

Campus Libraries

Fully Staffed and Funded (Certified Librarian)
  • Certified librarians work with classroom teachers to provide rotating classroom collections in support of current projects, reading levels and/or enthusiasms, or other teacher requests.
  • Teach students to look beyond what they have in their classroom and/or home for stronger resources.
  • Offer a broad, well rounded and current collection for all campus levels and abilities selected by a knowledgeable expert.
  • Organize resources for easy access by all users.
  • Provide knowledgeable professional access to resources from other libraries (other schools in the district, local public library system, local university libraries) - even for students not college bound.
  • Make strong readers’ advisory services available to all students and teachers .
Understaffed Campus Library Space –
​Non-Professional Staff

Understaffed Libraries are a common reason for teachers or districts to begin in some desperation their own classroom libraries. But with limited resources (money, space, time), these small collections often overlap and are only shareable to other classes accidentally. Non-professional staff have
  •  No training in readers advisory or collection development.
  • Minimal awareness of organizational methods.
  • No ability to add appropriate new materials.
  • Lack of any training or certification means no awareness of curriculum or of normal student developmental levels, much less appropriate books to recommend.
  • No authority to supervise students without a teacher or administrator present.
  • A need for frequent campus administrative supervision and guidance to offer even basic potential benefits of library access.
Understaffed Campus Library Space-
​Certified Teacher 
  • Certified Reading/Language Arts Teachers may be able to provide skilled readers advisory but do not necessarily have broader collection development skills to support all disciplines.
  • Certified Technologists are likely to be largely unaware of readers advisory content or skills; they will be more focused on tech tools but possibly not the strong search skills and critical thinking skills students need to learn.
  • Certified science, social studies, etc teachers less aware of classic novels and/or picture books for general readers advisory.
  • All these will need campus administrative guidance for success.


​
Picture

Hand, Dorcas et al. A Visual Guideline to Staffing Choices in School Libraries. 2019.

 
 
 
See below for more reference articles about School Libraries with Certified School Librarians.

Classroom Libraries

Any Classroom Library
is a limiting expectation: students come to expect everything provided for them rather than learning the opportunity to search a wider collection in the campus or public library. The scope of a classroom library is limited to recreational reading, support for an academic subject, or targeted reading support depending on the specific classroom goals.
 
District Mandated
  • Funding generally supports a specific program like Scholastic Guided Reading.
  • Puts the same books in every classroom at a given level across the district.
  • No oversight that books are used appropriately OR too much focus on loss-avoidance so the books not used at all.
  • Generally organized by reading level.
  • Example: https://www.scholastic.com/teachers/articles/teaching-content/five-major-functions-classroom-library/
Teacher Originated
  • Teacher collects personal favorites for the age-group, usually with limited personal funds.
  • Or selects a variety to support specific classroom curriculum and age/grade.
  • The classroom collection is usually focused on current teaching assignment; and often left with the grade if assignment changes by level or discipline (science, Social studies, …); may or may not be used by the new teacher in that room.
  • Not always organized in any way. Sometimes sorted in bins by series or level.
  • No catalog list for sharing across the campus when needed, or even for students to find a specific title.
  • Example: Scholastic Classroom Book Orders with free books for the teacher based on sales [Only viable where students have money to order]
  • Wolpert-Gawron, Heather. "The Importance of a Classroom Library." Edutopia, George Lucas Educational Foundation, 16 Apr. 2009. 
ARTICLES about School Libraries with Certified School Librarians
  • Falkenberg, Nanette, et al., compilers. Report on the Baltimore Library Project: Years 1-3. Baltimore MD, Jan. 2017. HJWeinberg Foundation.
  • Short Analysis: Kachel, Debra E., and Keith Curry Lance. "Latest Study: A full-time school librarian makes a critical difference in boosting student achievement." School Library Journal, 11 Mar. 2013 (based on preliminary results). ​
0 Comments

Design Concerns Regarding New and Renovated Libraries in HISD

7/22/2021

0 Comments

 
PictureA sample design from the DEMCO website that reflects instructional space, relaxed seating, display space and shelving. This is not the "best" option - it merely illustrates the multifaceted nature of school library spaces.
​By Debbie Hall

We sent the letter below to the HISD Building Dept. today in response to our increasing awareness of problematic library designs in new and renovated HISD campuses. Everyone should speak up when they see these issues, to campus admin, parents and school board representatives.



​


​
​I am a former HISD librarian and a current advocate for HISD and particularly the district’s library program. I have seen the impact that libraries can have on the lives of our students and presently I am very concerned with the direction HISD is going in regards to designing new library spaces for students. 
 
At a time when we know that literacy rates are declining, HISD should be following best practices in school library design and being more strategic when planning library spaces for its students. From the results, I am seeing in new buildings and even in renovations, I cannot understand what the current HISD library design guidelines are or if there are any guidelines. I see spaces that restrict the types of interactions available between the student, the teacher, and the librarian. I see libraries without walls, libraries in hallways, and libraries with no identifiable space at all. I see some new schools being built without a library. The current designs may look good on paper but I seriously question how these spaces will function serving the needs of students and teachers both now and in the future.
 
Libraries are for learning and instruction. The most obvious flaw with HISD's current school library design is that large group teaching space has been eliminated in some cases. The effect of this lack of instructional space is that the library becomes a space for only small group or one-on-one interactions. Schools with this type of floor plan cannot support the instructional mission of the library. Too many of the new HISD "libraries" are merely shelves with books in an open unsecured area, often a hallway.
 
Guidelines for library design address multiple activities. In a school library, there should be a space for large group instruction, comfortable reading areas, viewing areas, study carrels, shelves, computers, tables to write or design, maker spaces, and areas for quiet reflection/thinking. Where would a librarian introduce research skills to a large class or small group in a library without an area dedicated to instruction? If the elementary library is in a hallway, how can a story be read aloud to engage readers? What about security? The library collection is typically one of a school's most valuable assets. If there are no walls and no way to restrict access, how is the inventory of its contents kept safe for all to use? Does the fact that Lamar High School has placed library books and shelves in a hallway - without a librarian even - make that space a library? 
 
The following schools were recently built with two-story open-concept library designs: Condit, Braeburn, Kolter and Scarborough. The open-concept plan was very popular in 1965 and it was largely a failure. The idea is being resurrected. While you can find positive and negative reviews of this model, I think most librarians would find it very challenging to manage students where they can be spread over two floors. The acoustic issues, including student distraction and strain on teacher voices not to mention discipline issues when students are out of sight on a different floor, have been common complaints in many such designs.
 
I have talked to several librarians who shared their experiences serving on their building committee to plan new HISD schools. All of them expressed frustration about getting their concerns answered. Most recently I have spoken to the former librarians at HSPVA, Bellaire, and HSHP who expressed their dissatisfaction with the process. They were able to get some but not all of the changes that they felt were needed to make the spaces work for their students and staff. 
 
The schools that do not have a librarian on staff have no one speaking up for a functional library design in a new facility. This is especially problematic if the principal has no idea what a good 21st-century library should look like. The district’s office of Library Services should take part in all meetings where important decisions about the library design are made. In any large school district, the Department of Library Services is tasked with providing expertise on what school library programs should offer and how library spaces should look and function. Until recently, all HISD school library designs were a result of a collaboration between the Library Services Department, the school librarian, and the school building committee.
 
I hope that HISD will reconsider this aspect of the building program and once again return to the idea that the library is an instructional hub for the campus. Having bookshelves in the hallway is not the same as providing a library; books in the hallway without a trained librarian is a waste of money. Don’t waste taxpayer’s money, build libraries that are based on design guidelines that take into account the library's mission of connecting readers to books and information. Use the experts on your staff (certified school librarians and the Department of Library Services) to create world-class library spaces.
 
Debbie Hall
Library Advocate/ volunteer
Houston, Texas

0 Comments

Some Questions about HISD’s Policies and School Libraries

6/8/2021

0 Comments

 
by Debbie Hall
In the late 50’s and 60’s, school libraries staffed with certified librarians were found only in HISD’s secondary schools. The Director of Library Services, Elenora Alexander, proposed that elementary schools also needed library services and consequently a plan was made to add libraries across the district. Staffed libraries providing needed services to staff and students was the norm for over forty years across the district. In the past 10-15 years, this standard has deteriorated, and new schools at all levels are being built without any library. Currently only approximately 63 librarians serve in libraries in the 276 schools within the district.  A larger number of schools staff their libraries with teachers or clerks. In the Fall of 2020, we have identified 85 schools that are not providing library services due to vacancies or simply not having a library. That number represents 31% of the district’s schools who offer no library program to their students or support to their staff.

This brings us to these questions about the current state of school libraries:
  • Why does HISD find itself in this position of declining library services? 
  • To what cause can we attribute this decline?
  • Is this a policy issue? ​If so, it is not recorded in the district policy manual.

Here is what the HISD policy manual (https://pol.tasb.org/Policy/Search/592?filter=library ) states regarding libraries: 
      The Superintendent or designee shall develop rules, regulations, and procedures to ensure the
      systematic maintenance of libraries as current resources for teachers and students. 
Principals shall
      ensure the effective use of the libraries within schools and shall establish library hours, staffing,
      and procedures that best serve the needs of the students.  
(EFB Local 2012) 


      Library media centers for each school shall be equipped with resources for reading, viewing, and
      listening to enhance the regular instructional program and 
shall be staffed with certified
      learning resources specialists in accordance with approved staffing guidelines
. (EFB Local 2012)


      Adequate funding for library media programs shall be made through the annual budget. Funds
     for the purchase of library materials shall be allocated on an equitable basis to the various schools.

     (EFB Local 2012)


The reading of HISD policy clearly demonstrates that the Superintendent and Principals have failed to provide the leadership in maintaining libraries as outlined by district policy. They need to be held accountable for failing to provide the resources that all students deserve. This is an equity issue: every HISD student deserves access to a fully funded library staffed by a certified librarian.
0 Comments
<<Previous

    Author

    This blog is primarily authored by Debbie Hall and Dorcas Hand, but guest authors are welcome. If you have an idea to share, please contact our email below. Debbie is a retired HISD librarian and Library Services Specialist. Dorcas is a retired school librarian who remains active in AASL/ALA. Both support increased equity in school library access and support for all HISD students and campuses.

    Archives

    February 2022
    November 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    April 2021
    January 2021
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    November 2019
    October 2019

    Categories

    All

    Click to our Facebook page.
    Twitter feed
    ​Email

Proudly powered by Weebly
  • Site Overview
    • SNL Speaks Out (BLOG)
    • Table of Contents
    • Houston ISD School Board >
      • 22 Strategic Plan Letters to Administration
      • Libs Surrounding Districts
      • Poverty Map
      • Cost of Staffing HISD Library
      • District I
      • District II
      • District III
      • District IV
      • District V
      • District VI
      • District VII
      • District VIII
      • District IX
      • 17 Children are At Risk/Literacy Deserts
    • What Strong School Librarians Do >
      • 2019 Strong HISD Libraries
      • Impact on Students of School Libraries
      • How They Do It >
        • Certified School Librarians
        • Teaching Expertise Matters
        • Research into School Library Impact
        • Book Deserts
        • Equity of Access Intro
        • Honoring Diversity
        • Intellectual Freedom
        • Critical Thinking
        • Windows Mirrors Sliding Glass Doors
        • Future Ready
        • Closed Library
  • Allies and Supporters
    • 2020 Racial Justice Resources >
      • BLM & Teaching Tolerance
      • A Primer-Racial Justice >
        • Anti-Racism Resources
        • Allyship
        • Black History
        • Voting & Civil Discourse
      • Parenting Resources
      • Diversity in Education >
        • LatinX Resources
        • Gender Issues
        • Indigenous Peoples
      • Young Children - Books & Media
      • Elementary Books & Resources >
        • General ELEM Fiction & Nonfiction
        • ELEM Podcasts Videos & PD
      • Middle School Books & Resources >
        • MS NONFICTION
        • MS MEDIA Resources
      • High School Books & Media >
        • HS NONFICTION
        • HS MEDIA Resources
        • UPPER HS Books
      • Curriculum Supporting Racial Justice >
        • Curriculum by Age Level
    • General Resources for Allies
    • Advocacy Tools for Allies >
      • Information for Parents and Students >
        • Parent Info - Pre 2017
      • Information for Teachers >
        • Teacher Info - Pre 2017
      • Information for Principals and Administrators >
        • Admin Info - Pre 2017
      • Information for Policymakers >
        • Policy Info - Pre2017
    • OpEds and Legislative News - Other Places
    • Equity, Literacy & Critical Thinking >
      • Equity of Access in Detail >
        • Equity - Pre 2017
      • Diverse Choices
      • Reading Matters = Literacy >
        • Reading Matters - Pre 2017
        • Bonus Reading Info
      • Readiness K-20
      • Information Literacy
      • Critical Thinking >
        • Critical Thinking Pre 2017
    • Digital Literacy >
      • Digital Literacy Pre 2017
  • Resources for Librarians
    • 2022 Right to Read
    • Librarian Advocacy in Action >
      • Telling your Story - Basic Advocacy
      • Ecosystem
      • Legislators are Just People
      • Measuring Library Impact
      • Infographics
    • Librarians as Leaders >
      • Librarians Leaders Pre 2017
      • Equity Led by Librarians
      • Libns for Readiness K-20
      • Nurturing Environment
      • Strengthening Your Skills - Personal PD
      • LIB Assn Tools >
        • School Library Standards
        • Future Ready Libraries
      • Curriculum
      • The Research - School Libraries >
        • Research Pre2017
      • S.L.I.D.E. Kachel/Lance
      • Genl Articles LIB Pre2017
    • Literacies >
      • Reading Matters >
        • Reading-Librarians Pre2017
      • Digital Literacy >
        • Digital Lit for Librarians Pre 2017
  • Contacts
  • Intellectual Freedom