Comparing Campus Libraries to Classroom Libraries

​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.

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.

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

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).