Surrey Now and Surrey Leader Letter: 2007 September 28
The annual Raise-A-Reader day is almost upon us. It's a wonderful idea that everyone embraces because defeating illiteracy is critical for many of the province's at-risk children.
But while politicians at various levels will be giving lip-service and posing for photo-ops to show their support of programs that promote literacy, take a look at the place where the greatest battles against literacy are fought: your local school library. The staffing of school libraries is based on school enrolment, so as demographics shift, so does the front line of defence against illiteracy. And because of shifts in populations, while everyone is cheering Raise-A-Reader Day, the doors of many school libraries are closed to students.
My children attend a school that has a library with locked doors. Sure, many people will argue it's only one day a week that the library is closed. But that one day a week is a big deal when combatting illiteracy. Without a teacher-librarian there for the students, many children who are already at risk of being under-educated are locked away from that one book that might just turn them into an avid reader, and perhaps one day a university graduate. Teacher-librarians are not just teachers, they lead children - especially children who need that extra assistance - into the world of reading and literacy. They know their books and they get to know every child who walks through the library doors; the teacher-librarians are able to give the students who need a helping hand that little push into the world of books, reading and literacy.
I for one would like to see our politicians making concrete strides toward literacy by providing a teacher-librarian in every school library, every day, regardless of the school enrolment. Because when it comes right down to it, locked library doors do not promote literacy.
C. Cooke, Surrey
