David Jacobs (DJACOBS@RGJ.COM)
RENO GAZETTE-JOURNAL October 25, 2007
When Keenan Davis needs help at the school library, he can count on the staff at Hug High School.
"If you're having problems finding a book or looking up something, they'll come to you and help personally, if you need assistance or anything," said Davis, a Hug junior.
Hug is among Washoe County public schools with a certified teacher-librarian. If a bill before Congress becomes a law, more specially trained librarians could be in local schools.
The need will be discussed Friday in Reno, when the American Association of School Librarians will meet at the Reno-Sparks Convention Center. A Friday morning session includes enhancing the library media specialist role in school achievement.
The bill, the Strengthening Kids' Interest in Learning and Libraries Act, calls for a state-certified media specialist in every K-12 school building by 2010. The bill could be included in the federal No Child Left Behind act.
"I definitely feel that librarians with classroom experience can, in many ways, support the curriculum within the individual school to a greater degree," Ellen Fockler, library media technology coordinator for Washoe schools, said. "They can collaborate with teachers to a greater degree."
Washoe County middle schools and high schools have certified librarians, about 24. But among elementaries, only Roger Corbett has a certified librarian. The other schools have library assistants.
"This means they do not necessarily have teaching degrees," Fockler said.
It's not known how much the proposed federal measure would cost Washoe schools, but Fockler said he thinks it could be put into place gradually.
"We have some wonderful elementary librarians in the Washoe County School District," she said. "Whether or not they have a degree is not necessarily an indication of the job that they do. We have some elementary librarians who do a superb job."
One concern is finding qualified people for the positions.
"I do feel there are qualified people taking library classes who already have teaching certificates, but I'm not sure we're going to be able to find enough," Fockler said.
The bill takes that into consideration.
"It does not require a district to hire a certified librarian in every school if reasonable arguments can me made to suggest that it is not possible," Fockler said.
School library budgets in Washoe County are determined building by building with principals determining how much to allocate.
Many school libraries also apply for grants and hold fundraisers.
"Quite frankly, there's never quite enough to go around," Fockler said.
